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Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet (991.2)
The GTS 4 Cabriolet reminds us how awesome Porsche cars are. This is a 911 that can be used as a regular car, an all weather convertible 911 that does everything really well. And when you want to push hard, the car transforms into a true sports car, a car that no enthusiast will ever complain about. Drop-top 911s have always played a supporting role to the fixed roof versions, but in GTS specification the Cabriolet is now better than ever.
Röhrl and Geistdörfer very nearly won that San Remo Rally, after a comeback that would have been one for the ages. Röhrl and Geistdörfer were up against a field of faster, more powerful four-wheel-drive cars in their rear-wheel-drive Porsche 911 SC, and somehow managed to pull within an eyelash of victory. Unfortunately, a broken driveshaft forced the pair to retire, leaving Michele Mouton's Audi Quattro to run away with the race.
The 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo is a technological extravaganza. Adaptive aerodynamics, four-wheel steering, torque vectoring, active four-wheel drive, adaptive dampers, launch control, twin-clutch automatic gearbox – you get the picture. This is the first time we've had a chance to sample all of this on British roads. Two versions are available; both are powered by an uprated version of the previous 911 Turbo's 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six engine. The new 911 Turbo has even more power and more electronic systems. It is still a straight-line monster that will blow you away in terms of the sheer might of that engine and traction.
This was the fourth version of the 991 RSR - the first two came with the rear engine, then the first mid-engine version was launched (all 4.0-litre) and finally the mid-engined RSR 4.2 with the largest 911 engine ever made. The increase in the engine capacity is a question mark as on production models the capacities are decreased and turbochargers are used. The 991 RSR 4.2 didn't have anything in common with the production cars anymore. No change in terms of power-to-weight ratio.
The 993 Carrera RS Clubsport, 213 of which were built to meet the FIA GT2 homologation requirements, is a race-ready, although street legal variant of the 993 Carrera RS, not to be confused with the track only 993 Carrera Cup RSR. Emphasizing its competition credentials, the 993 Carrera RS Clubsport came with a welded-in roll cage as standard, considerably increasing its rigidity, racing bucket seats, six-point safety harnesses, battery isolator switch, fire extinguisher, and a huge fixed rear wing, the latter also available on the 'base model' Carrera RS.
More aggressive looks, significant extra power, and highly desirable options. This is the perfect all-round 911. In manual, there is nothing that feels as complete. Some of the technical ingredients that generate even more driving dynamics and driving fun: 430 hp (316 kW) power, the Sport Chrono package and the PASM active damper system which lowers the car's ride height by ten millimetres. The extra punch of the 430-hp engine pushes the 911 Carrera GTS coupe up to 190 mph in rear-wheel-drive/manual-transmission configuration, 2 mph higher than the 400-hp Carrera S.
All Porsche 911s are turbocharged these days but the Turbo model is something special. It gets the twin-turbo 3.7-liter flat six with tons of power and a huge $33,000 savings over the Turbo S. Thanks to an output of 573 hp, marking an increase of 32 hp over the predecessor, the new 911 Turbo Cabriolet accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds (0.2 seconds faster than before). The Turbo Cabriolet basically handles like a coupe.