Variety: Thy name is 911
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.
It's all in the badge
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 versions 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.
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.
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| The latest 997 911 still retains traditional Porsche values. |
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.
It's all in the badge
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 versions 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.
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| The 911's rear seats are better suited for a day bag or groceries. |