Wisely, TechArt wants to veer away from the 'strictly tuner' image these days. The company would prefer to be known as creators of bespoke sports cars-things that give the particular TechArt thrill, but can also match a watch, purse, or shoes. This is to say that TechArt does the absolute best interior work in the Porsche business, regardless of whether a client's taste is refined or otherwise. Sadly, North American customers cannot procure such bespoke interiors easily, as the real deal is done only in Leonberg, Germany. It's good enough that Porsche farms out series-production Cayenne cargo area interior work to TechArt.
Whereas the GTstreet Coupe was painted a phosphorescent green with a black roof, hood, and that evil, tall rear wing, the Cabriolet gets Carrara White paint inside and out, a loose roof, and a newly designed wing to meld better with the open look and aero characteristics. This is far from simply a soft-top version of the coupe. It had a few tweaks up its sleeve just in time for the annual Tuner Grand Prix in May at the Hockenheimring.
Chief wrinkle is that this Turbo Cabriolet chassis has had its front differential deactivated, thus rendering this particular GTstreet cabrio a rear-driver eligible for the Class 5 race and perfectly capable of entering the drifting contest. This is a variation one can order, to go with the TechArt 097/T2 or T3 top-end turbo upgrades. TechArt doesn't advertise this alteration and generally makes it available only to those who wish to do club sport racing and such. There are, not surprisingly, few takers. After all, the TechArt GTstreet RS based on the 997 GT2 will be ready this summer and will do rear-wheel driving more naturally while possessing a projected 700-plus hp.
The green coupe had the full-on T3 up-tune to 621 hp (SAE) and 605 pounding feet of torque. To showcase the T2 goosing, TechArt has injected it into this cabrio for 591 hp and 590 lb-ft. Which is plenty of grunt even for a relatively heavy sports car. Actually, the thing hauls. While the T3 kit reports 621 hp officially, it dynos out-according to TechArt-at 661 (our Middle Eastern brethren lose 20-some horsepower due to their boiling and humid air). In similar fashion, this T2 upgrade records 607 hp.
TechArt removes the stock KKK BorgWarner VTG turbos and replaces them with an adapted pair of VTG units-also created by KKK BorgWarner-good for up to 18.9 psi boost pressure during the Sport Chrono's overboost phase. While the stock 997 Turbo reaches to 6750 rpm, the GTstreet engine is marked for 6900 rpm. In sixth gear of TechArt's exquisite short-throw iteration of the Getrag manual, I was accelerating powerfully from a crawling speed all the way up to near 200 mph on an empty autobahn. Between 1750 and 6900 rpm, the 590-lb-ft pulling power is all there, pancaking the driver into fully re-skinned sport seats. Key to maximum fear and enjoyment is to take the revs all the way to around 6899 before shifting up with creamy smooth delight. At 125 mph in the wind tunnel, famous Porsche frontal lift is held to just 20 pounds, while the subtle fixed angle of the rear wing keeps downforce at 11 pounds. Thus, the car fairly slips through the air with a 0.33 drag coefficient when the roof is up.