911 cabriolet = travesty of design

One of my favourite car designs is the 911.  I've always held an affinity for Porsches in general, which probably stems from riding in my dad's old 944 back in the day.  My love for Porsches runs deep, but I have one personal vexation with the 911 cabriolet.  Undoubtedly, the 911's curvy, frog like body shape doesn't lend itself well to a drop top version.  The convertible's look has always annoyed me, especially when it the top is down.  

Don't get me wrong, the 997 cab is a fantastic car to drive, but how can a car that looks so perfect with a fixed roof, look so wrong when the roof is removed?

The rear third of the car, behind the seats where the engine is, just doesn't flow properly to the front of the car with the gap where the roof should be.  Because the roof on the coupe is so curved, which gives flow to the design, it harmoniously bridges the gap between the front third of the car (from the windsheild forward) and the rear third.  When that bridge is removed, it destroys the whole design.  Next time you see one on the street, (pictures don't quite do it justice) look at the way the body of the car from behind the seats lines up with the windsheild and tell me you don't see what I'm talking about.  The lines just don't match up.

I went home to Toronto this weekend, and decided to head up to the dealership I worked at last summer to see if they had any new cars.  Heading westbound on the 401, I slowed down for a second as I was trying to send a text while driving (oh get off your high horse, I know you've done it).  So out of the corner of my eye a grey flash goes by me on the right, and then cuts into my lane right in front of me.  I look up to see a 993 turbo coupe, the last of the air cooled 911s and one of my all time favourite Porsches.  So I'm trying to chase the guy down to honk and give him the thumbs up, but unfortunately the traffic was too heavy and it was pouring rain.  After 5 mins of weaving in and out of cars and not gaining any ground, I gave up.

I reached my exit and turned up onto the 400, on up to Steeles and then West past Weston rd. and into the dealership.  Inside there's quite a collection, but they just happened to have a beautiful dark blue 993 cabriolet, which caught my eye from across the showroom.  It wasn't a turbo, but it had the signature "whale tail" and a sweet set of rims.

Yes, I just said it, the convertible 911 looked good.

It did have the top up at the time, but I stood next to it picturing how it would look with the top down, and the flow was there.  I could see how the lines would connect even with the gap where the roof would be missing.

I still don't know exactly what gives it that flow, mabye that big wing on the back, but it just looked way more natural than any of the newer 911s.

For future designs Porsche should take a page out of their own history book, and get back that flowing look of the 993 body style.