On the day of its test, last year’s rear-drive Carrera GTS coupé weighed 1607kg on our scales, with a power-to-weight ratio of 332bhp per tonne. In this 4WD cabriolet, that figure is reduced to 303bhp per tonne as tested, though this hardly mattered in the explosive context of the car’s standing starts. The convertible hit 60mph from rest in 2.9sec – just one tenth behind its lighter, rear-driven coupé counterpart.
You might be wondering how, with the benefit of front-axle traction, the 4 GTS Cabriolet wasn’t in fact quicker than the coupé, even with its weight disadvantage. Ambient temperature plays a part, for sure: 3deg C was cooler than the 8deg C on the day of the coupé’s test. The 4WD car was also more consistent, rattling off sub-3.0sec times back to back. The coupé’s sensational 2.8sec effort was more of an outlier, the rear axle hooking up beautifully on that run. Lastly, an as-tested weight delta of 163kg certainly isn’t nothing, being about two passengers’ worth.
From there, the Cabriolet ran a 11.0sec quarter mile, versus 11.6sec for the Mercedes-AMG SL 63, which makes it quicker than the Carrera GT we tested in 2004. And the GTS Cabriolet has far better wind insulation than the famous V10 supercar of the 2000s ever did. Nor could you dependably (safely, even) unleash the Carrera GT’s potential on its Michelins below 8deg C, according to the factory.
So the Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet is supercar-fast. More subjectively, this T-Hybrid powertrain, where a 1.9kWh 400V battery behind the frunk spools the car’s single turbocharger, as well as powering a slim drive motor inside the gearbox, remains good fun to interact with.
Aided by its e-turbo, the gruff new 3.6 (slightly less gruff than it was in the first year of production, Porsche having dialled down the muscle car synthetic enhancements) picks up with real alacrity and builds force in naturally aspirated fashion. The electric element is in effect indiscernible, which has in the past led us to wonder what the real benefit of it is. But if it allows for a more vocal engine, heightens responsiveness by 5% and paves the way for the equally subtle future hybrid integration in the 911, we have no complaints.
Meanwhile, the Carrera 4 GTS stops predictably well, if not with quite the same haste as the rear-wheel-drive coupé. Its 41.8m distance from 70mph beats the Aston Martin Vantage coupé.
