Q – I have a 1986 Carrera Cabrio and it needs a new top. The top shop has offered me a 993 top which has the integrated rear window instead of the original zippered type. They offered me either top at the same price and I am thinking about it. I wondered what you thought about the idea. Have you seen this done before? Paul
A – Well Paul, I sure hope that you have insurance on the top…it is very expensive! When I got estimates on mine they ranged from $1,600 to $2,100. And if that hurts, you can spend $3,000 to $4,000 on the newer tops with the heat bonded rear windows!
I have seen the later style top on the earlier car and I like it a lot. The car looks more streamlined and the rear window is smaller. It looks a lot more like a Speedster. When you look at a 993 Cab compared to the older Carrera and 964, the top on the older car looks dated…classic but funky.
The newer top has a flat rear window rather than the original zippered rear window. So you can’t open it. Being able to open the rear window can be handy but one aspect of it that I don’t like is that with the window zipped up, the top curls oddly if you leave the top down too long. On my car, it always stays curled to some degree, I assume based on the age of the top. So to get the top to stay flat, I have to unzip the rear window each time I put it down, an annoying gymnastic exercise.
If you consider your car a collectible, you should only consider the original style top otherwise the value of your car may be reduced. If you are comfortable taking artistic license (it is your car after all) you get to decide. Either way, you will get a lot of compliments and a rear window that you can actually see through. Won’t that be a treat? – MC