GTS coupé has lost its roof but how much of its world-class dynamics?
Not often, in the realm of full Autocar road tests, do we focus our attention on the convertible version of a performance car. On the weighbridge these derivatives are invariably heavier, against the clock they are guaranteed to be slower and in subjective handling terms they will almost always be less rewarding.In short, it’s better to test the coupé if you want to know what a car is really capable of. This explains why it has been 12 years since we last tested a convertible Porsche 911, and even that is stretching the reality of the matter, because that 2014-model-year test car was not even a Cabriolet but a Targa.So why now focus our attention on the new 911 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet? First, the popular Cabriolet makes up a significant proportion of annual 911 sales worldwide, so it demands attention from, ahem, a public interest standpoint. Also, we have yet to affix our VBox telemetry gear to any four-wheel-drive variant of the eighth-generation 911, which is another oversight given the popularity of the format in the UK.Third, we are curious to see what the humble 911 Carrera is like when shorn of its roof and taken to extremes of performance and grip. Convertible 911s today are not like those of the 1980s and 1990s, and the compromises made in comparison to the coupé have shrunk over the years. Is it now the case that you can buy the 911 Cabriolet safe in the knowledge that there are no discernible dynamic drawbacks when you want to enjoy a great stretch of road? Even if that car has comfortably more than 500bhp and also the traction to deploy it?
