Designed as a grand tourer, the Porsche Carrera Cabriolet was the base version for the open-top 911 range in 1998.
It offered enough comfort to be used as a daily driver.

The 996 Porsche was unveiled in 1997. A year later, the convertible version for some of the models was released, and the base version was the Carrera 2 Cabriolet. It was a sports-car and a grand tourer. Unlike other GT vehicles, it was focused more on performance than on comfort and luxury items.

From the outside, the big headlights were oddly shaped and that brought a lot of criticism from Porsche fans around the world. The bumper featured a simple grille design, with one horizontal slat. From the side, the flush bodywork, without any enlargements for the wheel-arches, offered a clean look. The retractable roof was able to be stowed away in 20 seconds at speeds of up to 50 kph (31 mph), like the rest of the 911 convertible range. With the roof up, the car was tested in the wind tunnel at speeds of up to 338 kph (210 mph), which was higher than what Carrera 2 could reach.

Inside, the car was fitted as standard with a stereo and air-conditioning. Since it was the base model in the stable, it didn’t feature too many luxury items, but those were on the options list. The standard seats could have been upgraded to power-adjustable leather seats. The Porsche Communication Management system was offered as an option with a sat-nav system.

Under the engine lid, there was a newly-developed flat-six engine that offered 300 hp. It was mated as standard with a six-speed manual. A 5-speed automatic (Tiptronic) with manual override to shift gears was on the options list. The Carrera 2 was rear-wheel-drive.