What's all this about?

Barely have we had time to digest the salient points of the 992 Porsche 911, than the first derivative of said sports car has arrived. This is the 992 Cabriolet, the 'fully open-top' 911 that has been in service since the early 1980s. And no, we haven't forgotten that the Targa arrived in 1967, thank you so very much. We're talking about the 'Cab' specifically here, right?

OK, I believe you. What have we got with the 992 Cab?

The same spruced-up interior as the 911 Coupe, meaning a 10.9-inch screen for the Porsche Communication Management and a mainly digital instrument cluster, only Stuttgart's trademark central analogue rev counter remaining resolutely in a bygone age (but we love the 911 all the more for this idiosyncratic feature). There's also an electrically deployable wind deflector, to keep the car's occupants snug when that fabric roof is down. Talking of which, said hood can raise and lower in just 12 seconds, even on the move at speeds of up to 30mph, while magnesium 'bows' in its structure prevent it from ballooning at high speeds. Which the 992 Cab is eminently capable of.

Oh? How much so?

Two models will be available from launch, these being the £102,755 911 Carrera S Cabriolet and the £108,063 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet. Both employ the twin-turbo, flat-six, 3.0-litre petrol engine in their rumps, which sends power to the driving wheels via an eight-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission. In the case of the S, that power goes to the rear axle alone, while the 4S gets Porsche Traction Management AWD. Thus, the pair of them have 450hp at 6,500rpm and 530Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm to play with, making them brutally quick (considering even-faster Turbo models are all-but inevitable). The RWD S is the faster car outright, recording a 190mph top speed to the 4S's 188mph maximum, but the AWD Cab fights back by being marginally more accelerative: it'll hit 62mph from rest in 3.8 seconds, while the S is a tenth out at 3.9 seconds. Add the optional Sport Chrono Package to either and two-tenths come off their sprints, leaving figures of 3.6 seconds (4S) and 3.7 seconds (S).

Presumably the 4S is less economical and more polluting?

Actually... no. Porsche claims NEDC-correlated eco-stats of 31mpg and 208g/km CO₂ for the Carrera S Cabriolet, compared to 31.3mpg and 207g/km CO₂ for the Carrera 4S Cabriolet.

Anything else to add?

Just a few technical details. All models of 992 Cabriolet have the wider bodywork, even the rear-drive variants, so they're up to 44mm broader than the 991 Cabs they replace. The mounting position for the boxer six makes the 992 Cab stronger in the torsional rigidity department, while it also comes with what Porsche is deeming a 'world-first' Wet Mode. This can detect water on the road surface, whereupon it preconditions the control systems accordingly - before warning its driver, who can then set the car up to focus on safety ahead of performance. Both the 911 Carrera S Cabriolet and the 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet are available to order from Porsche Centres across the UK, as of now.

Matt Robinson - 23 Jan 2019