Porsche continues to expand the 911 range, with the Targa body style having just gone on sale in Britain. Could this be the best looking variant yet?
There were some who thought there wouldn’t ever be another targa-top 911, that the cabrio was for customers who want the wind in their hair. Well, they were wrong and history is the reason why. This is generation four of the 911 Targa, the first one having appeared at the Frankfurt IAA in 1965. The most recent, the type 964, was discontinued 20 years ago.
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The new model means buyers now have the choice of coupe, cabriolet and Targa bodies but the latest addition comes only with four-wheel drive. Porsche does however offer two engines: the standard 257kW (350hp) 3.4-litre flat six in the Targa 4 or a 294kW (400hp) 3.8 in the Targa 4S.
Like the original Targa from almost half a century ago, the new one has a hoop-shaped roof bar, not the sliding glass panel of the third generation model. The roof system is fully automatic and consists of a glass window which rises and then tilts out of the way to allow the soft roof to be folded. This then drops behind the back seats and is fantastic to watch, what with all the whirring motors and precisely-moving Transformers-like action. Street theatre at its best.
The type 991 has been with us since early 2012, so it’s logical for Porsche to keep releasing new variants so as maintain sales of the 911 range. A mid-cycle facelift is believed to be due for a public debut at November’s LA auto show. It’s also thought that an additional GTS for each of the three body styles will appear there.
The current generation 911 had its global debut at the Frankfurt show in September 2011 with the first variants being the Carrera and Carrera S. The Carrera Cabriolet and Carrera S Cabriolet had their global debuts at the Detroit auto show in January 2012, going on sale in Germany two months later, just after the coupes.
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By GlobalDataAnyone wanting an all-wheel drive car had to wait until the Paris motor show in September 2012, which is when all four launch derivatives were revealed: Carrera 4 Coupé & Carrera 4 Cabriolet (257kW/350hp 3.4), plus the Carrera 4S Coupé & Carrera 4 S Cabriolet (294kW/400hp 3.8). All went on sale in late 2012.
The extended roll-out continued into 2013, with the GT3 having its global debut at the Geneva motor show. With a 350kW (485hp) 3.8-litre flat six tucked in its tail, this was the fastest and most powerful 911 until the arrival of the Turbo (383kW/520hp) and Turbo S (412kW/560hp) at the Frankfurt IAA in September 2013. Those wanting for a convertible didn’t have to wait long: the 911 Turbo Cabriolet & Turbo S Cabriolet then had their global debuts at the LA auto show in November 2013, going on sale from the following month.
After all those launches, and the debut of the Targa 4 and Targa 4S at this past January’s Detroit auto show, it’s been a relatively period for 911 news, though the hoop-roofed cars only recently went into production at Zuffenhausen.
The current 911 was the world’s first model to have a seven-speed manual transmission and this is also the standard gearbox on the Targa. The test car had Porsche’s own PDK dual-clutch automatic, which has the same number of ratios and costs GBP2,387. I’ve tried the manual in another 911 and while it can in some conditions be better for economy, the PDK gives you the best of both worlds.
I saw an indicated 26.8mpg from more than 500 miles of all conditions driving, which proves the benefits of the stop-start system and the low weight of just 1,560kg. The Combined average is 32.5mpg and if you kept the top speed within the legal limits and didn’t have to do too much city crawling you’d no doubt achieve that sort of result. CO2? That’s an equally reasonable 204g/km. Reflect on those numbers as you then digest these ones: zero to 62mph in 4.8 seconds (Sport Chrono Plus mode) and a top speed of 174mph.
The lack of forced induction is one of the reasons why the 3,436cc engine emits the most addictive noises every time the PDK downchanges. It’s not as loud as as F-TYPE R – both cars have a switch which opens up the tailpipes – but that doesn’t matter. With that button unpressed the Targa 4 is a docile sounding thing, which keeps the regulators happy in officially quiet countries such as Switzerland.
Where the Turbo is monstrously brutal, bass-heavy and seeks to fuse the back of your neck to the head restraint all through its rev range, a hard-down press on the throttle in the Targa 4 delivers a crisp, raspy and then bellowing charge to the redline. It is utterly addictive in a way that the Turbo, for all its shove, somehow isn’t. But drive normally, on a light throttle, and while you can hear the engine somewhere near the rear bumper, it isn’t intrusive. So you won’t be tired after a drive from your office in Canary Wharf to meetings at company HQ in Frankfurt or Zurich.
A week with the 911 Turbo was like hanging out with Bruce the vegetarian shark (hopefully I’m not the only adult who loves Finding Nemo?). You sense and feel the menace and you hope it won’t kill you and it won’t, as it’s just so civil. Yet you always have that vexation even while you love being with it – you know it’s a monster by nature. It’s got table manners but…it’s still a Great White and it could chomp you up in the flash of its pearly whites. Which is why I prefered the Targa 3.4 atmo: it’s fast enough. And, it sounds better than the Turbo.
Stuff that isn’t great is more or less the same as what you’ll find in other Porsches. Can you guess? Yep, a less than generous standard spec. The test car had four blank switches on the centre console adjacent to the controls for the various functions of loud exhaust, Sport, Sport Plus, traction control deactivation, roof open, roof close, spoiler up/down and stop-start switch off. Don’t think that for GBP 86,281 that you’ll have electrically-sliding front seats, heated steering wheel, a rear window wiper, park assist or cruise control. I know, but Porsche owners are clearly OK with paying for such things. Oh, and the Sports exhaust is another GBP1,772 but it would be a crime not to add it to the configurator. Just tick the box for the GBP1,926 LED headlights, then untick it, see the overall price drop and immediately congratulate yourself for your spendthrift ways.
Things you do get as part of the standard spec include beautifully soft (in this case) black leather seats and dashboard trim, Nav, 19-inch ‘Carrera’ rims, electric backrest and height adjustment for the superb sports seats, bi-xenons, and a vehicle tracking system. The infotainment’s Bluetooth picked up my iPhone 5 straight away but then wouldn’t recognise it one day. One of the things I liked about the recent on-test Range Rover L was how it faded whatever was playing on your phone in and out as you switched off/restarted the engine upon your return to the car. In the Targa 4, I had to hit play each time. Not a major annoyance but a step backwards from what happens with a CD: ‘new’ technology isn’t always better in some cars.
I’m not going to say anything else negative about this car as my time with it was immensely exciting and every time I blipped it locked I just couldn’t help but stand and just look it all over yet again. The silver of the roll-hoop is a touch of design genius and I love being old enough to think ‘Jenson Interceptor’ each time I yet again ran my eyes over the rear window’s shape. The Boxster might still be my favourite Porsche but the Targa is now a close second.
