Porsche resurrect the Targa, and it’s not just a glass bubble 911 this time round. There’s a smart, retracting top and a lot more power to go with it.
Story: Jim Gorde
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
Dr Porsche is an icon. Yes, he sneaked into a German university and hid in the back benches out of view, absorbing the information being doled out by the professors, but, all said and done, he was rewarded with an honorary doctorate. He went on to prove that if you want something bad enough, you’ll find a way to do it, else all you’ll find is an excuse… To stand out and be different, more successful and experience things many don’t even dream possible takes courage. Courage enough to accept being shunned by the world. Mediocrity is extremely popular, and it can even be quite expensive, but it will never push the boundaries of possibility.
The engine has to be in the front, not over the rear axle. The roof has to be fixed. The car has to be high off the ground. Why? Can’t there be a proper sports car which has bits of both? It can be usable every day, but still look like an exotic. Low off the ground, engine in the back and swooping curves. That was the 911 over 50 years ago. Some say all 911s look the same. While it may be a bad thing for those looking for a flashy car, Dr Porsche had already created the perfect shape for the purist half a century ago, and, today, all the company has to do is fine-tune it, add a larger, more powerful engine, or take the roof off and add glass, for example. Like the 911 Targa 4S we have here.
If you expected me to start off with a title that said ‘Dial 911 for Porsche’, you would be mistaken. Thankfully, I have finally been handed the keys to a 911. A car line from Stuttgart which has managed to elude me thus far. The new Targa 4S is typically 911. The smiling face and gorgeous curves are as functional as they are beautiful. The car sits low enough, but is, in truth, high enough not to be a bother on speed-breakers, which for cars like this one usually turn out to be body-breakers too. Porsche Dynamic Lighting was standard on our car and the dual LED headlamps with daytime lights work very well indeed. The silver-contrast fat pillar-like design elements identify this one as a Targa.
