why doesn't porsche make hard-top cabriolets?

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KyleJ

Member
In my opinion, the canvas (or whatever the hell its made of) cover takes away from the appearance of the vehicle. Why can't they make the cabriolet with an option for hard-top similar to Mercedes? Of course it would cost more, but it would be well worth it. I would love to eventually get a cabriolet, but I just can't get past the cover! Is there a specific reason why they aren't doing this?
BTW...Im speaking in reference to the 911 series, specifically 911 turbo
 
S

Sean

Member
Ok, I'm assuming you really don't know anything about Porsche's except what they look like, so I'm going to try to condense the previous answers into something you can understand. Porsche is a performance brand, and therefore performance is their main priority, not luxury so much. Because of that, a folding hard top would add a couple hundred pounds probably to the weight of the car, and that weight would be added in the completely wrong places. A cloth top is much lighter, requiring less bracing for the folding mechanism, less bracing for the top itself, especially up high (with the top up) where the extra weight would be. Secondly, Porsches are rear-engined. That is, the engine is in the back of the car, where your trunk is on a Mercedes. With the engine there, where would you put a hard top? The answer is, nowhere, there's nowhere to put it unless you made it a 2 seater. But that would just make for a messy retraction system to fold it forward. The trunk on a 911 series car is actually in the front of the car, and there's not enough room in it for a roof either. So, because of that, it has to be a soft top.
 
D

designergenes

New member
Put ahpolkguy and Cobra's answers together and you've got it. Porsche is about performance and those tops are heavy (A 911 hard top convertible wouldn't take up trunk space though; the trunk's in front.); and there just isn't room in the 911 design for such a top.

Porsche makes an aluminum snap-on hard top for the 911 Cabriolet (You leave the soft top stowed). It looks better, and makes sense in cold climates where the top is up for months at a time. Of course, you should have a special (Porsche) dolley or hoist in your garage to store the top when not in use. Nothing Porsche is inexpensive.

Now, watch Porsche make a liar out of me and come out with a hard top convertible.

Note: Porsche 911 "rag tops" are wind tunnel tested to 225 mph.

ADDED:
Motorhead has a point. Targas are beautiful, and they're ALMOST like having a Cabriolet.
 
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