The 2015 Porsche 911 Targa 4 is an all-new design for the current model year.

The Targa 4 model introduces a folding fabric roof panel and new exterior trim.

What’s New:

If you’re not familiar with what the ‘targa’ in the 2015 Porsche 911 Targa 4’s name means, here’s a quick history lesson: long ago, in a galaxy far, far across the Atlantic, there was a road race called the Targa Florio that was run in Italy. When Porsche decided to build a version of the 911 in the mid-60s that featured a roof panel that could be manually removed and stored in the garage, it elected to pay homage to its participation in the Targa Florio with the new model’s appellation. Since that time, the term has been genericized to refer to any number of models where the center of the roof can be lifted free and clear – except for T-tops, which of course have their own special place in the automotive annals.

The purpose of the original targa design was to offer a reasonable facsimile of open-air motoring while preserving the general body lines of the coupe the car in question was based on, as well as improve crash safety and hopefully keep federal regulators appeased. The 2015 Porsche 911 Targa 4 satisfies the spirit of its forbearer, but with a modern, look-at-me twist: rather than force owners to engage in the laborious act of removing a lightweight roof panel by hand, there is instead an exceptionally spectacular, fully-automated mechanism that cracks open the rear hatch, dangles it high up in the air, and stuffs the folding fabric top into a crevice carved out in front of the rear-mounted engine. It manages to do this without removing the 911’s extendable rear spoiler, which is a commendable piece of engineering prowess.

So massive is the rear clamshell that separates from the 911 Targa 4, and so great is the distance that it must travel, that it regularly set off the car’s own parking sensors in the process of going topless. It’s a sight to behold, and it’s one that will draw a crowd no matter where you choose to invoke the 19-second process. You won’t be able to escape onlookers, either, as the vehicle has to be completely stationary until everything is safely stowed – Porsche’s efforts to keep the weight of the mechanism down have rendered it too fragile to travel unfurled.

Roof up or roof closed, the red, red, red ‘natural leather’ interior outfitted to my 2015 Porsche Targa 4 tester was impossible to ignore. Somewhat of an acquired taste – I found it reminiscent of the cabins outfitted to 50s-vintage Ford convertibles, which always seemed to pair red leather with black paint – there’s no denying that the softness of the skins used to cover the seats, dash, and door panels was of the highest quality. The SportDesign steering wheel, however, was devoid of buttons, forcing functionality such as the vehicle’s cruise control and driver information center controls to stalks behind it. I would have preferred buttons.