The Porsche 911 Targa not only looks like a modern classic, it also harkens back to the early years of the famous brand. Thanks to the ingenious roof construction, you really experience the 'open-air sensation', but still feel safe.
Text: Erik Kouwenhoven
Online editor: Natasha Hendriks
In the mid-911s there was quite a stir about car safety in the US. A problem for Porsche, because the brand is afraid that the discussion will ultimately lead to a 911 Cabriolet being no longer allowed to be sold there. Although it never happens in the end, that is in short what we have the 1967 Targa to thank for. In 2014, Porsche introduced this model, which combines open-top driving with the safety of a coupe. The middle part of the roof and the rear window can be removed, but the roll bar cannot. If the car unexpectedly overturns, you will not be scalped immediately. The word 'targa' comes from the Italian language and means plate/shield. Porsche chose this name because the brand had been successful in the famous road race on the island of Sicily, the Targa Florio. The fact that the rear window of the Targa consisted of a transparent piece of plastic that was attached to the body with a zipper was not seen as a problem at the time. Also the folding Targa roof part that you could – with a bit of luck without losing fingers or other limbs – fold and store under the front hatch would not be appreciated by any Porsche customer in 1968. Porsche therefore quickly provided a glass rear window as an option for those who wanted more comfort and less zipper hassle. Shortly afterwards, in XNUMX, the glass rear window became standard and the soft window became an option.
The 911 Targa has always remained a bit of an odd one out in Porsche's lineup. Still, the Targa was a popular model in the early years. Later, stories of the Targa's disadvantages began to dominate. The eternal whistling along the cracks in the roof, the hassle of carrying the heavy roof panel that was difficult to disassemble on your own and the ugly sight of bent and worn rubbers slowly started to dominate. A car wash was also taboo for Targa drivers, unless you were ready for a soapy shower yourself. Porsche ultimately opted for the solution of a large sliding roof in later models, making complaints regarding wind noise and incontinence problems a thing of the past. The car also looked a lot more masculine. But then the Targa purists started complaining. Because this was of course no longer a 'real' Targa. Since 2014, the classic Targa has returned in a new guise, with the entire middle part of the roof disappearing at the back of the car. The model looks cool and retro with its magnesium roll bar compared to its recent predecessors. In 2020, this intermediate form of the coupe and convertible accounts for approximately a quarter of total 911 sales.
Then it's time to drive. We want to drive fast. But the Targa thinks differently. With its relatively comfortable chassis and the autumn sun on our skulls, the 911 lulls us over the dike roads. The 911 Targa is therefore not a car that challenges you to drive fast. The question is why. August Achleitner, Porsche 911 product manager, answers: “We deliberately tuned the chassis less sharply than that of the coupe. For example, we have increased the compression and rebound stroke of the suspension and also made other elements more comfortable.” The 911 Targa is by no means a ladies' hairdresser's car, because press the Sport Plus button and the car puts all systems in street fighter mode. Anyway: the Targa is not the sharpest 911, also due to the extra weight that the roof construction brings with it. A Targa weighs about 110 kilograms more than the coupe. And so with the Targa we mainly do what this would-be classic is good at: quietly cruising over dikes, through Switzerland, or along the coastal roads of countries such as France, Italy and Spain, where life is good.
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