2008 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet Drops the Top on Performance

Motoring Channel Staff - 8/May/2007

Stuttgart, Germany — The legendary Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet returns in 2007, this time with even more power, a bold new style and levels of all-wheel drive performance that elevate it to bona fide super car status.

With the launch of its new flagship convertible model, Porsche is in a strong position as we near the end of the decade. The stunning new drop top has been finalised for production; news of the marque's first 4-door performance GT car (the Panamera) going on sale in 2009 is generating a buzz among the exotic car fraternity; and Porsche also increased it's stake in Volkswagen to 31% this month.

German law requires that groups or companies are obliged to initiate a mandatory takeover offer when their stake in a company surpasses 30%, but Porsche has stated on a number of occasions that it doesn't want to takeover Volkswagen, and has offered to buy VW shares at 11% below the current market price, which a sure fire way to ensure the takeover doesn't succeed.

Porsche is seemingly unstoppable at the moment. It's making huge profits from Porsche sales, and with the new range-topping twin turbo Cabriolet 911 model it can expect to sell even more cars.

The German exotic car maker will begin selling the 911 Turbo Cabriolet on September 8, which is powered by a 3.6-litre boxer engine augmented by twin turbochargers.

Porsche claims that the 2+2 seater will offer the driving performance of a high-performance sports car while still providing convertible driving pleasure, and went to great lengths to highlight the 911 Turbo Cabriolet's economical operation when compared to other sports car capable of hitting 100km/h from standstill in 4.0 seconds and under. 

Porsche says the new 997-type convertibles fuel consumption, due to both aerodynamic design and measured engine technology, is 12.9 liters per 100 kilometers, which if proved true would be quite remarkable for a car that can reach 310km/h and rip from zero to 100km/h in the blink of an eye.

The car looks very similar to its tin-topped 911 Turbo relative, featuring the trademark circular front headlights that hark back to Porsche's of the '80s and '90s. The shape is pure Porsche, with the top up or down, and together with the large 19-inch alloy wheels, an adjustable rear wing and an oval twin exhaust system, the car is easily recognisable as one of the world's most famous sports cars.

The engine technology is identical to the systems used in the 911 Turbo Coupé, a 3.6-litre horizontally opposed (or boxer) 6-cylinder engine which are fed increased air mass via a pair of turbochargers. The biggest change between the previous 996-type turbo engine and this new 997-type engine is the turbocharging technology, which now includes variable turbine geometry (VTG).

This new VTG essentially reduces turbo lag, and also increases peak power by varying the turbo boost. At full power, the Porsche 911 Turbo Coupé makes 353kW (480hp) @ 6000rpm and 620Nm of torque @ 1950rpm. 

And if you want even more power, there's the optional 'Sport Chrono Turbo Package' which includes an overboost function which is seeing increasing use in vehicles like the Mini Cooper S and other small turbocharged vehicle. With this package the convertible 911 Turbo increases torque from 620Nm up to 680Nm. It does this by increasing the turbo pressure by 2.9 psi (0.2 bar) for up to ten seconds which will give drivers a strong acceleration boost.

One tenth of second slower that the 911 Turbo Coupé (due to the body reinforcements' extra weight) the manual transmission version is still decisively quick, and can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in just 4.0 seconds, while the tiptronic S gearbox is even quicker cutting the time to 3.8 seconds. Both models can reach speeds of up to 310 km/h. 

Porsche explains that even with the convertible-specific reinforcement of the chassis (to make it stiffer because there's no fixed roof) and the automatic extendable rollover protection behind the rear seats, the open version of the 911 Turbo weighs 70 kilos more than the Coupé. 

The roof comprises of a three-layer soft top, which can completely automatically be opened or closed in roughly 20 seconds.

With convertible-specific running gear, including the active suspension system dubbed PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) as standard equipment, the new 911 Turbo Cabriolet offers the sporting driving performance typical for a Porsche 911 as well as extremely high driving safety together with appealing driving characteristics says Porsche. 

The driving stability control Porsche Stability Management (PSM) and the managed all-wheel drive Porsche Traction Management (PTM) also contribute to its forceful performance. The system with an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch can, according to the requirements, alternatively shift the drive output from the engine between the front and rear axles, and with shift intervals of a maximum of 100 milliseconds is quicker than the reaction of the engine to load changes.

Porsche has managed to keep the aerodynamics of the convertible car equal to that of the coupe, with a drag coefficient of 0.31. This impressive feat is augmented by the rear wing, which automatically extends at speeds of 120km/h and will extend 30mm further than with the Coupé, which generates negative lift over the rear axle, a function that few other convertibles can boast.

Along with its passive safety systems, Porsche has revealed that six airbags will be standard equipment as is the comprehensive rollover protection system – with steel tubing integrated into the windshield frame and an extendable rollover protection behind the rear seats. Crash testing for the new 911 Turbo Cabriolet has also passed all benchmarks for safety, allowing the car entry to worldwide sales markets. 

Another feature of the safety/chassis package is the high-performance brake system. The 6-piston fixed-brake caliper up front stems from the highly regarded Porsche Carrera GT and the optional Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB) ceramic brake system is also available for the 911 Turbo Cabriolet.

Standard equipment for the new model, which launches in Europe in early September and will Australia bound in late 2007/early 2008, comprises bi-xenon headlights, 19-inch forged wheels with two-tone appearance, air conditioning, a wind deflector, the Porsche Communication Management (PCM) with the navigation module and 5.8-inch color monitor and the Bose Surround Sound System. It is priced at around €126,600 (A$207,000). In Australia, the 2008 model year 911 Turbo Cabriolet will fetch more like A$350,000, rather than the Euro conversion price.

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- Porsche 911 Turbo (997)
- Porsche 911 (997)
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