2026 Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet review

Have you ever had one of those trips where things just don’t go right?

After 40 hours of travelling (thanks to a delayed flight and unplanned transit via Turkey) I made it to Malaga in Spain for the Porsche 911 Turbo S international press launch.

I literally got off the plane, into an Uber and straight to the location where the press conference was happening wearing the same clothes I’d had on since I left home almost two days earlier.

No shower. I felt terrible. But after gritting my teeth and sitting through some quality attempts at soft humour from German executives, I got back to my room, had a speed shower, and joined everyone for dinner, eyes hanging out of my head.

But dinner didn’t agree with me. So my plans for a restorative sleep were dashed. Instead it was cramps, toilet, attempt to sleep… repeat.

Then it was time to get up, jet-lagged and disoriented, and get into a $600k Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet.

And that’s when everything got better.

How much does the Porsche 911 cost?

I’ve already given it away, but you’re not getting much change out of six hundred large for this car – and that’s before on-roads and before you customise it to your tastes. So, in essence, you could be into this for $750k, easily. Of course, if you want to save a little bit, there’s also the Coupe, but the Cabriolet obviously offers a different type of experience.

That pricing makes it the most expensive Porsche 911 Cabriolet, and certainly positions it as a rival to Ferrari and McLaren models.

To see how the Porsche 911 lines up against the competition, check out ourcomparison tool

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What is the Porsche 911 like on the inside?

Drop the top and let the light shine in, and you’ll see that the 911 Turbo S has a few minor changes compared with other 911s.

There’s a distinct carbon-fibre finish on the dashboard, and the standard-fit trim is black leather seat with Turbonite grey finishes throughout. Of course, there are plenty of other colour combos on offer, including a gorgeous red interior that really looks the money.

The 18-way adjustable seats with the Turbo S insignia offer superb adjustability and comfort, and longer-legged people will love the adjustable under-thigh support.

All 911 models have a 10.9-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, sat-nav, online streaming and connected services. It’s relatively easy to use, but certainly not a tech-fest like you’ll find in some other screen-focused sports car cabins.

I actually prefer that though, because there are still some buttons and dials below for the main controls like temperature and volume, and you’ll find regular window switches and mirror adjusters, and conventional steering wheel buttons and stalks – all of which is welcome when you’re jetlagged and just barely alive.

The driver info screen hosts a number of configurable layouts, including full-screen navigation mapping or the more traditional looking five-gauge design.

Storage is limited but includes a pop-out cupholder for the passenger, door pockets that will fit small bottles, a glovebox, and a centre console with a wireless phone charger.

Between the front seats are the controls for the convertible roof, which takes only about 12 seconds to open or close, and can be operated at speeds up to 50km/h.

The roof-lining is soft and the sculpture of the shell means there’s basically no penalty in terms of headroom for those in the front or the back.

Now, speaking of the back, there are two seats, but they’re obviously not made to fit fully grown adults. You will be able to fit smaller grown-ups (provided those up front are also compact) but it is best left for little ones, and even then the backrest is very upright. There are ISOFIX points and top-tether anchors for child seats though, so you could fit kid seats in there if you wanted to.

Behind the seats there isn’t as much stowage as you get in the Coupe, because the folding roof mechanism has to fit in somewhere, however, you can use the space behind the seats as a storage option, with a claimed 163 litres available.

If you are okay with keeping the roof up, there is some storage behind the back seats for soft luggage – otherwise, there’s a 128L frunk under the bonnet.

To see how the Porsche 911 lines up against the competition, check out ourcomparison tool

What’s under the bonnet?

The 992.2-series Turbo S packs a new 3.6-litre flat six-cylinder petrol engine with two ‘eTurbos’ and 400V electrified hybrid technology, which – combined – work together to produce no less than 523kW of power and 800Nm of torque.

The outgoing 3.7-litre Turbo S was a powerhouse, but this has a smaller new 3.6-litre twin-turbo boxer engine (from the rear-wheel drive 911 Carrera GTS), adding 45kW to the equation and making it the most powerful drivetrain ever offered in a showroom Porsche 911.

Those eTurbos work ingeniously with the ‘T-Hybrid’ setup, which includes the same 1.9kWh battery as the GTS.

However, for the Turbo S, there are two eTurbos and they are a different design. But they still house small electric motors inside that offer up instant torque from a standstill, while when engine speeds rise the exhaust turbos take over, and then the e-motors become generators to help recuperate the battery, pumping out 28kW of regenerative power on their own.

Those aren’t the only electric bits – there’s an electric motor in the transmission, and it works with the Porsche Traction Management (PTM) all-wheel drive system, plus the 400-volt system can adjust the anti-roll bars to stiffen up the suspension for better body control, and that same electrical system now operates the nose-lift (still optional at about $5000).

It’s heavier than its predecessor but has more power and torque and is also considerably faster, though the extra weight does mean a slight performance penalty compared with the Coupe.

My test drive included a few hours of driving and passengering from Malaga to the Ascari racetrack in Ronda, across a number of mixed roads and with some mild-mannered and enthusiastic driving, resulting in a respectable fuel use figure for a car with this much grunt.

To see how the Porsche 911 lines up against the competition, check out ourcomparison tool

How does the Porsche 911 drive?

