Feel the breeze

The new Porsche 911 cabriolet.

This is the first official picture of the new Porsche 911 cabriolet, which will go on sale in New Zealand next April.

Buyers will have the choice of the Carrera 911 soft-top with its 239kW (325bhp) 3.6-litre flat-six engine, or the more powerful Carrera S model and its 3.8-litre 261kW (355bhp) unit.

The standard car is expected to cost around $225,000 and the Carrera S $245,000.

The new soft-tops, like the hard-top coupes, come with the usual Porsche goodies, including a whizz-bang stability system and communications package.

The standard cabriolet weighs in at 1480kg and the S at 1505kg - around 85kg more than the 911 coupes.

The extra weight is made up of body strengthening measures and the soft-top mechanism.

Both have the same top speed as the hardtops: 285km/h (177mp/h) and 293km/h (182mp/h) respectively.

The roof, however, can be opened and closed at more moderate speeds: up to 50km/h.