Porsche 911 Review (2004 to date)

Quick Summary

The Porsche 997 Cabriolet is as good as open-topped sportsters get without blowing ridiculous money. Once the poor relation of the 911 range, anyone who knows their onions will be able to tell you that the modern 911 Cabriolet has really come into its own.

Overall:

Models Covered:(2 dr convertible 3.6, 3.8 petrol [Carrera, Carrera S, Carrera 4, Carrera 4S, Turbo])

CAB, PLEASE!

It's a little odd to think that a good quantity of classic Porsches are soft tops whereas these days a 911 with a fabric roof is seen by some purists as decidedly infra dignitatem. Let the elitists mutter. Any 911 is enormous fun and the dynamic sacrifices made in bringing the Cabriolet models to market are a good deal smaller than many of the naysayers realise. Besides, anything that gets you a bit closer to that intoxicatingly breathy engine note has to be a good thing. Right?
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History of the 911

It's easy to forget that Porsche has a long and illustrious history with topless cars but the 911 seems to have been unfairly exempted from that lineage. You'd have thought that a bloodline going back over quarter of a century would cut the 911 Cabriolet a little slack but there are still many who think a topless 911 is a 911 that's been butchered. Thing is, these folks tend not to have driven the latest 911 drop tops. In its current 997 guise, the Cabriolet models are simply excellent and lose vanishingly tiny quantities of dynamic purity to their hard top siblings.To put this car into perspective, we first need to wind the clock back to 1997 and the introduction of water rather than air cooling. The model that ushered this change in was the 996 generation (latter day Porsche models having a three number 'code' to denote their model type. For example an early Boxster is a 986, a late one a 987 in Porsche speak). The '996' marked a shift in Porsche's development of the 911 range.The 996 also did enormously well for Porsche and survived fully seven years before the model we examine here, the 997, was launched. Where the 996 was revolutionary, the 997 is more an evolutionary finessing of the 996 theme, tidying up the styling, imbuing the car with a higher quality, more technologically dense feel and adding even more exciting models to the mix. The Cabriolet models debuted in December 2004, with both two and four-wheel drive variants in both standard guise and more powerful S trim. A six speed manual gearbox was offered as standard with the later option of a Tiptronic S auto transmission. The range was augmented in summer 2007 with the addition of the Turbo Cabriolet.
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Porsche 911 Road Test

Under that sleek bodywork comes a bigger, punchier engine than the 996 predecessor. It's still a flat six and it's still hung out at the back but Carrera 4 buyers will get a 321bhp 3.6-litre powerplant while Carrera 4S customers will be treated to a 350bhp 3.8-litre unit. It's a naming convention that mirrors the Boxster and Cayenne ranges and is easy to comprehend. All the cars feature a drag coefficient of just 0.29, ranking them at the top of their respective market segments. One feature unique to the Cabriolet is the rear spoiler that extends an additional 20 millimetres further than the Coupe's appendage. Porsche's aerodynamicists discovered that the Cabriolet's marginally different shape caused changes in the way it cleaved the air and made small adjustments to the front and rear downforce levels. Bar perhaps that intoxicatingly breathy engine note, Porsche steering and brakes do more than anything else to differentiate the marque in terms of sheer excellence. Down the years, 911s have always had a linear steering rack that delighted in the amount of feedback it supplied to the driver. The 997 departs from this system and adopts a variable ratio set-up that gets quicker the further the wheel is turned. Getting rid of the old 17-inch wheels also allows Porsche to fit bigger and better brakes to the 997. The S gets brakes similar to those fitted to the 996 Turbo and the truly well heeled can even opt for ceramic discs.The straight-line performance of the 997 Cabriolet is only a smidgeon off that of the Coupe. The top speeds of the Carrera and Carrera S Cabriolets are exactly the same as the Coupe variants at 177 and 182mph respectively. The Carrera will accelerate to 60mph in 5.2 seconds while the same benchmark will detain the Carrera S for just 4.9 seconds. There's very little penalty in terms of performance or fuel economy when you opt for the Carrera 4 or 4S four-wheel drive models. The Turbo is sickeningly rapid. Just 3.8 seconds is all that's required for the standard 0-60mph sprint and the Tiptronic auto version is even quicker, shaving a tenth off that time. Stopping the clock just 0.1 seconds later than the Coupe version the small penalty for a 70kg weight disadvantage. Overtaking? Well only 3.8 seconds are required for the most powerful series-built 911 model of all time to accelerate from 50–75mph in fifth gear.
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Buying a Porsche 911

Porsche claims to have solved the cylinder liner problem that sporadically afflicted the 996 and has also made changes to the design of the big ends and Variocam system – other potential fault points. No significant faults have yet to develop with the 997 but it's worth seeking out a Porsche Approved car as even apparently trivial faults can be very expensive to rectify without warranty protection. The 19-inch alloys fitted to the 997 Carrera S are very prone to kerbing damage so check these over individually. Check the bodywork, especially the bonnet, as this can easily be damaged by owners slamming them onto protruding items in the front boot. 997s are very colour sensitive and white and black cars are currently in vogue with the ubiquitous silver now starting to fall from favour. The hood mechanisms tend to be a lot more reliable than rival folding hard top systems although it's worth checking for vandal damage or discolouration from bird lime which can affect darker hoods.
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Porsche 911 Typical Pricing

997 Cabriolet prices start at £52,000 which will net you a 54-plated Carrera 2 with a manual 'box. The 3.8-litre S version of this car starts at £57,500 , again in a 54 plate. Opt for the security of all-wheel drive and you'll need from £60,000 for a manual Carrera 4 or £61,000 for a Tiptronic S equipped model. The Carrera 4S drop top can be yours from £65,000. Prices for the Turbo have yet to settle.
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Porsche 911 Parts

(Estimated prices, based on a 2005 Carrera S) Consumables for a 911 are almost laughably cheap. You'll pay £15 for an air filter, £4 for each spark plug, £10 for an oil filter, £16 for a alternator chain, and £15 for a fuel filter. Offset these costs by running any 911 exclusively on synthetic oil. Other parts are rather pricier. You'll need to put by £300 for a replacement tinted windscreen, £450 for a clutch kit and do try not to damage your xenon headlights as Porsche will charge you £556 each for replacements.
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