And that day in 2011 I was on my way to elsewhere and found a Porsche display near the gates of Terminal 3 (T3) of the Beijing Capital International Airport in China. A typical departure area with boring shops and overpriced food. So seeing some Porsches was very good.
They had two fantastic 911 sports cars on show (997-second phase): a yellow Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Coupe and a white Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet.
They were specced beautifully and loaded with options. The Carrera 4S was fitted with the Porsche Aero Cup Kit, inspired by the Carrera Cup racers. The kit includes a front lip, a revised front bumper, side skirts, and a double-winged rear spoiler.
It was painted in yellow with darkened windows and a gray interior. The wheels were pretty too: matte gray twin-five spoke with large ventilated brake discs and red brake calipers.
The Carrera 4S got power from a 3.8 liter flat-six with 385 hp and 420 Nm. The motor was mated to a 7-speed DCT sending horses to all four wheels. Top speed was 295 km/h and 0-100 took 4.5 seconds. Price in 2011 was 1.7 million yuan, and that’s without the Aero Cup Kit.
The Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet was probably even prettier, Painted in pearl white with a black convertible roof and a light beige interior. Just perfect. It has shiny gray triple-five spoke alloy wheels with red brake calipers.
The Carrera S used the same motor and gearbox as the 4S but it was rear-wheel drive instead of four-wheel drive. Price in 2011 started at 1.74 million yuan. So for almost the same money you could have a 4S Coupe or a S Cabriolet. Well, the white car for me please! I just love beige interiors…
Strangely, nobody paid much attention to the Porsche display. Everybody was busy buying tax-free cigarettes and booze and perfume.
They had a video showing highlights of Porsche’s illustrious racing history. On screen a scene from Le Mans with a 911 GT3 RSR in the middle.
The display was manned by a little lady, seen here from the rear, wearing a warm coat. It was early April then and still quite cold outside. Just imagine taking that Cabriolet to southern China in a hot hot summer, with the roof down, of course.