2005 Porsche 911 Carrera

Four-Wheel Drive for Superior Roadholding and Stability at All Times

Superior power transmission by four-wheel drive is crucial to the particular character of the two Carrera 4 Cabriolets: Driven through the viscous multiple-plate clutch, the front wheels convey a minimum of 5 per cent of the engine power and, if necessary, up to 40 per cent to the road. The result is extra driving stability and roadholding in bends and even better direc­tional stability at very high speeds as well as enhanced traction on slippery surfaces.

Stiff Bodyshell and Superior Safety

Reinforcements specific to both four-wheel drive and the open-air body give the bodyshell of the car a very high standard of stiffness and safety at all times. Together with the soft roof weighing only 42 kg or 93 lb and keeping the car’s centre of gravity appropriately low, the robust structure of the body enhances the car’s driving precision to an unprecedented standard. And at the same time it provides the foundation for superior safety in a collision.

The supreme standard of passive safety is ensured not only by the specific structure of the bodyshell, but also by high-strength steel tubes integrated in the A-pillars and the rollbars at the rear moving up automatically in the event of an imminent rollover. Further safety and protection is then added by no less than six airbags including two cushion-shaped head air-bags introduced in an open sports car for the first time worldwide by Porsche.

Optimised Brake System

Featuring four-piston fixed callipers and a tandem brake servo as well as an extra-large master cylinder, the brake system is tailored specifically to Porsche’s four-wheel-drive Cabriolets. And to supplement this superiority, Porsche Stability Management (PSM) comes with two new functions: Pre-filling of the brake system serving to build up brake forces even more spontaneously and hydraulic brake force support acting like a Brake Assistant and helping in an emergency to build up full brake pressure even faster than usual. PCCB Porsche Cera­mic Composite Brakes are available as an option.

Standard: Active Suspension in the Carrera 4S Cabriolet

In their concept, the chassis and suspension reflect the new principle of the Porsche 911: The open-air Carrera 4 comes with a conventional suspension, the Carrera 4S features PASM Porsche Active Suspension Management as a standard highlight fitted straight at the factory. This active damping system with two preselectable programs is of course also available as an option on the “basic” model.

Sports Chrono Package Plus for the Sports Driver

Porsche has the developed the optional Sports Chrono Package Plus for the really sporting and ambitious driver, allowing him – or her – to switch various control maps and strategies to a particularly sporting style of motoring. The visible sign which proudly bears testimony to the Sports Chrono Package is the analogue/digital stopwatch on the instrument panel. Driving or lap times stopped by the driver with this special instrument can be saved and eva­luated by PCM Porsche Communication Management.

MP3 player and the Optional Electronic Trip Recorder

Further enhancement of Porsche’s PCM system ensures even more entertainment and less bureaucracy: The CD player incorporated in Porsche Communication Management as a standard feature is now also able to play MP3 music titles. And as an option we offer an elec­tronic trip recorder with an infra-red interface for reading out the data saved.

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Open Air in the Four-Wheel-Drive 911

The two open-air four-wheel-drive 911s combine two truly outstanding driving experiences in that typical Porsche style: The particular dynamics of four-wheel drive and the refreshing thrill of an open sports car. The two models are the Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet fea­turing a 239 kW (325 bhp) 3.6-litre power unit and the even more powerful Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet boasting a 261 kW (355 bhp) 3.8-litre six-cylinder.

In conjunction with four-wheel drive, both models convey this superior power to provide the same kind of superiority on the road whenever required: The Carrera 4 accelerates to 100 km/h in 5.3 seconds and has a top speed of 280 km/h or 174 mph. Given this kind of performance, the car is remarkably conservative on the consumption of fuel, averaging an outstanding 11.3 litres in the composite EU cycle (equal to 25.0 mpg Imp). The S-model is equally impressive also in this respect, consuming just 11.8 litres in the composite EU cycle (equal to 23.9 mpg Imp). And with the power provided by the 3.8-litre engine, the 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet accelerates to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds and reaches a top speed of 288 km/h or 179 mph.

Active PASM Suspension also in the Four-Wheel-Drive Cabriolet

The S-model comes as standard with Porsche’s active PASM suspension also available as an option on the “basic" Carrera. Benefiting from Porsche Active Suspension Management, the driver has the choice of two driving programs at the touch of a button: “Normal” offers a more comfort-oriented damper setting then becoming increasingly dynamic as soon as the driver opts for a more sporting style of motoring.

