What's the news?
Barely has the latest generation of the venerable Porsche 911 arrived, codenamed '992', than the derivatives of the legendary German sports car begin arriving. Here, six weeks after the 992 appeared, we've already got details on the Cabriolet model.
Exterior
While an open-air 911 has actually been a 'thing' since the late 1960s and the original Targa, a 'fully open' Cabriolet 911 was only launched for the first time in 1982. It has been an ever-present in the 911 line-up since then, across six generations of the Porsche. For the 992, there's a fully automatic soft-top with an integrated glass window. This fabric roof's structure includes 'bows' of magnesium, which prevent ballooning of the roof at high speeds. It can be opened or closed in just 12 seconds, on the hoof at speeds of up to 50km/h. Porsche also says the new Cabriolet has wider, mainly aluminium bodywork than the preceding 991 model, as the rear-drive models have the same width as the four-wheel-drive variants, making them 44mm broader than the outgoing Cabrio.
Interior
It's very much as per the 992 Coupe in here, with the analogue rev counter framed by a pair of digital displays in the instrument cluster, while the infotainment screen for the Porsche Communication Management (PCM) is a 10.9-inch item. The driver and passenger will also be comfy and toasty warm with the hood down, thanks to an electrically deployable wind deflector which rises behind the cabin for open-air motoring.
Mechanicals
Initially, Porsche will offer the 911 Cabriolet in Carrera S (rear-wheel drive) and Carrera 4S (four-wheel drive) formats, both of which employ the 3.0-litre biturbo 'boxer' six petrol engine. This delivers 450hp at 6,500rpm, with 530Nm of torque available from 2,300- to 5,000rpm, with power transmitted to the driven wheels on both models via an eight-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission. That means a Carrera S Cabriolet can do 0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds (3.7 seconds with the optional Sport Chrono Package) and run on to 306km/h, while the 4S is a little slower outright (303km/h) but slightly more accelerative, recording a 3.8-second 0-100km/h time (3.6 seconds Sport Chrono). Fuel consumption, on an NEDC-correlated basis, is rated at 31mpg (9.1 litres/100km) for the Carrera S Cabriolet and 31.3mpg (9.0l/100km) for the 4S model, with CO2 outputs of 208- and 207g/km respectively.
Porsche adds that the new mounting position for the flat-six motor blesses the new Cabriolet with more torsional rigidity than its predecessor, while a sport chassis configuration with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) will be available on a 911 Cabriolet for the first time. The 992 Cabriolet will also come with a wealth of active safety and driver assist systems, while it also has what Porsche calls a 'world-first' Wet Mode, which detects water on the road and then preconditions the control systems accordingly - before warning its driver, who can then set the car up to focus on safety ahead of performance.
Anything else?
The 992 Porsche 911 Cabriolet is available to order from Porsche Centres across Ireland as of now, with prices starting at around €172,000 for the Carrera S and €181,000 for the Carrera 4S.