New 2019 Porsche 911 Cabriolet unveiled

So here it is then, just six weeks after the unveiling of the 992-generation coupe, the new 911 Cabriolet. It is revealed today and will be winging its way to UK owners over the next months in 450PS (444bhp) Carrera S trim, both as a rear-driver (£102,755) and in 4S all-wheel-drive form (£108,063).

The fabric roof, with integrated glass rear screen, gets new hydraulics and magnesium bows and is quicker in operation than before, at 12 seconds. And, for the first time, the cabrio can be had with sport chassis and Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM).

Other than that there’s not much new to report: this is the 992 coupe (see our story on that here) without its roof, merely the convertible version of the world’s most scrupulously evolved driving machine. Look elsewhere if you want surprises.

Few surprises then but plenty to delight, starting with the looks: so familiar but more planted than ever (every new 911 is wide-body now) and with some nice retro touches like the vertical black grille in the engine lid. No 911 Cabrio has ever been completely hump-free with the hood down, and the 992 still has a discernible bulge. It wouldn’t be a 911 Cabrio without it.

The interior is likewise back to the future, with a familiar pod of five dials cheek by jowl with a 10.9 inch central touch screen. There are still twin kids’ seats in the back, along with a new electrically extendable wind deflector if it gets too breezy.

The new 911 Cabriolet promises to be sportier than ever, particularly with the sport chassis and PASM. A lower ride height and beefier springs and anti-roll bars give a more neutral feel to the handling, says Porsche, something aided by the 992’s new chassis with repositioned engine, more even weight distribution and most torsionally rigid 911 body ever – although with first drives of any 992 still to come, the verdict on all that is still to come.

Like the new 992 coupes with the same twin-turbo engine and eight-speed PDK ‘box, the cabrios all get from 0-62mph in less than four seconds. The quickest of them is the all-wheel-drive 4S (with optional Sport Chrono package) at 3.6 secs. Top speeds are up to 190mph.

Performance is in a different world from that of the first 1982 911 SC soft-top of course – that had less than half the power and took almost twice as long to 62mph). But there are similarities between then and now, beyond the obvious design evolution. Both cars use six-cylinder aluminium boxer engines. Both are 3.0-litre capacity, have 2+2 seats, a fabric roof (non-electric in the SC) and the first 1981 cabrio concept even had all-wheel drive, though this was dropped for production.

One thing the older car certainly didn’t feature was Wet Mode, one of the raft of hi-tech assistance systems included in the new model. It detects water on the road ahead and preconditions the control systems to cope. “Wet mode” in an early ‘80s 911 was more of a handful!