2006 Porsche 911 - Page 1 Review

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Shopping for a 2006 Porsche 911? MSRP: $71,300 - $99,911

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Porsche always takes care to plan the launch of a new 911 in stages. First you get the coupe, then the convertibles. Later, the all-wheel-drive editions follow. And then, before the Turbo appears, the all-wheel-drive convertibles drop their tops. Just recently—and according to Porsche’s time-honored planning—we drove the convertible versions of the Carrera 4 and 4S inGermany.

Since the launch of the first 911 Cabriolet in 1982, Porsche has sold more than 130,000 convertible 911s. The new open version of the 911 Carrera 4/4S will not slow that sales success. Porsche says its order book for the new 911 Cabrio is full – and the all-wheel-drive version will only bring more interest.

Flat out

Both the 4 and 4S versions are equipped with the well-known Porsche boxer six engines. The Carrera 4 gets the 325-hp, 3.6-liter flat six, while the 4S ups the ante to 355 hp with the 3.8-liter six. The 3.6 has maximum torque of 273 lb-ft at 4250 rpm, while the 3.8 has 295 lb-ft of torque at 3600 rpm.

Given the numbers, the Carrera 4 Cabrio’s numbers are exceedingly quick. It accelerates to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, while the 4S takes only 4.7 seconds to hit the same mark. Top speeds are for both versions the same as with the Coupe—174 mph and 179 mph, respectively.

Porsche has been able to keep downforce optimal for all versions, so the drag coefficient of the soft-top versions is the same as of the coupe: 0.30 for the Carrera 4 and 0.29 for the Carrera S4 (the latter, because the suspension has been lowered 0.4 inches). The soft top has no affect on drag, they say, because the roofline has been slighty changed to have a more vertical connection to the rear of the body, which is 1.6 inches wider than the coupe. For the best possible airflow, the rear spoiler moves up 0.8 inches at 75 mph and moves down again below 50 mph.