Between 1956 and 1973, Porsches were victorious in eleven editions of the famously difficult Targa Florio race held on the scrappy roads of Sicily. “Targa” in this context means a placard or trophy, while Florio is the family name of the wealthy Sicilian sportsman who created the race in 1906.

Porsche first came up with the structural single roll hoop in 1963 for its planned open 911s when the U.S. market started panicking about the dangers of ragtop cars. Porsche took the name Targa in honor of their Targa Florio successes — which I why I find myself in Italy four decades later in the 2015 Porsche 911 Targa, the newest generation.

Southern Italy fills with sunshine as summer approaches, to the point where a balder guy like me needs to be careful in a sun-worshippers’ ride. The roads in the Puglia region are by modern standards exactly as scrappy as what those Targa racers faced in Sicily. And, like those racers, I would gladly come here every day of the week to wring out my Porsche, if only to eat the food at every pit stop and feel that 30 SPF sun on my needy skin.

And the Targa deserves the spotlight more than one might think. Prior to the first Porsche 911 convertible in 1982, the Targa models had accounted for 40-plus percent of all 911 sales. Since that fateful cloth-top twist, the Targa take rate has remained more or less around 10 percent, fed by a sense of benign neglect from the factory. So it was a revelation to the hardened of heart when we stood around expecting to be underwhelmed at the unveiling of the new Targa at the last Detroit auto show, only to have the veils come off to a palpable “Whoa!”

The roof retracting and closing mechanism is not an easy piece of engineering, and it adds about 90 pounds to the upper half of a 911 convertible. Not an optimal place to be putting on weight in a sports car, but then the Targa body will only ever come in these two basic 911 trims and the Targa client is not so overly concerned with some added weight if it means getting the open Porsche that looks more stunning upon the road.

It’s a real showpiece, too, taking 19 seconds. Whereas on other conventional open cars you can often lift or shut the top while rolling along between 20 to 35 mph, the topless dance on the Targa necessitates the entire rear roof section with curved glass lifting up and back to make room for the top panel to pass over the Targa hoop and back into its bin before the rear greenhouse member returns to its place. Doing all of this while moving and applying mascara and/or talking on the phone is out of the question, so it only works when the car is parked.



The steel roll hoop attaches way down below the front passengers’ hip points just rear of the doors, so it is a sturdy piece of work you can count on should you ever end up driving upside down. (Please, don't.)





I tuned in most to the fancier $117,195 Targa 4S with its 395 hp up at 7,400 rpm and 325 lb-ft of torque. I played for a while in the $102,595 Targa 4 with 50 fewer horses and 37 less torques, but I kept returning to that 4S that gave me so much more while costing only 14 percent more than the 4. I mean, what’s 14 percent in Porschenomics?

The big test was to see how the Targa roof while open handles wind buffeting and ear thunder at various speeds, because past Targas have been compromised in one way or another. On the upper windscreen cross member, Porsche has incorporated a hand-operated wind deflector that is lovably low-tech. Depending on the speed traveled, I was reaching up and tapping the deflector to deal with the thunder. Between speeds of 40 and 70 mph, you’ll be exploring the possibilities with this as you choose between the slight thundering in your inner ear or the noise from the frontal wind passing the deflector. Or, you just won’t care a damn and live in peace being less picky than me.





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