What are cabriolet’s like to drive
Discussion
They are really good at any legal speeds with the rear “fly net” up. Happy to travel home from Le Mans roof down all the way, rain permitting or tour Scotland when there is still snow on the roadside. Personally cant see why you wouldn’t have one over a coup unless you were tracking it or didn’t like the looks. Down side they may be noisier roof up than coup, not an issue here.
Try one.
DW 997 C4S cab 91k miles.
Try one.
DW 997 C4S cab 91k miles.
If you’re some kind of driving god then I dare say you might notice a slight reduction in chassis rigidity. I’m not and I love my tt cab. Make sure you get a wind deflector with the car as conversations about 50mph might prove difficult. Apart from that I love the opportunity of getting the top down as soon as the temperature gets into the late teens. With the roof up I don’t notice any difference between a cab and a hard top. You can feel a tad exposed driving through built up areas with the roof down (my other half accuses me of going through the menoporsche stage during the summer) but on the open road in the summer it’s fabulous. I did a highlands road trip last May and had the roof down most of the time. It was unforgettable.
David W. said:
They are really good at any legal speeds with the rear “fly net” up. Happy to travel home from Le Mans roof down all the way, rain permitting or tour Scotland when there is still snow on the roadside. Personally cant see why you wouldn’t have one over a coup unless you were tracking it or didn’t like the looks. Down side they may be noisier roof up than coup, not an issue here.
Try one.
DW 997 C4S cab 91k miles.
Funny you mention Scotland a few of us was over by Aviemore and Applecross two weeks ago. I often look at cabs and the lines don’t look right yet from other angles they look stunning. Try one.
DW 997 C4S cab 91k miles.
When I was looking for my car I had a very specific list of requirements - coupe, non-sunroof, cable-throttle, LSD, sports seats, amber-indicators.
Saw an advert in Autotrader which grabbed my attention as it was an amber-indicator car, looked clean, and it was parked in Selfridges which made it a 20 minute walk from my office. It was only after I'd called the chap and arranged to see it that I clicked through the photographs and saw it was a cab.
Still- the appointment was made, it was a pleasant summers day and why not go.
I did, and have never regretted it - being able to take the roof down (once you get over the theatre of the panels whirling around and stowing themselves) is just huge fun when you hit the open road. I'm fully aware that the car is less stiff than the equivalent coupe - but (depending on whose figures you trust) it's stiffer than a 964 coupe, such are the advances in materials and design over the years.
I put the roof up at Brands Hatch so I could hear the instructor, then put it back down again as soon as he got out, it was tremendous fun tooling round in the little German bathtub.
I do think it looks awkward from some angles, but I don't care - usually if I can see it then it means I'm driving it.
Try one - I think you might be surprised.
Saw an advert in Autotrader which grabbed my attention as it was an amber-indicator car, looked clean, and it was parked in Selfridges which made it a 20 minute walk from my office. It was only after I'd called the chap and arranged to see it that I clicked through the photographs and saw it was a cab.
Still- the appointment was made, it was a pleasant summers day and why not go.
I did, and have never regretted it - being able to take the roof down (once you get over the theatre of the panels whirling around and stowing themselves) is just huge fun when you hit the open road. I'm fully aware that the car is less stiff than the equivalent coupe - but (depending on whose figures you trust) it's stiffer than a 964 coupe, such are the advances in materials and design over the years.
I put the roof up at Brands Hatch so I could hear the instructor, then put it back down again as soon as he got out, it was tremendous fun tooling round in the little German bathtub.
I do think it looks awkward from some angles, but I don't care - usually if I can see it then it means I'm driving it.
Try one - I think you might be surprised.
Edited by Dammit on Friday 1st February 12:50
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I’m fortunate enough to own a few cars, some are track focused Scud and Sagaris whilst others are weapons on B roads Evo and Subaru. Then I have a good GT car 964 turbo, all of these are coupes and saloons. I doubt any owner or dealer will let me test drive a cabriolet in the manner I’d like to hence asking on here. By the way what’s a cab like on autobahn
I think the 981 Boxster ('Roadster') looks fantastic. But the 911 variants ('Cabriolets') never seem to work quite so well - oddly, most look better with the roof up, which kind of defeats the object.
