In the Porsche 911T Targa from 1972, the word “Targa” first appears.
A targa top, also known simply as a targa, is a semi-convertible car body design with a removable roof portion and a full width roll bar behind the seats. The phrase, which was initially used on the 1966 Porsche 911 Targa, is still Porsche AG’s registered trademark.
Although the back window is typically fixed, some Targas have plastic foldable windows that can be removed, turning them into convertibles. Sometimes referred to as a targa band, targa bar, or a wrapover band, a targa band is any piece of generally fixed metal or trim that rises up from one side, crosses the roof, and descends the opposite side.
In contrast to T-tops, which often have two distinct roof panels above the seats that fit between the window and central t-bar, a targa top typically has two separate roof panels that fit between the window and central t-bar.
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What Makes the Porsche 911 Targa Such a Unique Sports Car?
Porsche has been producing its recognizable rear-engine 911 sports vehicle since the early 1960s, but in 1965, the company unveiled a very distinctive model that was a cross between a full convertible and a closed-roof coupe.
The two-door vehicle had a steel hoop, which resembled a thick roll bar and extended just below the heads of the passengers in the case of a roll-over. A fold-down plastic window that could be replaced with a heated glass rear window for an additional cost closed the back of the cabin to stop drafts. For open-air driving, the little folding roof panel over the heads of the passengers could be removed, or they may fasten it for a coupe-like driving experience.
The Targa was the name of this ground-breaking Porsche that could function as both a convertible and a coupe (the name was borrowed from a famous road race in Sicily called the “Targa Florio”).
After more than 50 years, Porsche is still selling the Targa as part of its current 911 portfolio. The 2021 Porsche 911 Targa, however, has a unique, fully automatic and motorized transitional roof that converts in only 19 seconds at the touch of a button, in contrast to earlier models that required the foldable top to be manually removed and stowed for open-top driving.
The Targa Florio event in Italy is where the name originated.
The auto business is full with strange, unusual terminology with obscure roots. If you give them enough thought, some become more apparent than others, but occasionally an automaker needs to inform its followers. Porsche did that today, taking to Twitter to clarify why some of its models are referred to as Targas. Porsche took its name from the Targa Florio, a race held in Southern Italy in which Porsche had previously participated.
In the early 1950s, Porsche participated in the Targa Florio and won a few races there. Porsche pondered dubbing the 911 Flori when it eventually built what would become known as the Targa, which was created in response to ambiguous safety rules. However, Harald Wagner, the organization’s Head of Domestic Sales, that Porsche call it the Targa.
The Italian word for license plate or number plate is targa. According to reports, Porsche was unaware of this translation until the copywriters began working on the sales brochure. In 1965, Porsche filed a trademark application for the Targa, and in 1966, the Targa was added to the Porsche 911 lineup.
The Porsche Targa’s past
At the Frankfurt International Motor Show in September 1965, Porsche debuted the 911 Targa. The Targa is a wholly unique vehicle that is the first safety cabriolet in the world to feature a fixed safety or roll bar. It is neither a cabriolet nor a coupe, nor a hard top nor a saloon.
Thanks to a detachable folding roof and a fold-down plastic rear window, driving in the open air may now be enjoyed in open-top automobiles in a number of ways: entirely closed, fully open, or merely with the center roof part removed or the back window folded down. The Targa idea served as the catalyst for a completely new form of Porsche driving experience that would later appear in other vehicles like the 914 and Carrera GT in addition to all following 911 models.
Why is a Porsche considered a Targa?
As part of the Frankfurt International Motor Show in September 1965, Porsche unveiled the 911 Targa. The 911 Targa, which has a fold-down plastic rear window that can be set to fully, partially, or closed, and a retractable folding roof, is a great option for drivers who want to enjoy the outdoors.
Are Porsche Targas uncommon?
You cannot travel around Los Angeles without coming across a Porsche 911. The sight of the backward sports vehicle from Germany blends in perfectly with the surrounding landscape of strip malls, food trucks, snow-capped mountains, and the Pacific Ocean. The dovetail design of the 911 merges with the surroundings after 50 years in Los Angeles.
Porsche purchasers spend five figures on distinctive hues in order to distinguish out. Or they might spend $20,100 more than the cost of the coupe to purchase the Targa, which comes close to becoming a convertible. Even if you don’t receive targas painted in Frozen Berry or Peridot Green, they are unusual and a rare sight. Our eyes have never gotten used to the unconventional appearance of the Targa, which is why it stands out among leased Mustang convertibles and black Priuses.
Fear gave birth to the Targa. Because of the risk to occupants in rollover accidents, safety activists in the United States threatened to abolish convertibles in the 1960s. A straightforward and deliciously off-kilter reaction to this grave threat was the Targa. Its rollover hoop was created with the goals of appeasing bureaucrats, saving lives, maintaining structural stiffness, and preserving open-air driving. The odd stopgap, created for laws that were never implemented, nevertheless persisted after the 1983 release of the 911 Convertible.
The Targa looks like something Citroen’s designers would make; it is oddly appealing yet not awful. It should come as no surprise that the French have a name for this particular atypical appeal: jolie laide, or ugly pretty. Many Hollywood celebrities possess it. It is in a barely-perfect condition that is intriguing but never repulsive. In order to be noticed in Los Angeles, you need to be particularly beautiful.
What material makes up the Porsche Targa top?
Convertibles have always been criticized for being death traps due to the possibility of rollovers. US lawmakers even contemplated prohibiting them in the 1960s. Porsche created a safer pop-top to replace the roof of the 911 coupe in an effort to avoid such a restriction by sandwiching it between the roll bar and the windshield. Following the Italian Targa Florio sports car race, the manufacturer named its new model the Targa. After over 50 years, Porsche has improved the iconic design with a smarter roof that features a cutting-edge push-button technology to protect owners’ manicures.
