Is it just me or are C4's predominantly cabs?

I can't help but notice that, at least in North America, it seems the majority of 996 C4's posted for sale are cabriolets, and finding a c4 coupe (6mt) is very difficult. I'm not sure why this is, as the build numbers suggest that there were more c4 coupe than there were cabs (at least '99 - '01). However I imagine that was global - and perhaps in NA cabs were more dominant? It seems strange to me, as the reason (in my mind) for a c4 is all-weather driving - which means winter - which means coupe. If I live somewhere sunny year-round and want to enjoy a cab, I would get a C2. The market suggests that my logic is flawed, so I must be the odd man out here? Interested in hearing the thoughts of 996 owners on this topic.

Maybe people with coupes hold on longer? The market has been hot so I would imagine a lot of the nice coupes have sold over the last year so now we are seeing a lot of the less desirable stuff. There are a few years it looks like they made more cabs for whatever reason. On the plus side cabs tend to be a little cheaper and are still a blast to drive. I enjoy mine, although its not a 4.

Maybe there�s actually something to the idea that a fully mechanical AWD system is actually a good thing and that most people who have them actually like the way the car handles at high speeds (as the system was designed) as opposed to taking it out to save 80 lbs and make it easier to spin the rear wheels�

Majority of porsches sold in the US are cabs As far as the Cab/C4 combo you have to think of who the buyer is for an awd convertible porsche. Someone that doesn't necessarily care about outright performance. They want something enjoyable for the sunny days and don't want to be bothered with that pesky rear engine rear wheel drive handling.

Having extra weight up front probably balances out the extra weight from the top hardware in the back. That�s my theory anyways.

I purchased a C4 coupe with manual transmission two weeks ago here in Georgia . So they are out there .

Not applicable to the 99-01s, but starting in 02 you could only get a C4 coupe as a C4S. They didn't offer the narrow body C4 coupe in the US. You could get still get a C4 Cab after 02 even after the C4S Cab came out in 03.

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Oh boy, a new �rare� Porsche! Let�s start a new thread: What makes the �99 - �02 C4 Coupe so special?

i think they did this with the 997 targa as well. I've seen very few 997.2 Targa 4 and very many 997.2 Targa 4S.

We have a 99 C4 coupe, but its a Tip car and we are in Europe, so the reasoning may vary. For us, it wasn’t that we were searching for a C4 per se, just that this is the car we found and liked as a 996 in general. The high speed handling is excellent. I have not driven a C2, so no comparison, but can’t imagine being more pleased.

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Interesting responses! Many that I didn't anticipate... I was thinking along the same lines, but it seems there are a decent number of C2 coupes for sale, while the C4's are all cabs (particularly in Canada). Which tells me it isn't necessarily that the coupes are being held onto in this hypothetical, but specifically C4 coupes. If I were in the market for a cab, it would be a C2. Reason I'm interested in a C4 coupe is a) i like coupes and b) I live in the great white north and plan to thrash that thing through snowy winter roads on a daily basis. Interesting, and a new point of view to me - most people I have spoken to when shopping for a sports car particularly look for rwd vehicles, and within that category the dynamics of the 911 give it incredible traction with the rear-biased weight (compare it to say, an m3 which is only happy when sliding the rear around... another kind of fun). So I am genuinely intrigued by your response. Also interesting is your comment regarding stability at speed... i've driven my '86 at 150mph+ and never felt it uneasy at speed, maybe the 996 is different and is a bit more "sketchy"? Is this a big selling point of the C4 for people - stability at high speed? Digressing from awd vs rwd discussion, as that wasn't the point of the thread (i'm interested in a c4) - why particularly c4 cabs for sale and not c4 coupes? This makes sense, so then given the production numbers, we are saying that most C4 coupes ended up elsewhere globally while north america got mostly cabs? These numbers must be out there... I'll do some digging. ...devil's advocate asks "then why are they shopping for a 911"? so the dynamics of a c4 are superior to that of a c2? hmmm Congrats! You didn't snag that beautiful blue on black one that was sold on Rlist marketplace did you? So why a C4 coupe and not a C2 coupe, if I may poke that bear? Didn't know this, thanks for noting! I'm all for a C4S coupe... but for some reason the narrow body cars call to me... maybe it goes back to the poster on my bedroom wall as a teenager

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What he said. 👍

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As is said...Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

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That's probably it.

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ok... i meant the other poster

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Funny how we had the same two posters. Farrah�s nipples. 🎤 drop.

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my preseumption would be that a C4 cab would have a more similar weight distribution to a C2 couple compared to that of a C2 cab. I drove a 997 C4 cab and thought that the front was very planted in comparison to a C2 coupe which can feel light in the front when accelerating through turns.

I wasn't specifically looking for a C4 . But this one came up for sale and was reasonably priced due to the dead engine . We have a lot of great mountain roads here and the thought of the C4 intrigued me . Building the 3.8 will make it that much better . Pulled the engine out today and it completely disassembled . Now the fun begins 😁

Always thought that cabs were the closest definition of a sports car...a tradition dating back to 1914 Vauxhall Sports Torpedo

� Interesting, and a new point of view to me - most people I have spoken to when shopping for a sports car particularly look for rwd vehicles, and within that category the dynamics of the 911 give it incredible traction with the rear-biased weight (compare it to say, an m3 which is only happy when sliding the rear around... another kind of fun). So I am genuinely intrigued by your response. Also interesting is your comment regarding stability at speed... i've driven my '86 at 150mph+ and never felt it uneasy at speed, maybe the 996 is different and is a bit more "sketchy"? Is this a big selling point of the C4 for people - stability at high speed?� I think you need to do some reading on the design goals & characteristics/dynamics of the 2 systems (2wd / awd). I�m not talking about opinions on forums - find the real stuff - there�s plenty out there� As for the 996 being more �sketchy� at 150mph than a �86 911 - 🤔 doubtful�unless there�s something wrong with the 996 (which in its stock form performs better than all previous generations - this is a fact, not a subjective �I think�). � the dynamics of the 911 give it incredible traction with the rear-biased weight� ^^^ Until you lift off the gas pedal in a turn and the engine decides to pass the front wheels�😉

