‘MotorWeek’ Discusses What Makes the Porsche 911 Targa 4 Truly Unique
Porsche’s Targa has been around for five-plus decades, but the 992 Targa 4 carries its prestigious torch admirably.
In the world of Porsche, the word Targa holds quite a bit of prominence, having debuted on the legendary 911 way back in 1965 at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt, Germany. Neither a cabriolet nor a coupe, hardtop, or sedan, the Targa was and remains a truly unique vehicle today, many years after its debut. And that’s something that left an impression with the folks at MotorWeek during their review of the new 992 Porsche 911 Targa 4.
As the long-running TV magazine points out, unlike the other many 911 variants, the 911 Targa 4 is easy to spot. “Its glass bubble hatchlike rear and silver Targa bar make it very apparent, even from a distance,” MW said. “The customary benefit of a Targa roof is of course delivering the open-air experience, but with more body solidity than a traditional convertible, and of course, rollover protection.”
Indeed, the 911 Targa was originally designed by Porsche to meet strict safety standards that nearly killed off the convertible automobile altogether. But despite the fact that automakers have since figured out how to make drop-tops incredibly safe, the Targa soldiers on, as popular as ever. “To us, it seems more of a styling exercise at this point,” MW noted.
Throw all-wheel-drive into the mix, and the new 911 Targa 4 is basically “an all-weather convertible,” though a rather spirited one. This base car is powered by Porsche’s 3.0-liter twin-turbo flat-six which produces 379 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque, while the 4S upgrades those numbers to 443 hp and 390 lb-ft. Either way, the flat-sixes are mated to an 8-speed automatic or seven-speed manual as a no-cost option.
“Despite not being the most powerful 911 by a long shot, the 911 Targa 4 launches hard and feels quite exhilarating getting up to speed,” MW noted. In their testing, the Targa 4 hit 60 miles-per-hour in 4.0 seconds and finished the quarter-mile in 12.3 seconds, while the car made their slalom look like “child’s play” thanks to the supreme grip afforded by its all-wheel-drive system, torque-vectoring rear differential, and electronic assistants like active suspension management.
“The Porsche 911 continues to offer some of the most supreme driver engagement in the automotive world right now,” MotorWeek concludes. “That makes it more appealing to more people than ever. The only thing stopping most is of course the price of entry. But if you’ve got the wherewithal to be in the market for a new 911, why not choose a unique and spectacular looking one?”
Join the 6SpeedOnline forums now!
