Anyone who drives a convertible is conspicuous in traffic, enjoys the wind and the open sky above them and simply enjoys driving. Why else should you buy a car that is usually impractical and louder than a conventional one and that takes you from A to B in a good mood: Although a detour can be taken on the way. It often leads over country roads, because highways for open cars are rather unspectacular, especially since you can hear the noise of the trucks fairly unfiltered when they are standing next to you in a traffic jam. A car for the country road and the boulevard.
That one is exactly for it Porsche 911 Cabrio takes, illuminates, after all, the open Zuffenhausen sports car is considered a classic with not a little prestige in that you can, more or less discreetly, show what you have. Why you should take a 911 Turbo Cabrio is not immediately clear. 383 kW / 520 hp do not seem necessary for the open driving fun, especially since the 350 horses of a base XNUMX on country roads need a tight rein.
We nevertheless took on the challenge of the supposedly silly combination and subjected the everyday convertible to the convertible, which costs € 177.882 without extras. The Coupé des Turbos is regarded as a super fast comfort XNUMX because it is quieter than the vacuum cleaner and also offers such high reserves of power that you can confidently accept any kind of traffic obstacle on long journeys and then make it disappear with a little kick in the rear-view mirror. In principle, this also applies to the convertible, only that it is not quite as quiet when the roof is closed and therefore loses a bit of comfort on long journeys.
However, as already mentioned, convertibles are not purchased for closed long motorway stages and the many horsepower wasted in front of the ice cream parlor. So why the turbo when the normal XNUMX is already making an impression?
To make it short. This can only be understood by those who sit in the frenzied Luftikus and use the playful class with which one sniffs roads, hairpin bends, inclines, hairpin bends and then ejects them at the back. Tractors, trucks, and any kind of other means of transport that take the same route at short notice are left on the right in fractions of a second. In fact, when overtaking in a turbo convertible, you are usually reissued when you are considering other, weaker motorized cars as to whether the space could be enough and then leave it for safety's sake - overtaking. You can also stroll calmly at 90 km / h along federal roads along river valleys, enjoying the area. The electrically extendable wind deflector keeps unnecessary drafts away and keeps the passenger's hair in check. Mark Knopfler bubbles out of the optional Burmester sound system. Nice.
The smelly tractor in front is history three bars later. The turbo had accelerated and decelerated from 90 to 160 for a short time without the double clutch transmission having to be active, we actually only moved the big toe of the right foot, very relaxed. Great cinema in terms of confident power delivery.
It is even faster if you use the Sport Chrono Package and switch the car from Comfort to Sport plus. With the sovereign, because relaxed development of power, it is over. The wild animal that has to live in the back of the engine room turns out to be a beast and it doesn't just want to play. In this state, the convertible reacts even faster and demands the same from the driver. This can be exhausting and is not necessary even on public country roads, where you only have to hold a corner of your driver's license anyway, if you move the turbo even to a certain extent according to performance.
So back to normal mode and in between a look at the on-board computer. After a 11,5-kilometer tour, it shows 200 liters with several fast passages on country roads. It was a minimum of 7,5, on the freeway, when trying unsuccessfully to find enough free space to reach the top speed of 315 km / h, 13 liters of Super Plus flowed through the injection nozzles. At a normal, regular pace, we stayed under 10 liters. This is certainly not a criterion for the buyer of a sports car that easily costs 200.000 euros with extras, but it is good for the environmental conscience.
So why should you buy a 520 PS convertible now? If you can because you can and it's a lot of fun. You have to have experienced it.
Author: Günter Weigel / SP-X