Cabrio: Fun vs. BoxsterBalance vs. TurboSpeed

Feb. 2003 Excellence -- excerpts: People's Choice by Pete Stout "Strap in, twist the key, notch the shifter into first, and head down the pits at Sears Point Raceway in Porsche�s 911 Cabriolet and you�re in for a rush. Sure, we would have picked the Carrera coupe to attack this challenging, technical circuit, but the only Carrera that Porsche Cars North America decided to bring for our full-model-line test today was a six-speed 911 Cabriolet. The surprise comes when we lean into the first few corners. Spending time behind the wheel of a Boxster and Boxster S first, we expected the open-top Carrera to feel much the same, but with more power. After all, it shares its front-end architecture, suspension, and steering with the mid-engined, entry-level Porsche. And, after several years of testing virtually every combination of both the Boxster and the 911, we�ve gotten used to a certain familiarity. Any such illusion is over after we complete our first lap. If Porsche wants us to see the dynamic differences between its two sports cars, it could not have chosen a better way to do so than by picking a 911 Cabrio for today. With the top stowed and all of the electronic motors required to get it there, this Carrera puts about as much weight behind rear axel as possible. That weight manifests itself at every turn. It�s still nowhere near the fun of minding a 911 of old, but then it doesn�t threaten to bite back, either. If anything, this Carrera�s trace of tail-happiness endows it with a willingness to change direction the Boxsters didn�t have. That gives it just the slightest hint of nervousness�something we�ve never noticed before. But then, the chance to wring out the 986 and 996 back-to-back on a highly technical track like Sears doesn�t present itself everyday, either. And we�re finding we like the feeling of all that weight back there. If the Boxster is an incredibly capable machine that lets you focus on the proper line and learning the track without worrying about much else, this Carrera Cabrio keeps you entertained by giving you something to mind � its tail. And lively handling is the result. The strangest realization of the day? That we prefer the C2 Cab for track work to all of the other Porsches PCNA brought, which include the Boxster, Boxster S, and 911 Turbo Tiptronic. Sure the Boxsters and Turbo are, respectively, better balanced and far, far faster, but it�s the Carrera that ends up as the most fun to punt around the track, carrying big speed into the turns, brushing it off with a gentle application of the powerful brakes and then turning in, only to feel the rear end�s momentum tug at the front end�s input. That makes sense as the Boxster carries closer to 50 percent � 54 percent to be exact � of its weight over the rear wheels. The ever-powerful Turbo uses all-wheel-drive and PSM to erase any sense of rear weight bias. All of that left us wishing for a stripped Carrera coupe to use on track, taking advantage of its stiffer shell and more focused nature as a driver�s car to pound the pavement into submission. That the 911 coupe is better for hard driving is a foregone conclusion, but the Cabrio outsells it year in and year out � and has done so for decades. Why? [discusses specs & prices�noting that coupe & cab have the same top speed] The Answer Is In The Driving Spending a week with Porsche�s latest version of the Carrera Cabriolet does a better job of uncovering what, exactly, causes buyers to flock to the open-top 911. Two days after a late-night dash down a dark freeway, covering 250 miles in just three and a half hours, the answer becomes clear as we head back along California�s rugged coastline from San Luis Obispo to Monterey. In addition to the added cachet and driving fun of a convertible, the current Cabriolet doesn�t give up much to the coupe in terms of comfort or performance. �.With the wind in your hair and a flat six belting its soundtrack across rock walls as you race from one corner to the next, it�s hard to argue that a coupe would be more fun. Faster and more focused, yes. But more fun is harder to define and most drivers will never come close to pushing a 911 hard enough to appreciate any edge the coupe might offer. �.All of this competence begins to sink in after a while. While hard-core driving enthusiasts should still look no further than the coupe, the Cabriolet is a hard proposition to argue with. It holds strong resale values, offers all the coupe�s amenities with most of its performance, and adds the magic dimension that only a convertible can.