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Oh boy, let's not get into a "which generation is best" debate - a rabbit hole we don't need to go down! Was certainly not the point of this thread. My point was simply that if a 911 isn't sketchy at speed, and as you infer, a 996 is superior in high-speed stability to the 911, then it follows that the 996 would not be sketchy at speed, and thus the awd system isn't really needed to "correct" that non-issue. It is clear you feel the C4 a superior car dynamically than the C2. That also wasn't the point of the thread but a discussion I find interesting. My reason for wanting a C4 is for performance in snowy winters as it would be my year-round daily. If I wanted a strictly summer car or a canyon carver, a C2 offers the dynamics that I personally prefer - lift off oversteer and all! But I already have that in my 911 - the absolute riot that it is! What do you use your car for? Daily? Track? Weekend "spirited" runs? You can obviously tell from my pic/sig that I spend more time at racetracks than I do on the street - so my personal preferences in that space reflect what I value in a car for that particular driving style. That said, our other vehicles are all awd, for everyday all-weather use. Both systems have their purpose, and their benefits. Edit: I've been browsing old 996 forum threads and it seems I failed to understand the touchiness of the c2 vs c4 subject around here! Apologies, really didn't mean for this to go that way... but it's been fun regardless. Both cars are wonderful, each has their positives and negatives. To each their own, that we enjoy our cars is all that matters in the end.

So back to the topic at hand - does anyone have North American sales for 996 by model? I've found global production numbers by model, but not North America specific.

Not �touchy� at all, and no apologies necessary!😃 Just trying to straighten out some common misconceptions. What I was getting at, is that the awd system in the 996 was really aimed at high speed and wet/slippery driving conditions. It will do nothing in snow from a standstill (unlike 4wd and/or some of the more modern electronic awd systems available now)� Way too much to cover here but all the info is out there and available.

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Understood - I am learning something new here - didn't realize the 996 used a VC to transfer torque to the front wheels as opposed to a mechanical (ie gear-oriented/differential) system like the quattro system. From my brief reading, I now see where your points are coming from - the system wasn't designed for "winter/ice" 4-wheel traction, it was designed as a crutch to the rest of the car in sporty driving transferring from 5 to 40% to the front wheels when the VC kicks in. Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree with a dream of a C4 as a winter driver... edit: looks like the C4 finally got PTM in the 997.2, using electronically-controlled multi-plate clutches like in the Cayenne. 997.1 turbo got it a bit earlier in '06.

I remember I read that the 'ring time of a C4 is better than a C2 simply because it has better traction. Whether that makes it more fun to drive is another question...

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It's actually the other way around - if you're talking 996 C2 vs 996 C4 - I think ~5-6s difference (8:17 vs 8:23 or something iirc). Which let's be honest is pretty minimal (like 1% faster) and in the hands of a pro. One could argue that in the hands of the average driver, the results could be quite different with the C4 gaining an edge due to ease of handling at high speed (per dporto's comments that I'm now coming around to understanding!) making the average person more able to extract that performance. The C4 S posted better than the C2, but it has better suspension, brakes, and more power, aside from the awd system. This based on the highly official "wiki" page for ring times

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No I'm just saying historically the US market is Cab heavy because it has a porsche badge on it No.. just, no

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I can assure you that you can get lift-off oversteer in an AWD 996 even running sticky race tires.

Shouldn't be lifting mid corner anyway... That's just the cars way of politely reminding you.

Using the throttle to tighten the corner is a classic way to maximize the value of the rear weight bias. Just don't do it too much.

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​​​​​​Unless there are mitigating circumstances, any time there is a correction that has to be made mid-corner, that means the entry could be improved upon.

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I agree with this sentiment. The Porsche 911 Cabriolet, or, "Porsh Convertible" is a status symbol among non-car people in the USA (likely everywhere.) It's like the next level of "having a Rolex."

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I think the C4S is where my memory comes from. I stand corrected!

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25 HP!

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Absolutely spot on ....the sheer number of these non-car people is staggering...every marque from Ferrari, Aston Martin McLaren etal , offer a "rag top" to these status seekers...same with aftermarket wings on vehicles stagging at the Starbucks paddock.

So when I originally bought my 56 356 Cab and the old beat-up speedster back in the day and purchased a 996 Cab....I did so because of status or is it a theory of value?

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Tough trying to explain to people "No, I'm just really into 911s and Submariners"

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No one implied that all people who buy convertibles do so because they think it's a status symbol. Plenty of enthusiasts like convertibles. But the overwhelming majority of people who buy cars like Porsches, Ferraris, etc. (especially new) don't do it because they love they marque and have a deep appreciation for cars.

Yeah I am also not trying to imply that cabriolet buyers are exclusively seeking status. I think the reason why cabriolets are popular as status symbols is they tend to cost a bit more than their coupe counterparts so when you ask for "the most expensive one" that's the one you get. I recall an anecdotal story I heard from a Mercedes salesman who said he had someone return a S63 AMG on day one because it was "loud and rode like crap and was supposed to be a luxury car." And the salesman simply replied "I'm sorry sir, you had asked for the most expensive model, and this is the most expensive model - the sport model." That's the way it be sometimes...