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What is it?

This is the open-top version of the latest all-wheel-drive 911, and it’s also a chance to try the revised 997 in entry-level form with the 3.6-litre engine and a conventional manual gearbox rather than the new double-clutch PDK unit.

Don’t scoff at the thought, either. Choice of gearbox aside, this is just about the best-selling of all 911 variants, and Porsche has proved in the past that it can do open-top cars that don’t wobble and shake (much).

It m...Read the full article

 Nice review. It's good to see Porsche sticking with a proper soft-top, though with the arrival of the Ferrari California I wonder how long it will be before they find a way of packaging a folding hard top onto the 911.

 As to the windblocker if Mr. Muir had looked in the boot he would have found a bag containing an easy to assemble little construction that would comfortably have protected him from the howling gale.
 

 Autocar should have tested the current 911 Turbo vs the last. They would have found its simpler 4WD system quite a bit better. This new new new 911 will still not handle as well as an old C4S or Turbo as Porsche have not cracked how to do electronic 4WD like Nissan have. But politics is politics- there should be unbiased testing with cars.

Le Chef:

 Nice review. It's good to see Porsche sticking with a proper soft-top, though with the arrival of the Ferrari California I wonder how long it will be before they find a way of packaging a folding hard top onto the 911.

 

 I'd love to see them try to package a folding hard-top (maybe have it fold into the front boot, since Porsche like to do things the wrong way round with the 911 :-)  The 911 cabrio suffers from fat-a*se syndrome even with a rag top, and the white of the test car makes the modern 911's styling issues even more obvious.  Can't help thinking it's time for Porsche to stop living in the past and give the 911 a fresh design.

 Mind you, the Ferrari California is pig-ugly too and much more expensive, so there's no rush!

If you don't like the design of the 911 buy something else. One of the reasons for its success is that the design changes are evolutionary. This is quite different from BMW where the changes seem arbitrary from one generation M3 to another - a Japanese school of design principles - rather than understanding its strengths and building upon them. What next: someone asking for a mid-engined 911???