1 | Forming Glass The glass was the most challenging aspect of the Targa puzzle, not the mechanics. Most component makers believed that the back window was too large and curved to be produced. However, after looking for a supplier with a sophisticated and huge oven for two years, Porsche finally located one.
2 | Ballet Mechanical The Targa morphs with the push of a button. Two panel covers lift and move inward while hydraulic cylinders raise the rear glass, enabling the roof’s arms to rise and rotate back. The magnesium-coated Teflon top is pulled over the roll bar by hydraulics, and it is then stored in a compartment in the back, immediately above the engine.
3 | Safety and Fashion The metal hoop that covered a roll bar was the original Targa’s distinguishing feature. Porsche kept the recognizable basket-handle appearance as a reference to the history of the vehicle. Today’s design, however, is more complex: Die-cast aluminum panels conceal complex mechanisms and a huge roll bar made of molded steel.
Open Sesame, a.k.a. A $100,000 car that needs the owner to perform manual labor is difficult to sell. Popping the top required lifting off the vinyl-covered rigid scaffolding that served as the original Targa’s roof. The driver simply needs to move one finger to use the new, completely automated system, which is speedier.
The Porsche Targa has a hardtop, right?
The Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS blurs the distinction between a coupe and a convertible with its distinctive retractable hardtop, but its astounding performance is anything but vague.
This vehicle has two transmission options: a seven-speed manual is standard, but an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic is also available at no additional charge.
What Porsche Targa is the quickest?
The 2021 Porsche 911 Targa mechanically adheres to the example set by the 997 Targa years before by only providing an all-wheel-drive configuration. Customers can choose between the Targa 4 and Targa 4S at launch, both of which are powered by the same engine as its equivalent Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S sisters. This implies that the Targa 4’s 3.0-liter twin-turbo flat-six engine, mated to an eight-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission, produces 379 horsepower and 331 lb-ft of torque. When you upgrade to the Targa 4S, the 3.0-liter engine gains 443 horsepower and 390 lb-ft of torque. In addition to the eight-speed PDK that is standard, you also have the choice of a seven-speed manual transmission that is included with the Sport Chrono package.
To drive very, really fast, you don’t need the S or GTS, as we just learned in the standard 992 Carrera. The Targa 4 can reach 60 mph in 4.0 seconds and a top speed of 179 mph when both have PDK and Sport Chrono installed, while the Targa 4S can reach 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 188 mph. Naturally, given that this is a Porsche, anticipate a decrease in acceleration when a Targa is tested by outside parties.
What distinguishes a Targa?
The iconic style of the car from the 1960s is still present in the modern Targa variant with startling similarities. Nearly all of the proportions are kept, and Porsche even emblazons the distinctive “Targa” model identifier on each side of the iconic hoop.
However, behind the surface, there are glaring technological discrepancies. The roof of the original car was a foldable metal frame covered in vinyl that had to be manually removed and stowed. The 2021 model has a lightweight magnesium panel that drives away with the push of a button. It also comes with sound and temperature insulation (it literally disappears from view).
The opening and closing procedures are carried out with the dexterity of a skilled ballet. In order to lift the entire rear decklid off the sports car’s back and keep it there so the little roof can be retracted and stowed, each motor, pulley, and cable patiently wait for its chance to pirouette.
The Porsche 911 Targa provides its occupants with a riding experience with fresh air above when the roof is open. The automatic dual-zone climate control keeps the temperature constant while the roof is closed, keeping the outside world at a distance.
The 911 Targa doesn’t sacrifice storage or space like most open-top cars do. The 2+2 cabin provides ample space for two front passengers (passengers with six feet or more will find the accommodations pleasant), as well as two tiny seats in the back. Both seatbacks fold when not in use to maximize cargo space even though they are only suitable for children. Additionally, the 911’s rear-engine design results in a sizable “frunk” (front-mounted trunk) in the Targa’s nose, big enough to accommodate a pair of 22-inch roller bags.
Speaking of engines, Porsche equips each Targa model with a 3.0-liter flat-6 engine that is horizontally opposed. The six-cylinder engine is equipped with two turbochargers, allowing it to produce 443 horsepower and 390 pound-feet of torque in the more potent and sportier Targa 4S edition. Both cars come with an automatic, 8-speed “PDK” dual-clutch transmission as the standard.
Performance is Porsche-like, which translates to lightning-quick acceleration (both models’ 0-60 times are under four seconds) and thrilling driving characteristics that will satisfy even the most jaded aficionado. Ignore the critics who claim that Porsche places the engine at the incorrect end of the car because the added heft over the back wheels helps with acceleration and braking, boosting the performance of the sports car.
Both the Targa 4 and Targa 4S come standard with all-wheel drive, which enhances traction no matter the terrain or time of year. The 911 has some of the best steering in the market, and Porsche brakes continue to set the standard.
The Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Corvette immediately come to mind as examples of nameplates that have been produced for more than 50 years, but Porsche has managed to do something that no other automaker has been able to match: the modern 911 Targa has astonishingly similar styling to the celebrated styling of the 1960s car.
Even the most casual onlooker would be able to notice the striking similarities between the original 1967 Porsche 911 S Targa and the new 2021 Porsche 911 C4S Targa. This is a singular and noteworthy triumph that makes the Targa a very special, and timeless, stand-out. While most consumers would find it difficult to see the evolution of the Mustang and Corvette over five decades.