993 Cabrio Defies Expectations
Despite a long list of potential shortcomings, we can’t help but love this unusual Carrera cabriolet.
When it comes to classic air-cooled Porsche 911s, most would say they prefer coupes to cabriolets by a wide margin. This gorgeous 1998 993 cabriolet we found on Hemmings has us in a bit of a crisis.
On the surface, it’s exactly the sort of car we should actively dislike. It’s a base Carrera cabriolet with a Tiptronic. Despite being a coveted 993 — and the last year produced, at that — on paper, this is about the least exciting 911 you could buy.
However, the color combo is simply drop-dead gorgeous. The Forest Green Metallic hue echoes the ubiquitous “British Racing Green” seen on classic English roadsters, with a hint of blue added, giving it a slight emerald hue. It’s very modern in a ’90s sort of way, yet still classy and understated.
That gorgeous, incredibly well-preserved paint is coupled with an equally beautiful interior. We shouldn’t be surprised, since the car has only around 60,000 miles, but it’s still jaw-dropping to see this color combo.
The chestnut brown interior is a deep caramel color with a hint of red. It pairs perfectly with the blue-green exterior, and the matching top is a quite literal cherry on top of this Porsche sundae. While we generally prefer coupes, we can’t imagine this color looking any better than it does on this cabrio.
The wooden shift knob, parking brake handle, and steering wheel trim are also just the sort of thing we’d normally hate, but absolutely love here. The same goes for the basket-handle spoiler on the engine cover. It just sort of works, and we can’t really explain why.
While we might be disappointed by the way this car would drive compared to a coupe with a proper manual transmission, we’d say that this is an appropriate time to judge a book by its cover.