Ordinarily speaking, cutting the roof off a sports car is a very bad idea. For one thing, the formerly stiff chassis is now as floppy as an old shoe. For another, there’s now nothing between you and all the rain and the wasps and whatnot.
The counterpoint to this argument has long been the Porsche 911 Cabriolet. There are more exotic fast convertibles out there, but the 911 is notable for its everyday usability. In cabriolet format, it’s an exhilarating drive that lets you bask in the sunshine. Further, while sporty cars often brag about low zero-to-100-km/h times, the current 911 cabriolet’s ability to raise or lower its roof in just twelve seconds is the kind of performance owners will appreciate.
It’s also now so close in chassis stiffness to the coupe version that any differences in handling might only be noticed on a racetrack. There are all sorts of flavours of 911 cabriolet to be had, from the perfectly lovely base model; to the bonkers-fast Turbo version. Porsche doesn’t break apart 911 sales numbers into coupes and convertibles, but the scuttlebutt is that overall, the droptop 911 might actually outsell its fixed-roof stablemate.
Strange, then, that the 911 cabriolet very nearly didn’t happen. And that, technically speaking, it would take until the early 1980s to show up in a recognizable form.
A lineup of Porsche 911 Cabriolets Photo by Porsche
Vandals and the first Porsche
No discussion of the history of Porsche convertibles would be complete without referencing the ür-Porsche that is the Type 64. Two of these – maybe three, there’s some disagreement – were built in 1938 for a race to be held between Berlin and Rome. That race was never held because of, well, the Second World War.
After the war, some American servicemen came across this odd-looking German race car sitting in storage and decided it would make a decent runabout, if only it didn’t have such a cramped cabin. So they hacked the roof off and drove it around until the engine exploded.
An early Porsche 911 Targa Photo by Porsche
This American taste for top-down, foot-to-the-floor motoring would further influence Porsche when the company built the stripped-down Speedster. However, the 911 was conceived of as a coupe first, with no concrete plans for a convertible. Clearly, though, if this new car was to be a global success, some sort of version would be needed with a removable roof.
So Porsche’s engineers did exactly what those merry G.I.s had done and just cut the roof off a prototype Porsche. Technically the result wasn’t the first 911 cabriolet, because the car wasn’t even technically a Porsche 911. Initially, Porsche intended to market its then-new car as the Porsche 901, but French automaker Peugeot waded in with a trademark claim to all number-zero-number model names. Thus, production cars received 911 badges, and we all received a piece of tedious automotive trivia with which you can bore people at the next local cars and coffee.
Porsche’s 50th Anniversary restoration of a 1972 911 Targa
Targa: Italian for “plate,” German for “almost a convertible”
The problem with that prototype Porsche 901 convertible is that it was not really a convertible at all. It had been cut open, but lacked a folding soft roof to button it up again when the elements were uncooperative (e.g. rain and wasps).
Further, and perhaps more worryingly, there were rumours from across the Atlantic that the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was considering banning convertibles entirely. The rumour was wrong – it was based on incoming rollover requirements that were pushed forward – but Porsche came up with a clever solution nonetheless.
That solution was a roof that came off but left a roll bar behind. The front section of the roof could be lifted off, and the rear windscreen was folding vinyl. There was also a fixed-rear-window version, which ended up being the longer-lasting idea.
This model was named for the Targa Florio, a storied and dangerous Sicilian mountain race where Porsche had won many victories. Founded by racer Vincenzo Florio, the name of the race might as well be “The Florio Trophy.”
While the NHTSA threat never panned out, the Targa was a very popular model for Porsche, spawning a line of models that continue today, and “Targa” became a shorthand for any convertible where the middle section of the roof is removable. Mazda calls its MX-5 RF a “retractable fastback,” but really it’s a sort of Miata Targa.
A 1982 Porsche 911 Cabriolet Photo by Porsche
Air-cooled engine, air-cooled driver
Porschephiles will often wax lyrical about the character of one of the marque’s early air-cooled engines, and how the modern versions don’t really measure up. Regrettably, such snobbery is probably correct: today’s Porsches are much faster and better composed, but there’s something about the experience of driving an air-cooled 911 cabriolet that’s hard to match.
Not only are you out in the elements, clipping along in the sunshine, but the turbine whirr of that flat-six engine is now sitting in the cockpit with you. Later 911 cabriolets saw Porsche developing ways to tone down the wind buffeting, but part of the fun of scooting about in a 911 cabriolet is arriving looking as if you’ve just had a fight with a gang of rogue hairdryers.
A 2021 Porsche 911 Cabriolet Photo by Brendan McAleer
A 2021 Porsche 911 Cabriolet Photo by Brendan McAleer
A 2021 Porsche 911 Cabriolet Photo by Brendan McAleer
There’s a famous story in Porsche circles about how 911 production was intended to end in the ’80s, with the front-engined 928 taking over. Then-CEO Peter Shutz noticed a chart on the wall showing a bar graph noting the 911 line stopping in 1981 while the 928 and 944 continued onwards; he picked up a marker and extended the 911 line right off the page.
The net result was to breathe new life into the 911 range at the beginning of the 1980s, and that included a proper cabriolet. It sold well, and also appealed to a different sort of Porsche owner, one likely to choose a 911 as an alternative to something like a Mercedes-Benz SL. Towards the end of the 1980s, Porsche offered its four-speed Tiptronic gearbox in the thing.
1991 Porsche 911 cabriolet Photo by Brendan McAleer
1991 Porsche 911 cabriolet Photo by Brendan McAleer
1991 Porsche 911 cabriolet Photo by Brendan McAleer
A 1991 Porsche 911 cabriolet (in purple, no less) with an automatic gearbox is basically the polar opposite of how an enthusiast might spec their car. Strike one for the reduced chassis stiffness, strike two for the lack of a proper manual. Unfortunately, the enthusiasts are wrong: this car is a complete joy to drive.
Just as is the case with modern 911 cabriolets, cutting the roof off a Porsche actually improves it. At some point not too long ago, the cars became basically too fast for their own good, so blunting that performance by some nearly-immeasurable degree is such a small price to pay for a far more involving drive.
As we peer into the mists of the future in expectation of a hybrid or eventual battery-electric 911, this lesson is perhaps the most important thing the 911 cabriolet has to teach us. Cars will always get quicker and faster as the years pass. And cutting the roof off them? Turns out it might be the best way to make sure you actually want to go for a drive.
Keyword: Evolutionary: What the Porsche 911 gained by losing its top