May 23, 2007 - Forty-four years ago, when the first Porsche 911 went on sale, customers were limited in choice to a solitary model. A single, rear-wheel-drive, 2+2 hardtop body style with a 2.0-litre flat-six cylinder engine hooked up to a five-speed manual transmission. That’s it.

By 1967, the 911 Targa, with its removable roof panel, was introduced; followed by an S model with more horsepower. As we now know, that was only the beginning. Today, the 911 product matrix is deeper and longer than the Grand Canyon.



Between the base $100,700 911 Carrera and the range-topping $171,200 911 GT3 RS, you can order up two sizes of flat-six mills with four different power outputs, manual or Tiptronic automatic transmissions; power to only the rear or to all four wheels; hardtops, sliding-roof Targas or full cloth convertibles; and, just for fun, two track day models that are only a vinyl number away from being able to take a checkered flag.

About the only 911 iteration missing is a wagon. Oh, right, there’s the Cayenne…

Anyway, unlike 1964, you just can’t walk into a Porsche dealer today and say, “I’ll take one in red.” One look at all the numbers and letters that make up the model name of this 2007 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet test car is all you need for proof.



The “4” tells us this is an AWD version of the Carrera, and adds $8,000 to the base price. All Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S have 44-mm-wider rear fender flares, which, in the case of the test car, cover 235/35 ZR 19 front and 305/30 ZR 19 rear rubber.

Now add the “S” and the regular strength 3.6-litre 325 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque six receives increases of 0.2L in displacement, 30 hp and 22 lb-ft. respectively. The price gets boosted another $14,800 as well.

Finally, replace the +2 rear seats with a fully powered cloth top and the final base price of the 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet’s MSRP rounds out to $136,900.

If you think all of these relatively new-fangled accoutrements kill the traditional 911 character that started way back with that much simpler 1964 original, you would be wrong. All the plusses and minuses that make a 911, well, a 911, are all accounted for here in the Carrera 4S Cabriolet.



For instance, even without a gazillion adjustments, the standard 911 front buckets deliver both comfort and support, even in the type of spirited driving the car encourages.

As always, the driver’s instrumentation is clear, with the digital speedometer underneath the big tach becoming second nature. The test car’s six-speed manual’s gear selector has just the right balance between accuracy and a solid, mechanical feel. And like most 911s in the past few years, the whole interior feels like it was crafted by hand instead of extruded from some machine.

With the top up, it’s fairly quiet inside the 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet’s cockpit. Most of the wind noise seems to come from the outer moldings at the C-pillar. Of course, with the top down, things are different.



Because of the shallow side glass, there’s a fair bit of wind that intrudes. And it only gets worse the faster you drive. If you don’t want your hair mussed, Porsche still offers the coupe and Targa 911.

Top up or down, the 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet’s suspension and steering are sports car sublime.

Despite the Rodeo Drive image any 911 Cabriolet may have, it still delivers the intimate road feel that only a true sports car can. And that extra “S” on the trunk lid takes care of any performance anxieties with an under five-second 0-100 km/h run.



Just like other contemporary 911s, the 4S Cabriolet turns in quickly, with a near flat cornering attitude. Porsche Stability Management comes standard; combined with the AWD you have to be doing something really silly (re: stupid) to get the car out of shape. The feedback from the tiller is very exact. All of that rubber means there’s tons of grip, and with power to all four wheels, one can get on the throttle earlier when exiting corners without the threat of too much oversteer.

Admittedly, there are more serious driver’s cars in the 911 lineup such as the Carrera S that’s a perennial Straight-Goods pick. But the 2007 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet offers a rare combination of wind-in-your-motoring, that fabulous sounding flat-six, and all awe-inspiring handling that comes standard in any new 911 and little reason to park it in the winter.

- John LeBlanc, Publisher, www.straight-six.com



Just the facts...
Build quality
Features 
Performance
Fun-to-drive
Overall value

Type of vehicle All-wheel-drive sports car
Engine 3.8L DOHC flat-six
Power 355 hp @ 6,600 rpm; 295 lb-ft of torque @ 4,600 rpm
Transmission Six-speed manual
Tires P235/30ZR19 (front), P305/30ZR19 (rear)
Brakes Four-wheel disc with ABS
Base price /$136,900