Porsche reveals new 992 911 Targa

Porsche was not the first to offer a coupe with detachable roof panel but over the decades has made the style its own. In the past, one in 10 911 buyers have taken the Targa route, a proportion that has held up despite the presence in the 911 line-up since the mid 1980s of a full convertible. The Targa predates the Cabriolet by almost 20 years but clearly its halfway house appeal – all the safety and security of the coupe with in effect a giant sunroof – continues to endure.

Today the Cabrio and Targa live happily alongside each other each, though the suspicion is they appeal to rather different buyers. Nothing to do with price, either: they are the same to the penny, with both new Targa and Cabrio in equivalent 911 Carrera 4 form costing from £98,170, or around £10k more than the coupe. The Cabrio is already out, first deliveries of the Targa for the UK are due August.

The Targa stays very much in the vein of its most recent predecessor in playing up the classic Targa style, as defined by the wide, silver-finish B-pillar hoop and huge wraparound rear screen with no C-pillars. In the 1960s the hoop over the car was originally the “safety cabriolet’s” life-preserving secret weapon during rollover accidents for suddenly safety-conscious Americans, but these days is as much signature design cue. Quite right too.

There’s no return to the slidey glass roof panel of the 993 series Targas of the 1990s. The panel here is solid, available in different colours, and, like the previous 991 Targa, stores away unobtrusively behind the rear seats at the press of a button.

Closed to open takes 19 seconds: the roof section pivots up and rearwards, the wraparound rear screen rises up to allow the panel to swing down into its storage space, the screen comes back down on to its seals, job done. It’s a system well proven with the 991, and quite an evolution over the original idea of a manually detachable roof panel with, in the earliest Targas, a removable soft rear screen.

Then again, since the era of zip-out plastic rear windows the 911 has come on a bit in all sorts of other ways as well. By now the world knows how good the latest 911 coupe is, with its twin turbo 3.0-litre flat-six, muscular wide stance and dynamic adroitness. None of that is likely to be different in the Targa.

Power is the same as the coupe at 385PS (380bhp) or opt for the (£12k more) S version and enjoy 450PS (444bhp). The standard car gets to 62mph in 4.2 seconds, the 911 Carrera 4S Targa in 3.6, with top speeds of 180mph and 189mph.

All Targas, so far, are all-wheel-drive. It’s not confirmed there will be an entry rear-drive model, but Porsche has confirmed you will be able to opt for the new seven-speed manual gearbox if the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission PDK doesn’t float your boat. The manual shifter is a no-cost option that comes with the Sport Chrono package.

This, or the convertible? With classic 911 style cues played up even more than the already successful coupe, plus its more coupe-like profile, the Targa wins for us every time. And the special launch edition Targa, due to be unveiled in June, could be just the car…

Love 911s? Have a listen to the new 911 GT3 testing at Monza…