The advantage for both driver and passenger is a significantly higher standard of comfort particularly on long motorway trips The Sports setting, on the other hand, automatically ac­tivates a harder damper control map for a particularly agile style of motoring.

Stiff Bodyshell and Four-Wheel Drive for Enormous Driving Pleasure

Porsche’s four-wheel-drive Cabriolets offer a truly unique experience of ultimate driving plea­sure on winding roads, the extra-stiff body and four-wheel drive making the open-air 911 calm, stable and easy to control even under difficult driving conditions. Four-wheel-drive technology with a viscous multiple-plate clutch convey a minimum of 5 per cent of the engine’s power to the front wheels at all times, increasing the supply of power to the front to up to 40 per cent when necessary.

Optimised Brake System with Enhanced Functions

Featuring a tandem brake servo and an extra-large master cylinder, the brake system is tailored particularly to the dynamic performance of the four-wheel-drive Cabriolets and boasts enhanced functions such as PSM Porsche Stability Management.

A special feature is the pre-filling of the brake system prior to application of the brakes all-out, eliminating the air gap between the brake linings and the brake disc and helping to make stopping distances even shorter when applying the brakes in full. And should the driver press down the brake pedal quickly, but without the necessary force, the hydraulic pump acting as a kind of Brake Assistant will make up for the lack of pressure, ensuring ABS con­trol on all wheels and thus offering optimum brake performance.

As an option both Cabriolets are available with Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB).

Sports Chrono Package Plus for Even More Dynamic Performance

Porsche has created the Sports Chrono Package Plus for the particularly ambitious driver. Activated at the touch of a button, the Sports Chrono Package Plus modifies the features of engine management and, where necessary, Tiptronic S, as well as the control functions offered by PSM and – if fitted – PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management).

In practice this means even more sensitive response of the gas pedal, with PSM allowing extra slip, larger drift and yaw angles. On cars with PSM, the control system automatically switches over to a harder damper setting under appropriate road conditions.

Porsche’s Sports Chrono Package Plus also comes with an analogue/digital stopwatch com­plete with an interface to Porsche Communication Management serving to record, save and evaluate lap and driving times.

Wide Body, Electric Roof

Through their body design, both 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolets combine the features of a con­vertible with the fortes so typical of four-wheel-drive. The aerodynamically styled soft roof and the particular curvature of the engine compartment lid so characteristic of a convertible give even greater emphasis to the impressively wide track of the four-wheel-drive models: Boasting extra-large, voluminous wheel arches at the rear, the open-air 911 Carrera 4 is 44 millimetres or 1.73” wider than its rear-wheel-drive counterpart. The rear tyres also re­flect this extra width, measuring 295/35 ZR 18 on the Carrera 4 and 305/30 ZR 19 on the Carrera 4S.

The automatic roof opens and closes easily and conveniently within just 20 seconds even while driving at a speed of up to 50 km/h or 31 mph. Including the hydraulic operating sy­stem at the rear, the folding roof weighs a mere 42 kg or 93 lb, making the roof of the open-air Porsche 911 one of the lightest convertible roofs in the market with two fundamental advantages: The light weight of the roof lowers the car’s centre of gravity and enhances its lateral dynamics. A hardtop, incidentally, is available as an option.

High Passive Safety with Rollbars and Head Airbags

Both Cabriolets offer the high standard of passive safety one rightly expects of a Porsche. The rollover safety system is made up of two high-strength steel tubes in each of the A-pillars, together with two rollbars moving up automatically behind the rear seats when required.

A further, supplementary feature is the head airbags introduced by Porsche for the first time in an open sports car. Forming the very heart of the POSIP (Porsche Side Impact Protection) system, the airbags are housed like flat cushions in the window sill and inflate from bottom to top in a side impact, thus offering unique head protection also with the roof open. Two thorax airbags in the seat backrests, two frontal airbags, as well as three-point seat belts with belt latch tensioners and belt force limiters round off the high standard of occupant safety.

High-Quality, Sophisticated Features with Individual Options

Inside, both four-wheel-drive Cabriolets excel through top-quality, sophisticated materials complete with a wide range of leather features. For the first time, the open-air Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S are available as an individual highlight with bi-colour leather upholstery in three attractive twin-tone combinations.

Over and above the “basic” seats already quite outstanding in their ergonomic qualities, the new open-air Carreras are available with a choice of three further, even more individual seats. Porsche Communication Management, in turn, now also plays CDs with MP3 music titles and may be supplemented by further optional modules such as a telephone, a DVD naviga­tion system, BOSE Surround Sound, as well as an electronic logbook.