Porsche 911 Targa

14 January, 2014

J-C Etter

Porsche returns to the roots of the Targa concept with this new version of the 991 series.

The type 964 911 was the last of the “real Targa”, with a removable roof. The 993, 996 and 997 series 911 models all featured versions using the name, but the concept morphed into sliding glass roofs which fell short of providing a full, unobstructed open air experience. Porsche invented the Targa name in 1966 to designate the removable rigid roof concept. The solution had been chosen for fear that soft top convertibles would be outright banned in the US, which was already a crucial market for the brand.

For the 991 series, Porsche returns to the roots of the Targa concept with a rigid roof which slides electrically underneath a glass greenhouse covering the rear seats. This ingenious solution should provide an attractive compromise between the enjoyment of open air driving and the added comfort of a better noise insulation during the off season.

The 991 Targa is available in two versions: Targa 4 et Targa 4S. The former receives the 3496 cm3 flat six engine putting out 390 Nm at 5600 rpm and hp at 7400 rpm (0-100 km/h 4.8s, 282 km/h, 8.7 to 9.5 L/100km in the normalized driving cycle). The latter gets the 3800 cm3 version of the six cylinder engine with 400 hp at 7400 rpm and peak torque of 440 Nm at 5600 rpm (0-100 km/h in 4.4s, 296 km/h, 9.2 à 10.0 L/100km normalized). Both engines can be mated to the 7 ratios manual gearbox or the twin clutch PDK gearbox with 7 ratios as well. All-wheel-drive transmission is the only available option.

DIN weight is 1540kg (Targa 4 manual), 1560kg (Targa 4 PDK), 1555kg (Targa 4S manual) and 1575kg (Targa 4S PDK), or 40kg more than the euivalent Carrera 4 Cabriolet configurations.

In Switzerland, pricing for the new Porsche 911 Targa 4 starts at CHF 148‘200, and CHF 166‘500 for the 911 Targa 4S, or 200 CHF more than their soft top counterparts. In Germany, pries range from 109.338 Euro for the Targa 4 and 124.094 Euro for the 911 Targa S, VAT included.