BMW and Mercedes like to fill a market niche,
but it turnes out Porsche does it as well.
Between 911 coupé and convertible, they found room for this Targa.
It's design is very traditional, and is a flashback to first Targa's.
No longer a large sunroof, but a real, more open targa design
This is how it works:
First, the rear window goes up and backwards,
then, the roof slides underneath the window,
after which the window closes again.
Ready for a nice open drive.
And that's what's new.
Just kidding: of course, there is a lot more to tell about the Targa.
Let's start with the history of the car, with this, the first Targa.
It's not just a car Porsche designed to earn more money.
This car comes with a very interesting story.
The story starts in the sixties, in the USA.
Partly because of the book 'Unsafe at any speed', R. Nader,
many people thought cars were unsafe, or even suicide weapons.
That's why Porsche thought convertibles might become illegal.
This was a problem, because Porsche sold many convertibles in the US
This car, with it's roll bar, was Porsches solution.
In the not very unlikely case your old 911 flips over,
it does what in a convertible your neck would do.
So its both safe and open, because of the removable roof.
A retractable hardtop 'avant la lettre'.
They called it 'Targa', after the famous Targa Florio-race.
Since then, the Targa belongs to the 911 lineup.
The roll-over bar makes it very recognizable.
But since the 993, the Targa became a car with a giant sunroof.
The new 991 turns back to its roots, and has a real Targa-roof.
Fortunately, lots of things did change.
This car is from 1969, and feels very old.
That's fine, but it makes the evolution of the car very clear.
In the back, there is a 2.2, 6-cyl boxer with mechanical injection.
It deliveres around 155 PS,
and is connected to a very special automatic gearbox: Sportomatic.
The car does the clutching, but you have to change gear by hand.
Believe me, that is not as easy as it sounds in such an old car.
One of the things that have luckily changed by now.
Today, the car has a 3.4 6-cyl boxer engine.
It deliveres 350 PS and sounds...
Fantastic. Especially at high revs.
That's where it's at its best, because it weighs alsmost 1700 kg.
Quite a lot, especially for a sports car like this.
That's also why it doesn't feel very fast below 5k tpm.
An open car and a 6-cyl engine that likes revs...
What else could you possibly wish for?
The gearbox is also completely different than the old Sportomatic.
Now there's this PDK, double-clutch gearbox.
It's incredibly fast, even in 'D' it's always in the right gear.
In Sport+, using the paddles, it's just as fast.
Gearchanges in Sport+ are very spectacular,
which makes you feel very involved.
While driving, you can feel it's quite heavy.
It's a bit softer than the coupé,
This is all very relative, differences are small,
but it's slightly more of a 'cruiser', more comfortable.
The Targa has Porsches well-known 4WD as standard,
which means it has loads of grip and is very fast in corners.
It offers a very nice combination of grip and comfort.
It's not as sharp as the coupé,
but it's the ultimate open cruiser with a great drivetrain.
Pleasure with a capital P.
Is the return to the classic Targa look an improvement?
It depends on the way you look at it,
it certainly isn't the most practical open 911.
You can't open the roof while driving, like the convertible,
and if there is an object behind the car, the roof won't work.
Opening takes 20 seconds, too long for a stop at a traffic light.
So no, it isn't very practical.
However, it is way more distinctive than its predecessor.
The roll-over bar makes it very recognizable.
If you like the way it looks,
it's a very pleasant, very spectacular cruiser.
+ Distinctive; Spectacular engine
- Heavy; Opening roof takes effort