50th Anniversary Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS Bows in Detroit
Yes, it’s official, Porsche’s 911 Targa is an old geezer. The Targa may be 50-years-old, but the new 911 Targa 4 GTS is still faster than your grandfather’s Porsche. Way faster.
Porsche unveiled the 911 Targa 4 GTS in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show this week. The all-wheel drive, “grand touring sport” Targa packs a 430 horsepower, 3.8 liter, 6-cylinder engine which is a far cry from its original boxer engine.
The Targa was named in honor of Porsche’s victory at the Targa Florio endurance race that was held in the Madonie Mountains of Sicily back in the sixties. The race is now a rally and the 911 Targa is still going strong.
The 2.0 Targa of 1965 had a zippered, rear plastic window that snapped onto its roll bar. The brushed stainless steel, anti-roll bar is still an iconic feature of the removable top sports car and now the top removes itself with the push of a button.
By 1973 the 2.2 Targa received the fixed window that we still see in today’s version and the profile became a bit more rounded overall too.
The headlights and hood lines were flattened out around 2002 with the introduction of the 996 Targa. All versions after that shared that same basic look more or less to this day – with plenty of refinements and tinkering by enterprising engineers.
Today’s Targa 4 GTS has matt black 20-inch wheels and sports slightly larger rear wheel arches. It has a top speed of 186 mph and can hit 0-60 in 4.1 seconds. It retails for around $150,000 (maybe less if the Euro continues to fall) and goes on sale in March.
What will the Targa look like in another 50 years? A lot like this one except it will probably have retractable wings.
