The 1983 Porsche Carrera Cabriolet offered the same platform from a Carrera, but with an open-top convertible bodywork.
It cut some points from the handling but added some to the pleasure of cruising.
A sports-car remains a sports-car even if the roof is cut and the result is a heavier, and not so stiff car as its coupe-version. For some, the open-top driving experience worth much more than the seconds they could cut in a trip from A to B. After all, there are speed limits, right? So, just enjoying a drive time with the top down might worth more than getting two seconds faster in a race, especially if you are not driving the car on the track.
The convertible was heavier than the coupe and it didn’t have the same rigidity of its sibling. But the experience in driving the car with the top down and hear that flat-six in the back was considered a unique experience. The car’s shape was almost the same with the roof up as the coupe-version. The plastic window in the back was a good solution for that era. An additional stop-light was mounted above the engine lid when it became mandatory due to safety regulations. The soft-top was manually operated.
Inside, the cockpit featured sport seats in the front and two smaller ones in the back, which were hard to use. The five-dials instrument cluster offered information regarding the oil pressure, oil temperature, fuel level, tachometer in the middle, the speedometer, and, on the right, an analog clock. The ventilation controls were placed at the same level as the steering wheel and the stereo.
The 3.2-liter engine was introduced by Porsche in 1984 and it was offered in two power outputs for the cabriolet version, with 218 hp and 231 hp.