21 Feb 05
Hot on the heels of the all-new Porsche 911 Carrera coupe comes the open-air version of the Stuttgart supercar. The drop-top 911, which goes on sale April 2005, is available as the 325bhp 3.6 Carrera or the 355bhp 3.8 Carrera S. They'll cost £65,260 and £72,230 respectively.
Chopping the roof off any sportscar involves compromise, an especially painful process when the starting point is as brilliant as the 911 coupe. The first casualty is lightness - the new 911 Cabriolet weighs some 85kg more than its coupe sibling, which is akin to carrying around a fat passenger all the time. And the second most significant problem with open cars is the loss of torsional rigidity that inevitably occurs without that steel roof in place.
So does the extra weight ruin the experience? Well, the regular Carrera Cabriolet accelerates from 0-62mph in 5.2secs, while the Carrera S manages it in 4.9secs. That's very slightly slower than the coupes can manage, but from behind the wheel the experience is just as inspiring. These are still massively fast cars, and they also deliver a handling experience that is as delicately balanced and rewarding as with the tin-top 911s. For the record, the Carrera Cab tops out at 177mph and the Carrera S at 182mph. Moot points, really, as testing the veracity of these numbers will involve a jail sentence...