Also, some drivers suit the roof down 'look' better than others. Trying to look cool in a Cab doesn't work for everyone - especially if you have a 'comb-over'
Personally, I prefer the roof-line and chassis integrity of the Coupes, but yes, roof down, on the right road, on the right day is extra special.
Also, some drivers suit the roof down 'look' better than others. Trying to look cool in a Cab doesn't work for everyone - especially if you have a 'comb-over'
Personally, I prefer the roof-line and chassis integrity of the Coupes, but yes, roof down, on the right road, on the right day is extra special.
Rocco1 said:
Funny you mention Scotland a few of us was over by Aviemore and Applecross two weeks ago. I often look at cabs and the lines don’t look right yet from other angles they look stunning.
Mine came with a hard top but I’ve never put it on, now they do look odd. I may have used it in the winter if it was “garaged” outside.It goes on winter tyres Nov-March and gets a annual coat of Fabsil tent treatment.
Heated seats a MUST.
We found 911 gives much less buffeting than the Boxster we had, not sure why.
Tried a Targa and it was no where near as nice roof open as the Cab.
Now looking for a nicely spec’d 991 Cab for another 10 yrs of open top motoring.
I’ve always figured Boxster is the way to go if you want a convertible Porsche. In the same way a Z4 is the choice if you wat a BMW soft top. Convertible versions of traditional coupe models always seem like a design compromise to me, with strengthening added here and there to make it work.
Better to get something that was designed from the ground up as a soft top.
Better to get something that was designed from the ground up as a soft top.
The 996, 997, 991 and 992 were all designed as a modular base for coupe/cabriolet/targa - it's not as if Porsche suddenly through "blow me down, a cab would be a good idea - lets cut the roof off and weld some scaffold poles into the sills!" two years into the production run.
Of course the Cab isn't as stiff as the Coupe - but that's not to say it was an afterthought that was designed on the back of a fag packet by a couple of blokes with a sawz-all.
The 996 cab was even designed to accept a roof rack:
Which I would suggest is not indicative of a last minute "she'll be right" design.
Of course the Cab isn't as stiff as the Coupe - but that's not to say it was an afterthought that was designed on the back of a fag packet by a couple of blokes with a sawz-all.
The 996 cab was even designed to accept a roof rack:
Which I would suggest is not indicative of a last minute "she'll be right" design.
Erniemcp said:
I've had multiple Cab's and Targas 997 GTS right through to 991.2 GTS and have always been sad to let them go and delighted to get the next one. I love the open air of either cab and targa, the cool thing about the cab is you can open and close on the move upto about 30mph. IMHO the open air allows you to hear the car more and makes even simple journeys more enjoyable. Don't hesitate and I'm sure the rear wheel, manual, N/A purists will disagree but isnt it great to have variety. Life is too short not to experience a 911 as your own car roof down.
Totally agree. The opportunity to get the roof down and hear that flat six is not something to be missed. 
I had a 997 C4S for 4 years, loved it.
The thing about the chassis being less stiff, I would say is nuanced & of concern to a serious driver, it is offset by being able to whip the top down on a nice day, and hear the engine really well. FOr me this makes the driving experience much more engaging and fun. Works really well with PSE option which sounds superb especially on the first gen 997
The Steve Rance chap above I believe is a pretty serious driver & his comments are worth noting.
The thing about the chassis being less stiff, I would say is nuanced & of concern to a serious driver, it is offset by being able to whip the top down on a nice day, and hear the engine really well. FOr me this makes the driving experience much more engaging and fun. Works really well with PSE option which sounds superb especially on the first gen 997
The Steve Rance chap above I believe is a pretty serious driver & his comments are worth noting.
I had the 991.2 TTS cab on the PEC day. My own daily is a 991.1 TTS coupe. The cab felt rock solid to me, no different to my coupe and still had abilities far in excess of my own.
The only thing I don't like about the cab is there is less visibility (with roof up) which would hinder my progress on the road. That's the reason I wouldn't buy one.
The only thing I don't like about the cab is there is less visibility (with roof up) which would hinder my progress on the road. That's the reason I wouldn't buy one.
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