It’s time to put the top down, fire up the engine, hit the road and enjoy Zuffenhausen’s latest convertible.

When a Porsche rep hands you a nifty monogrammed baseball cap, a set of car keys and a route map at a new model press preview, it can mean only one thing: It's time to put the top down, fire up the engine, hit the road and enjoy Zuffenhausen's latest convertible. In this case it's the 911 Turbo Cabriolet, the ragtop version of Porsche's super-hot, 997-based coupe. How hot? Zero to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds hot! That's for the Tiptronic S-equipped model, and for the third-generation Turbo Cabriolet, which is stiffer, sleeker, faster and more powerful than its soft-top predecessors, the first of which bowed in 1987.

To say that Porsche merely lopped the top off the Turbo coupe would be an oversimplification. There's a bit more to it than that, but most of the reengineering of the bodyshell involved stiffening the chassis so the doors still close and the cowl doesn't shake like a wet dog when the top is down. In a nutshell, the modifications include the use of additional side-sill reinforcements, so-called joint plates where the sills meet the A-pillars, and longitudinal arms that extend fore and aft along the body of the car. Thanks to the use of lightweight, high-strength materials, the Turbo Cabrio weighs just 154 lb. more than its coupe counterpart. Yet its torsional and beam stiffness make it one of the most rigid 2+2's in the world.

As with the 911 Carrera Cabrio, the Turbo Cab's folding soft top weighs just 93 lb. and can be lowered or raised electrically at vehicle speeds up to 31 mph in about 20 seconds. The three-layered top is a snug fit when closed, contributing to the car's 0.31 CD and its 193-mph top speed, both of which are identical to the coupe's. So why doesn't Porsche use a steel folding top like other manufacturers, you ask? Because, says Porsche, a cloth top is lighter, sits lower in the chassis and takes up less room than a metal roof, which enables all Cabrios to retain their 2+2 configuration. By the way, an optional aluminum hardtop may be just the ticket for you snowbelt dwellers.
Aside from these changes — as well as modifications to the bi-plane rear spoiler's lift mechanism (which raises the top wing element an extra 1.2 in.), the substitution of firmer springs to accommodate the increased weight of the convertible top, and minor changes to the interior trim — the Turbo Cab is identical to the Turbo coupe. It shares the twin-turbocharged, 3.6-liter, 480-bhp engine, which shovels out 457 lb.-ft. of torque (501 lb.-ft. when the Sport Chrono Package turbo calibration is invoked); the same driveline where grip, ride, handling and directional stability are controlled by a trio of electro-mechanical devices (Porsche Traction Management, Porsche Active Suspension Management and Porsche Stability Management); the same 13.8-in.-diameter ventilated disc brakes front and rear; and the same 8.5-in.-wide front and 11-in.-wide rear forged alloy wheels (shod with 235/35ZR-19 front and 305/30ZR-19 rear tires).

Two days spent snaking through the picturesque German countryside and blasting down Deutschland's soul-freeing Autobahnen reveal much about the Turbo Cabrio. It's tight, exhibiting no discernible cowl shake. It's tautly sprung, delivering a sports-car rather than a boulevard ride, even in the Normal (not Sport) setting. It behaves like a rear-drive car until the Porsche Traction Management feature (PTM) decides that the front wheels need to share the load. And it hangs on to the road like a pit bull and goes like a greyhound, even with the top down. A pop-up, mesh-covered wind deflector behind the front seats reduces buffeting, but at triple-digit speeds, well, hang on to your hat!

With standard equipment that includes leather upholstery and a navigation system linked to a trip computer and BOSE surround-sound stereo with CD player (Porsche Communication Management), the Turbo Cabriolet is a luxurious ride that is as enjoyable heading for Nordstrom as it is lapping the Nürburgring — in 7 minutes, 52 seconds, just three seconds more than the Turbo coupe, I might add.

Popular options that an enthusiast might want include Tiptronic S, the Sport Chrono Package, adaptive sport seats and Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes, which together tack an extra 15 thou or so onto the Turbo Cabriolet's $136,500 base price. And don't forget $20 for that monogrammed 911 Turbo baseball cap.


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