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Porsche Carrera Targa wears canopy of glass over the cockpit
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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In Germany last September at the Frankfurt Auto Show, Europe's prime showcase for inventive new wheels, German automaker Porsche unveiled a revolutionary design for the open-top variation of Porsche's 911 Carrera sports coupe.
Tagged Targa, this Porsche transforms from coupe to near-convertible in high-tech manner but still retains glass and metal in a unique superstructure.
From inside the cozy cockpit, Targa resembles a fighter jet with transparent canopy surrounding pilot.
Punch a button and Targa's glass top panel slides rearward, sandwiching with back glass and leaving the top open to the sky.
The car's body, sleek in a sensuously fluid pattern, also looks muscular, particularly at the rear where fenders flair into broad shoulders which make Targa seem like it's hunkered on pavement.
Following the Frankfurt show a Targa test version awaited my Saturday morning rendezvous in a parking lot near Munich's airport, and I spent the ensuing weekend pushing this exotic performer through demanding paces across some 400 miles of Bavarian highways.
Running up the A-9 autobahn, where from the inside lane any speed will do, Targa held a hard and precise edge even when propelled to 150 mph.
Running down a circuitous path along the Altmuhl River through Kipfenberg, Gungolding and Walting en route to Eichstatt, Targa felt entirely grounded and at all times safely within control of the driver's will.
Running through twisties in mountains to Neustadt near the frontier of the Czech Republic, a Targa rigged with Porsche's Tiptronic automatic transmission wore a thumb-controlled shifter on steering wheel in the manner of Grand Prix racers for immaculately smooth and rapid shifting, up and down, to maintain a tight rein on this rocket.
Running back south over the A-9 to Munich Sunday night, generating such excessive speed that 80 miles passed in the scant space of 35 minutes, a weary driver realized this Targa may well be the world's most perfect automobile.
It's a coupe for inclement weather, a convertible when skies clear, an exotic sports car when you want to play, or a safe companion capable of navigating slowly through a grocer's parking lot when mundane chores demand.
Then too it's absolutely gorgeous to behold, all those smoothly sculptured folds flowing from one into the next as light plays with highlights and shadows.
But Porsche's Targa is not a car for everyone.
There's so much power, such exacting precision for steering and braking and maneuvering this thing, that its appeal aims directly at the aggressive driver.
And, essentially, it's a car for only two, with both riding up front in special sport buckets crafted for high performance posture. Twin slots for two flip out from behind these seats but accommodate only children or the infrequent adult, working best when used for storage.
Further, Targa's exotic base price of $70,750 moves it far out of reach for most motorists, although I suspect this may be a signal from heaven telling us to make more money.
New Targa represents monumental engineering concepts.
It begins as a convertible version of the 911 Carrera.
Porsche's flagship rear-engine 911 sports coupe with humpbacked spine and bold wide track traces to a design that debuted at the 1963 Frankfurt Auto Show and reached our market by 1964. Although today's 911 reflects the original shape, refinements through three decades have elevated it to the leading edge of innovation and exotic performance.
Carrera, quintessential 911 with power flowing to rear wheels from a rear-mounted engine, utilizes Porsche's air-cooled 3.6-liter horizontally-opposed 6-cylinder boxer engine, which was overhauled in 1995 to increase power, then further enhanced this year to produce more mid-range torque.
Output bumps to a juicy 282 horsepower.
With 6-speed manual stick aboard, performance times add up to 5.3 seconds when running from zero to 60 mph. Top speed pegs at 171 mph, if you dare -- but I didn't.
The Tiptronic automatic -- a dual-function 4-speed automatic operating in manual, semi-automatic or full auto mode -- becomes an enticing option for an extra $3,265.
This latest Targa treatment, originating in 1965 with the broad B-pillar version, evolved this year from the Cabriolet convertible Carrera, which shares the same body and platform, including additional chassis reinforcements to increase structural rigidity.
Yet Targa's profile looks like the Carrera coupe.
"We took a critical look at the coupe," confided Harm Lagaay, director of Porsche's Stuttgart design studio, "and realized its roof architecture with parallel lines and symmetrical curvature offered the features best suited to accommodate a glass roof segment."
Targa's roof, mirroring the profile of the coupe, contains a wind deflector, glass sliding top panel, motor-driven sun visor that stretches back across the top glass when desired, plus the rear window. All elements unite in an aluminum framework where side rails extend forward from rear corners and bond with the windshield's A pillars.
"As designers we love lines of our coupe -- especially the exciting roof line with transition to one of the most charismatic tail ends around," Lagaay added.
Inside, refinements range from a leather-wrapped sport steering wheel to analog gauges and particle filters installed in the ventilation system. Leather seats with firm side bolsters also support thighs for supreme comfort.
Regarding mechanicals, Porsche's new Targa stocks precision hardware that includes 4-wheel independent suspension, rack and pinion steering with force-sensitive power assistance, and 4-wheel cross-drilled disc brakes with aluminum alloy 4-piston fixed calipers and computerized anti-lock controls.
Big 17-inch alloy wheels wear ZR-rated radial tires.
Options range from a remote compact disc changer and digital sound package to Litronic headlights, heating element for front seats, limited-slip differential with traction control system and computerized driver information system that's standard with Tiptronic automatic shift.
Targa: It's a dream car, even among Porsches.
1996 PORSCHE CARRERA TARGA
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| Vehicle Specifications: |
| 1996 PORSCHE CARRERA TARGA Specs |
| Description: |
Exotic compact open-top coupe |
| Model Options: |
Exotic compact open-top coupe |
| Wheelbase: |
89.5 inches |
| Overall Length: |
167.8 inches
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| Engine Size: |
SOHC 3.6-L H-6
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| Transmission: |
Manual/5, Auto/4 |
| Drive: |
Rear |
| Braking: |
Power 4-disc/ABS |
| Airbags: |
2 |
| Gas Mileage: |
17/25 mpg |
| Price: |
$ 71,000 to $ 80,000 |
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