New 992-generation Porsche 911 Targa is sticking with the sweet retro roof
I know this because I just spotted one on the street in Stuttgart.
Well, well, well, what do we have here? The new 911 Targa, that's what.
So there I was a couple of hours ago, walking down the sidewalk in Stuttgart, Germany, when a new 992-gen Porsche 911 drove past me going in the opposite direction. At first I didn't pay much attention to it, because the 992 is seemingly as popular around here as the Toyota RAV4 is in the United States. I did think, "Oh, hey, it's painted in Chalk, I haven't seen one in that color before," and then initially kept walking.
But then I realized it was the yet-to-be-revealed Targa model. And it's retaining the glorious retro roll bar and cloth roof of the 991 Targa. Rejoice! So I ran back down the street to catch up with the car, which luckily was sitting at a stoplight. I don't usually run, so you're welcome.
The car I saw had no camouflage on it aside from a couple pieces of tape to cover the badge at the rear and the corners of the taillights, so this is an extremely good look at what the production Targa will be like. (Sorry that the photos aren't extremely good, though. I'd had some wine and it was nighttime.) From the beltline down, the Targa is identical in styling to the 911 coupe and convertible versions of the 911, so no surprises there.
Aside from the roof, the Targa looks identical to a regular 992.
There are no real surprises with the Targa's roof setup, either -- in fact, the 992 Targa's roof-and-rear-glass setup looks identical to that of the 991 Targa. In fact, the pieces might even be identical, which would save Porsche some money in development and manufacturing. The whole operation is powered, with the glass and rear deck lifting up and back to swallow up the folding cloth panel.
Like the 991, the new Targa will likely only be available with all-wheel drive, meaning a lineup of Targa 4, Targa 4S and eventually Targa 4 GTS models. I'll still hold out hope that Porsche will introduce a 911 Turbo Targa to the lineup, but that probably won't happen.
The 992 Targa should debut later this year, and we expect it to be equally priced to the 911 Cabriolet models like the 991 Targa was. That would mean a starting price of $118,850 for the Targa 4 and $134,750 for the Targa 4S, including destination.
