Spotted – Porsche 911 “Long Hood” Cabriolet

I nearly spat my lunch out.

I had been sitting across the street munching on a sandwich, when the traffic outside the window drove off and revealed this Porsche 911.

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Being in California, the 911 Cabrio is not a rare sight. Whether you’re walking through the parking area at Cars & Coffee, or simply driving through the more affluent areas during the summer, 911s and cabriolets of all ilk are so common they blend into normal traffic.

But this particular cabriolet I’d never seen before. While Porsche had sold a convertible version of the 911’s predecessor, the 356, they had put off introducing a drop top version of the 911 ’til near the end of the 911SC’s tenure in the early 1980’s.

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During the 1960’s, Ralph Nader’s crusade against convertibles (among many other designs) fostered the possibility that fully open convertibles would be banned in the US. Not wanting to miss an opportunity in their biggest market, Porsche sought to fill the gap between an open top car and a hard top with the introduction of the 911 Targa in 1967. The concept being, you could remove the targa (“Plate” in Italian) top and fold the back, plastic window for an open air experience while enjoying the safety of the steel roll hoop.

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What a factory soft window Targa looks like.

This convertible conversion seems to be based on one those early Targas, the later ones have fixed glass rear windows. If you look closely, you can see the snaps for the rear tonneau cover along the body line. The trademark Targa hoop however, has been replaced with a tubular steel roll bar. I’m curious as to what the owner has done for a top (if anything), if this was a home conversion, and why they had done it at all? Also items of note are the added Speedster badge on the engine lid, and that this car is equipped with Porsche’s Sportomatic transmission.

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Searching for “911 convertible conversion” on Google dredges nothing specific, and I wasn’t able to find the owner while I was gawking at their car. I’m not always so forward, but this is one instance where I would have loved to find out more about the car’s history straight from the owner.

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Speedster. Now with rear seats…

Like convertibles in California, appreciation for Porsches isn’t scarce, so I suspect some of you may have a clue on this car’s evolution. If so, give a shout in the comments!

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