The other day, my friend Tomozō-san took delivery of his 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet (early 991), so the three of us—TAKURO’s 981 Boxster GTS, my Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, and Tomozō’s car—headed out for a day trip touring the usual wide-area Okayama farm roads.

This time, I’d like to share a report on that tour and my impressions of the Carrera GTS Cabriolet.

AM 7:30

I met up with TAKURO at a convenience store, and this time we aimed for Okayama via the Chugoku Expressway.

It was quite cold that day, with outside temperatures on the highway hovering around 3 to 5°C. This was my first serious highway run since switching to winter tires, and it was extremely comfortable—there was absolutely no wobbliness or instability at high speeds.

In fact, compared to summer tires, these winter tires offered better grip in these low temperatures, giving me a strong sense of confidence. Although we took breaks along the way, we were on track to arrive earlier than expected.

From Yamanami Kaidō to Oku-Kibi Kaidō

At that point, we suddenly changed our route. To drive the unplanned Mimasaka Yamanami Kaidō, we exited at Tsuyama IC.

After refueling at a nearby gas station, we set off onto the Yamanami Kaidō!

This was my first time driving the Carrera 4 GTS on this road. Since I was on winter tires, I couldn’t immediately feel the grip and cautiously increased my pace. The outside temperature ranged from 6 to 9°C at this time. When pushing hard, there was a slight squirming sensation at the end, but the dry road grip was impressive.

Naturally, my pace picked up, and eventually, I completely forgot I was on winter tires. We then turned onto Oku-Kibi Kaidō, where the NA flat-six roars from the two GTS cars echoed even louder.

The outside temperature was 3°C. Grip and stability felt even stronger than when we were on Yamanami Kaidō earlier. It seems winter tires have a sweet spot around this temperature.

Without hesitation, I floored the accelerator in second gear and powered out of corners. The catapult-like traction of the Carrera 4 is addictive.

Later, when I asked TAKURO, who was chasing me in the Boxster GTS, he said, “It’s insanely fast! I even switched to Sport Plus to keep up (laughs).” I didn’t feel like I was driving that fast, but that just shows how incredible the Carrera 4 GTS’s performance really is.

After a while, a black 911 with a ducktail suddenly appeared right in front of us.

Looking closely, it was an early 991 Cabriolet. Yes, this was Tomozō-san’s newly purchased Carrera GTS Cabriolet.

We met up at Ukankōzan Park to take a closer look at the car.

This was an exquisite spec: not only leather interior but even the instrument panel was brown. I’d only seen this once before on a 996, but this was my first time seeing it on a 991.

This car isn’t just equipped with the three holy grails of Sport Chrono, Sport Exhaust, and PASM—it also boasts 18-way Sport Seats Plus, seat ventilation, PCCB, and PDCC, making it a seven-holy-grail spec that rivals even the Turbo S in terms of performance.

Plus, with the genuine ducktail spoiler, the exterior looks incredibly cool. On a Cabriolet, the rear can sometimes appear to drop off sharply, but the ducktail cleverly balances that out.

Especially when viewed directly from behind while driving, it somehow resembles the 991 Speedster, which is a fascinating sight.

Test Driving the Carrera GTS Cabriolet (early 991)

I immediately took it for a short spin. The sound, engine feel, and PDK shifts were very similar to my own Carrera 4 GTS.

I expected the sound to be more direct with the roof down, but that wasn’t the case. The coupe and cabriolet feel almost the same, likely thanks to the sound symposer drawing the engine sound into the cabin.

A rich, layered deep bass ‘Gwooon!’ resonates from around 3500 rpm. This tone is unique to the GTS and not found on the S.

While driving, the ride comfort over vertical bumps at low speed wasn’t much different from my coupe. However, the big difference was in lateral movement. This is largely thanks to PDCC, which clearly reduces body roll in corners.

Tomozō-san mentioned that in city driving, when road surfaces differ on each side, the reduced sway is very noticeable, showing PDCC’s effectiveness.

Switching PDCC to Sport mode and cornering further highlighted the difference between having it and not. The car maintains an incredibly flat posture with minimal roll. Some might find this unnatural, but I love this feeling of invincibility.

I had completely forgotten while driving, but this is an RR car. My GTS is a Carrera 4, and the previous GTS Cabriolet I drove was also a Carrera 4, so I expected to notice the difference quickly, but this Carrera GTS Cabriolet didn’t feel much like a two-wheel-drive car at all.

I suspect this is due to the high front-end grip PDCC provides by controlling roll. It’s an RR with surprisingly little of the typical RR feel.

Round Trip on Kagura Kaidō

With all three cars together, we headed to the famous ‘Kagura Kaidō.’ This road has appeared many times on the blog, so I’ll skip the details, but it’s a fantastic winding road.

With no destination in mind, we simply planned to enjoy a 27 km stretch of exhilarating road back and forth—some might say we were crazy. The three GTS cars echoed their thrilling sounds as they disappeared into the mountains.

Along the way, we swapped cars at the Kirinomi Umi Observation Hill and enjoyed lively car talk.

Comparing again with the Cabriolet, Tomozō-san said the coupe still feels more cohesive and solid. Perhaps the absence of a roof creates subtle differences in response. While the 992 shows almost no difference, the early 991 Cabriolet and coupe seem to have a more noticeable gap.

That said, the round trip on Kagura Kaidō is quite demanding. This is truly a case of being ‘completely satisfied.’ After driving over 50 km of winding roads, you do start to feel a bit tired.

Kibi Plateau Kaidō and Ebimeshi

As the sun set, the three cars slowed their pace and headed home.

We drove the now-dark Kibi Plateau Kaidō, thoroughly enjoying the drive. Honestly, Okayama Prefecture has so many great roads for spirited driving. For car lovers—or rather, driving enthusiasts—it’s like paradise.

Along the way, we tried Okayama’s specialty called “Ebimeshi.” It looks like a very rich dry curry, but it’s surprisingly light and easy to eat.

After enjoying Ebimeshi, we took the expressway straight home. We covered a lot of ground this time as well. Thanks again, TAKURO and Tomozō!

Route Map for This Trip