986 Hardtop Question
 

Does anyone know why some hardtops have an extra panel near the window edge, see attached photoshttp://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1653503466.jpg

Here is photo without the panel http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02/Z_3_1653503830.jpg

Those are known as "ears"

http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/58949-hardtop-question-year-compatability.html

Great information thank you very much. Is there a way to remove the "ear" panel or they are stuck forever?

The panels pop off, but the ears conceal a connecting point for the roof transport system. It will look worse than the ears. I have a hard top with ears and I prefer the "ear-free" look. I searched on the topic of removing the ears and if I recall correctly, there is a thread from someone who had a body shop fill the area occupied by the ears and then painted it to blend in with the rest of the hard top.

That might be a good option if you were planning to paint the hard top anyway. For example, if you decide to paint a hard top from a different car to match your car. In my case, I bought my hard top used, but it was the same color as my car. I decided I could live with the ears.

Good luck.

Kevin nailed it, it's the original connecting point for the RTS, but it was so noisy Porsche removed them from the hardtop around 1999 and recommended using the RTS with the body mount location for both the hardtop and softtop.

And there was someone on this forum several years ago that had them removed by a bodyshop. :cheers: