Yahoo Autos The 992 Porsche 911 Targa Is Keeping the Awesome Retro Roof
The new Porsche 911 Targa has been spied testing at the Nürburgring ahead of an imminent debut.
It will stick with the retro retractable roof used on the 991 Targa.
If past practice is repeated, the new Targa will come at no cost premium versus the 911 cabriolet.
Of the multitude of Porsche 911 body styles and variants, the Targa has one of the longest histories. Originally created in 1967 because Porsche thought the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was going to ban convertibles, the Targa featured a removable roof panel, a stainless-steel roll bar, and either a removable plastic rear window or, later as an option, a fixed glass one.
NHTSA never did end up banning convertibles, but the Targa lived on even after the 911 cabriolet hit the scene in 1982. When the 993 Targa rolled around, it instead got a much more conventional roofline and a large, retractable glass sunroof. The subsequent 996 and 997 generations used the same setup for the Targa models, but when the 991 Targa debuted, it marked the return of the removable roof-and the introduction of excellent retro style. Porsche is now in full swing debuting variants of the new 992, with the coupe and the cabriolet already having been introduced, and a new set of spy photos has given us our first look at the 992 Targa.
And, thank God, the 992 is sticking with the retro Targa roof. These photos show the new Targa completely undisguised save for some black tape covering the rear badging, so nothing is left to the imagination. It looks to us like the 992 Targa will be using the exact same roof panel, roll bar, and rear glass as the 991 Targa, likely to save money and complexity. The 991 Targa's roof is powered, heavy, and very complicated, so it makes sense that Porsche would want to avoid engineering a totally new setup. Other than the roof and the rear deck, which isn't as sleek as the coupe's but is much less bulbous than the cabrio's, the Targa looks identical to the 992.
The new Targa should be revealed later this year, and like the 991, it will likely cost exactly the same as the equivalent cabriolet. Also like the 997 and 991 Targas, the new model will probably only come with all-wheel drive, in 4, 4S, and 4 GTS trims. We're still going to hold out hope for the return of the Turbo Targa, something that Porsche hasn't offered since the 1980s. Why let cabriolet buyers have all the fun?
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