It was in November last year, during the Los Angeles International Auto Show, when Porsche unwrapped the eighth-gen 911 in two guises – the Carrera S and the Carrera 4S. Now, we have the convertible versions of the duo. Say hello to the Porsche 911 Cabriolet! It takes the serious recipe of the hard-top and adds a dash of drama to it with its canvas roof. More on that later.

Behind the super-slippery exterior, the 911 Cabriolet is pretty much exactly the same as its hard-top sibling. Both soft-tops versions – the rear-wheel-drive Carrera S and the all-wheel-drive Carrera 4S – are powered by a 3.0-litre, twin-turbo flat-six engine. It produces 450PS of power and 530Nm of torque and comes mated to an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Other technological advancements such as Porsche Active Suspension Management sport chassis, wider wings, 20-inch wheels at the front and 21 inchers at the rear are also carried over from the hard-top 911.

The Carrera S and 4S Cabriolets can hit 100kmph from a standstill in 3.9 and 3.8 seconds respectively. Get the optional Sport Chrono Package and those sprint times will tumble by 0.2 seconds. At full stretch, the two-wheel-drive 911 Cabriolet will reach 306kmph, which is 2kmph more than the more grippy all-wheel-drive Carrera 4S. All-in-all, the soft-top versions of the iconic sportscar are only slightly slower than their hard-top iterations.

Porsche claims that the new 911 Cabriolet’s soft-roof mechanism is not only smoother than before but also faster. The two-seater can gain or lose its top in just 12 seconds and can do so at speeds of up to 50kmph. Sure, the fabric roof doesn’t exactly make the 911 any prettier but there is no denying the fact that one retracted, it will offer limitless headroom. And the wind deflector will ensure that your expensive haircut remains mostly intact. As for the gizmos inside the cabin and the optional extras, they are exactly the same as the ones offered with the fixed-roof version.

The Porsche 911 Cabriolet is up for grabs in markets like Germany and the USA. Deliveries will commence in summer of 2019.