2012 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet set for Detroit debut

Bernhard Maier, Porsche AG Board of Management Member for Sales and Marketing, has confirmed the Cabriolet debut will take place at the Detroit show as the US is by far the largest market for the 911 cabriolet models.

As previously reported, the new Cabriolet will go on sale in Australia at the same time the coupe arrives in March. It will be available, at least initially, in Carrera and Carrera S guises.

The 2012 911 Carrera Cabriolet will come equipped with the new 3.4-litre flat-six engine producing 257kW of power, while the Carrera S Cabriolet will feature the 3.8-litre flat six producing 294kW.

Both models will be backed up by a seven-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission. A seven-speed manual transmission will be optional.

When it hits Australian shores in March, prices will kick off at $255,100 for the base model Carrera (up from $245,300 from the outgoing model), and $288,300 for the Carrera S Cabriolet (up from $275,100).

More images of the new variant have been released to build up anticipation before its show debut (click on the 'Gallery' button at the top of the article to see them all). The Detroit show starts on January 9.