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 Porsche Turbo Cabriolet
by Peter Bleakney
Porsche wants to get the word out that their sports cars are good in the winter. Not just fairweather friends are these Zuffenhausen projectiles. To that end, I was offered the keys to a $195,355, 415 hp 2004 Turbo Cabriolet - in the middle of February. Thanks alot. I think.Porsche Turbo CabrioletNow, any car enthusiast with pulse couldn't say no to that, but I must confess to a certain amount of trepidation. All wheel drive or not, winter is not the best time to explore the capabililties of a car like this. The drop top version of the Porsche Turbo is new this year, and presents itself as one of the world's fastest hairdryers.
 The rest of the mechanical bits carry over from the coupe - namely the 3.6 L twin turbocharged, 24-valve flat six that tortures all four contact patches with 415 hp at 6000 rpm and 415 lb/ft of torque from 2700-4600 rpm. A six-speed manual transmission is standard, as is Porsche Stability Management, DVD based satellite navigation, and an impressive 12 speaker Bose audio system.
When the car was dropped off (yes, Porsche press cars are sometimes delivered), I jumped in, only to discover... no clutch. Doh! Blasphemy in a Porsche, you say? Perhaps, but the optional $4790 five-speed Tiptronic S is a slush box with a serious cranium - and in this car, it seems to make sense.
 With the floor shifter in "D", the Tiptronic works in full automatic mode, drawing from 250 different shift maps to match your driving style of the moment. It will cruise serenely around town or hammer up-shifts at the redline. Problem is, it can't read your mind, so it's one step behind when Mr. Hyde takes over from Dr. Jekyll, and vice-versa.
Pull the shifter in to "M" position, and the transmission works essentially like a manual, with your thumb selecting the gears via rocker switches on the steering wheel. There's an ever-so-slight delay between "flick" and gear selection, but overall, it works very well.
On the highway, the thumb switches (they also work in fully automatic mode) prove especially useful for dispensing with slower traffic (which is just about everything else on the road). Toggle down to third, hit the happy pedal, and you're inviting jail time faster that you can say, "Oh hello officer. Here's my license and here's the lighter."
For my money, I'd save the five grand and stick with the standard six-speed that gives the driver a more tactile connection to all that mechanical mayhem. Porsche claims zero to 100 kph in 4.9 seconds for the Tiptronic, which is 0.6 seconds slower than the manual transmission car.
 The 911 interior has never been a thing of beauty, but it certainly is all business. The powered leather sport seats are grippy and comfortable, and every control is perfectly placed. Central to the instrument cluster is the tachometer, with a smaller speedo to the left, marked in tight 50 km increments. You soon get used to glancing at the small digital speed readout below, because there's no way to tell your exact speed by looking at the dial. "Hmmm. Somewhere between 150 and 200 I'd say."
There are two back "seats" that are barely suitable for small children and talented contortionists - although just about every kid in my neighborhood went for a spin back there and I heard no complaints. Lots of shrieks and squeals though.
For one day during that frigid winter week, the gods of top down motoring smiled. Plus three degrees and warm sunshine enabled me to drop the top, crank up the seat heater ($575) and spend an afternoon blasting along some nearly deserted country roads. Yes, the limits of this car are so extreme that they can only be explored on a race track, but even at 7/10ths (or was I only at 3/10ths?), the Turbo is pure automotive bliss.
 Credit the brilliantly calibrated all-wheel-drive system that keeps the car planted and stable, yet still offers up enough of a rear-wheel bias to have you grinning like a moronic fool. The system directs torque to the front wheels at a rate of 5 to 40 percent depending upon available traction and throttle application.
The balance of this car sweet - it doesn't have the heavy rear/light front feel of a two wheel drive 911. It feels more like a Boxster that's swallowed a jar of steroids.
Ah, but what is a Porsche without the soundtrack? With the top town, the howl of that flat six behind your head is a glorious mechanical symphony that sings to the heavens on high. Handel's Messiah meets AC/DC.
About that winter capability. With Bridgestone Blizzacks snow tires (225/40x18 front, 295/30x18 rear), all wheel drive and the Porsche Stability Management system, this red cabrio was all but unstoppable in the white stuff. PSM is an electronic big brother that steps in when various sensors detecting wheel spin, steering angle and yaw rate tell command central you're heading for the ditch. It utilizes the ABS to brake individual wheels and will reduce engine power if necessary. It also functions as a traction control.
 About the only thing it doesn't do is slap you on the back of the head for driving like an idiot.
People asked me if I was nervous driving a car worth nearly a quarter of a million dollars, tax in. Yes, the dollar signs were always in the back of my mind, but even though its price is intimidating, the car is not. The Turbo Cabriolet with Tiptronic S is a one user-friendly, year round super car.
And by the way, if you think the Germans don't have a sense of humour, you've obviously never seen a Porsche options list. I can just picture the Porsche boys coming up with this stuff over a few pints of Bitburger.
- "You know, if we lower ze seats in ze Turbo by 10 mm, I bet we can charge zem $990 extra!"
- "Ya Deiter! And those little Porsche emblems on ze wheels? $245!!!"
- "Oh Hans. Stop it! You're killing me! Pass the pretzels."
Returning the Turbo to the Keeper of the Porsches was a bitter sweet affair. My all-too brief tenure with this spectacular vehicle was over (bad), but my lisence was still intact (good), and burned into my cranial hard-drive was the glorius song of that flat six and the obscene rush of acceleration.
Besides, nobody was going to bug me for any more rides.
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