2003 PORSCHE 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet (996) 3.6L 5AT (320 HP)

Vehicle Overview

In 2002, the entire generation of the Porsche 911 – 996 was facelifted. The Carrera 4S Cabriolet was introduced in the lineup with the new engine and the Turbo bodywork.

There were not too many all-wheel-drive convertibles in 2002, and for sure there were only a few that could boast up to 320 hp. The Carrera 4S, introduced for the first time in 2002, was launched to fill the gap between the regular Carrera 4 and the Turbo.

From the outside, the Carrera 4 S Cabriolet featured the same front bumper as the Turbo. The rear wide fenders looked almost the same, except the side air-intakes, which were not needed. The sloped back of the car was fitted with the same self-adjusting spoiler, that could deploy or retract depending on the speed. The three-layer canvas-top was powered and it needed 20 seconds to completely retract or cover the car, at speeds up to 50 kph (31 mph). For winter, the car featured an aluminum hard-top.

Inside, the car featured full power-adjustable leather seats for the driver and passenger (with driver’s side memory). The seat’s position was related to the key used to open the car so, if two drivers would use the vehicle, at the opening the door mirrors and the seat was adjusted accordingly. A new infotainment unit (Porsche Communication Management) was installed, with an option for sat-nav.

The drivetrain received a new 3.6-liter engine and it gained 20 hp more than the non-facelifted version. It was fitted with a standard 6-speed manual. The 5-speed automatic (Tiptronic) gearbox with manual override to change gears was on the options list. Due to its all-wheel-drive system, it could cope better with the bad weather than most of the sports-cars from that era.