shixon

My local dealer called me on Friday afternoon to let me know that they had received their first shipment of cabriolets and invited me down to have a look and take a drive (I've got one on order that should be here by the 1st of May). I've attached a few pictures of the experience. It's every bit as good as the coupe and simply a stunningly good looking ride. The last few weeks of my wait will now be more unbearable than ever!

shixon

extra photo of the roof....

HoleDgr

That is absolutely incredible looking. It makes me even more excited waiting for mine. I have a CS Cab build date 4/30/12.

SSST

I like the smooth line of the roof. Did you get any shots of the top down and the clam shell closed?

That clam shell is huge! Does it also double as the rear deck lid?

Carrera GT

The top looks good, but keep in mind it's the sides that wrinkle like a cheap suit, not the top. The proof of the pudding will come after being driven with the top down and a little road grime and grit caught in the fabric moving around, abrading the surface on the fold lines.

shixon

Here is a shot of the clam shell closed and the top down. I have to say that the cabriolet mechanism is amazing. When closed the noise level is incredibly low. Mine completed the build process on 4/11 and is waiting for a ride across the pond.

skinzy

Could not agree more. My build date is 4/21/12. I was supposed to have it this month but it got held up by an option. The new top looks GORGEOUS!

Mike in CA

The top uses 4 magnesium panels sandwiched by fabric to achieve that rigid look. I don't know whether they are positioned on the sides as well as the top, but from the pics it appears they might be.

shixon

As far as I could tell, there were only 2 places just behind the small side windows that didn't seem to be rigid. The areas were roughly the size of my hand which hopefully means minimal issues with the roof.

Carrera GT

If you watch a video animation, you'll see the very large areas of fabric that have to crumple and fold into storage, then stretch out when closed.

Just watch this video for a few seconds at each of these time marks:

Opening ... note the whole rear section of the roof fabric folds in dozens of places:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...OyZtKg6U#t=36s

Closing ... note the sides are not supported -- this is where the most visible creases form in the 997.2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...yZtKg6U#t=159s

Just to be clear, this should not detract from the joy of this car -- I know, I had one for over 10K miles in the form of a 997.2 C4S with PDK -- I'm describing the design versus the claims versus the competition with painted metal panels, which I consider more appealing in terms of engineering, rigidity, safety, durability and consistent with technology that's been on the market for a decade.

Porsche marketing would have the buyer believe it's an "all new" design (it's 90% identical to the 997.2 and the sole innovation is the idea of stretching the roof over solid panels ... I don't count the numerous changes and lightweight materials as being "all new" just different, but fundamentally the same as the 997 operation) and they retroactively apply the design philosophy of having a Cabrio "look" (sure, it does have a rag-top contrast roof look, but is that really something customers have said they want in a Cabrio?) which I think is just a spin that someone thinks is cleverly done and somehow appeals, but I think it's just an excuse. The rear engine layout just doesn't accommodate the Cabro. Once you design hard panels (say painted carbon fibre, like the fenders of the RS 4.0) you run out of stack space (because of the curves which are handled by loose fabric) or you lose the lines of the car, so they either ran out of ideas or couldn't work the budget or time constraints and had to go with fabric. And that brings me back to the best thing about the new Cabrio -- its lines are much closer to the coupe lines and the car is a little less hump-backed than the 997.

Details here:
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/02/22/2...-drive-review/



Overall, I wish I could justify another Cabrio but I wanted two things: hard top and coupe rear seats -- anyone with kids should note the rear back-rests are more vertical in the Cab than the coupe -- this becomes a space and comfort issues as the kids turn 10 or so.

Now I can only hope the Targa arrives in AWD 4S form based on the coupe body, not the Cab with a coachbuilder's roof cap stuck on -- both for rigidity and weight as well as the more comfortable rear seat angle. In any case, I think the Targa, assuming it has a sort of hatch access to the rear storage area will be a remarkably versatile and functional 911.

Mike in CA

Just my opinion, but regardless of the claims, I'm not a big fan of folding metal tops despite their advantages in some areas. A convertible should have a classic appearance and a contrasting fabric top is part of that. I'm a coupe guy but if I were going to get a Cab I'd want it to look like one.

THPorsche

Does the 991 have the same vertical rear back-rest as the 997?

Carrera GT

It's quite different in appearance, but it's still more upright than the coupe. I'm yet to play with the Cab first hand, but I'll certainly be comparing to the coupe. If the C4S Targa ever arrives (I've not heard a peep about it other than the last ten years of Targa sales were too few to justify a 991 Targa) I'll go that way, but if not, I could still be dumb enough to talk myself into another Cab once the discounting starts.

shixon

Although I didn't take any measurements, the rear seat backs in the cab sure looked like they were 90 degrees from the bottoms FWIW.

Zmoney3982

THPorsche --- Who is the avatar?