Like I said in the intro, I wish I’d had a better lead-up to the drive and, to make it all better, Spain is dark until about 8:30am at this time of year… a real help for jetlag.

So I graciously let my colleague take the wheel for the first stint. And as a passenger, this car was superb. Comfortable. Quiet. Excellent seat adjustment. Very nice indeed.

After 90 minutes or so it was time for us to swap spots, and thankfully the sun was up and my brain was awake.

And frankly, I was shocked at how easily I managed to adapt to driving this car, even on foreign roads in a tatty state.

I’ve driven Ferraris and Lamborghinis and McLarens in the past, and there is always a level of adaptation you have to go through to get comfortable with everything, whether its visibility, or the controls, or the fact you can’t really judge the size of the car. But this was easy-peasy.

Seat controls? Sorted. Mirrors? Easy. Everything else? A cinch.

And that speaks volumes for the fact that the Porsche 911 – even one of the most exclusive examples – is a conscientious supercar. It is amenable to you, despite the epic performance it offers.

Just 10 minutes into my drive, after snaking through a wide canyon road, I was asked (by Google Maps) to negotiate a tricky intersection with morning traffic, and then down a blind laneway that seemed just centimetres wider than the wing mirrors.

But I could place the car easily, thanks in large part to its innate steering, which – despite having four-wheel steer – is still very easy to judge, particularly in low-speed moves.

The ride, too, was communicative but not chatty, telling me what was happening under the P Zeros, but still offering a comfort level that isn’t normal for a car that has this much performance up its sleeve.

Perhaps more impressive is the ease with which you can drive the 911 Turbo S, which is super simple to drive slowly. It’s not too eager, and in Normal mode it feels sedate and subtle in its responses.

It didn’t require any forethought when braking, even though these are the biggest brakes fitted to any road-registered Porsche. The pedal feel is predictable and measured, and of course there’s an insanely strong throttle response.

Drop the top, feel the breeze, and you’ll be amazed how breezy an experience it actually is.

Put it in Sport and drop the hammer though, and you’re hit. Hard.

The eTurbos spring things off, before the engine and turbos take over to spool up and power you away. The engine isn’t the most delightful sounding thing, but with the Sport exhaust mode active it offers more bass and bravado.

The PDK auto is seamless and so intuitive, and Sport mode really helps you get more out of the powertrain. It’s decisive and at times dramatic. And with the lid off, it feels all the more involving as a driver or passenger.

The traction is like physics applied to your person. There is a tangible tenacity to the way it puts power down and pushes you back in your seat – and I’m not just talking about the initial bite from 0-100km/h, but beyond that, where you might otherwise think twice about continuing to keep your foot down.

It is forgiving, and frenetic. And fan-freakin-tastic.

Suffice to say, after my time in the 911 Turbo S Cabriolet, I didn’t feel unwell, or tired, or anything other than invigorated. It is one of the greatest convertible car experiences you can have.

To see how the Porsche 911 lines up against the competition, check out ourcomparison tool

What do you get?

The Porsche configurator offers up a glimpse at the customisation on offer, but have a look at what you get as standard – think of it as a base to work from.

2026 Porsche 911 Turbo S equipment highlights:

• Matrix LED headlights
• 20-inch front wheels with 225/35 tyres, 21-inch rear wheels with 325/30 tyres
• Pirelli P Zero rubber
• Ceramic composite brakes (420mm front, 410mm rear)
• Turbonite exterior trim package
• Sports Chrono package
• Porsche active stability management (PASM)
• Electro-hydraulic dynamic chassis control (ehPDCC)
• Black leather interior trim
• 18-way adjustable seats
• Heated front seats
• Heated steering wheel
• Configurable 12.6-inch digital instrument cluster
• 10.9-inch touchscreen media system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto
• Sat nav
• DAB+ digital radio
• Connected services
• Dual-zone climate control
• Surround-view camera
• Carbon-fibre interior trim strips
• Microfibre headlining

To see how the Porsche 911 lines up against the competition, check out ourcomparison tool

Is the Porsche 911 safe?

Safety rating for the 911? Nope. There isn’t one.

But it has the following tech as standard:

• Adaptive cruise control
• Autonomous emergency braking
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Lane-keep assist
• Traffic sign recognition
• Driver fatigue detection
• Surround view camera
• Front and rear parking sensors

There are also dual front, front side, and curtain airbags – but only those in the front seats are covered.

To see how the Porsche 911 lines up against the competition, check out ourcomparison tool

How much does the Porsche 911 cost to run?

There’s a three-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty for Porsche customers, but many opt to extend the warranty out on a yearly basis, and the maximum period is 15 years!

There’s no capped-price plan, but service intervals are expected to be the same as other 911s, at every 12 months or 15,000km (whichever comes first). Talk to your local Porsche dealer and it’ll give you an idea of what to budget for maintenance… or not, if you can afford $600K on a car!

Roadside assistance is available – you get 12 months for free, and it will top up if you service with the brand.

To see how the Porsche 911 lines up against the competition, check out ourcomparison tool

CarExpert’s Take on the Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet

It’s hard not to think of this as one of the best drop-top sports cars ever made.

It’s superb. Brilliant. Comfortable. Epic. And almost impossibly fast.

Sometimes for the best things in life you have to pay a premium. And in this instance, I can certainly attest to the fact this is one of those ‘best things’.

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