The 911 Carrera Cabriolet (997.1) is the soft-top version of the rear-drive base Carrera, sharing the water-cooled 3.6-liter M96 flat-six, the six-speed manual or optional five-speed Tiptronic S, and the facelifted round-headlamp look. It trades a little rigidity and some weight for open-air motoring.

It carries exactly the same M96/M97 engine concerns as the coupe — cylinder bore scoring and the non-serviceable single-row IMS bearing — so buy on condition and history. The Mezger engine that avoids all of this lives only in the Turbo and the track cars, not here.