The Targa was the half-convertible bodywork offered by Porsche for the 911.
It featured a removable glass roof over the front seats.

A convertible car doesn’t have the rigidity or the weight of a coupe vehicle, since more reinforcements have to be added to its chassis. But the Targa solution offered a good answer. By removing only a part of the roof and leave the closed-coupe rigid structure. It was offered a better sensation than a sunroof and it wasn’t as heavy as a convertible.

Unlike the previous Targa generation, the 993 featured a glass panel over the front passengers instead of a fabric one. The rest of the bodywork looked similar to the Carrera. It featured two round headlights, in the tradition of the Porsche brand. The flat and low trunk-lid in the front was lower than the fenders. The windshield was not very raked and the sloped back toward the end of the car made a curved line along with the engine lid. A rear spoiler was installed and it was automatically extended over 80 kph (50 mph), or via a button installed in front of the gear-stick.

The interior featured sport-bucket seats in the front and two small seats in the back. The instrument cluster featured five dials, with the tachometer in the middle and a clock on the right side. The climate controls and the stereo were mounted in line with the steering column.

The engine was a completely reworked flat-six, with a 3.6-liter displacement with the VarioCam system, which offered 285 hp. It was mated either with a 6-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic.

The 1989 Porsche Targa 2 was the first 911 to offer a sequential automatic transmission and power steering for a half-cabriolet 911.
It was built to offer pleasure for its driver.

After the introduction of the new generation, the 911 brought ’90s features for a car designed in the past. The Tiptronic (automatic with manual override) transmission was a new system on the market and the Americans loved it.

From the outside, the Targa 2 was a 911 with a removable roof over the front seats. The hood lower than the front fenders, the curved, but almost vertical, windshield made a clear distinction between the front and the greenhouse. The sloped-back roof was ended over the engine lid, where a speed-activated spoiler was automatically deployed at highway speeds.

Inside, the owners of the previous generation noticed more similarities with the old generation. The main differences are for the safety systems. The 964 was fitted as standard with dual airbags, for the driver and front passenger. In the back, there were two small (very small) seats. The five dials for the instrument cluster featured a black background.

For the engine, Porsche offered the flat-six, unit. It offered 260 hp and it was fitted with the latest development systems that mare possible such a high specific output for that era. It was mated either to a 5-speed manual, or a 4-speed automatic with manual override to change gears named Tiptronic. The new suspension moved from torsion bars to struts, which improved the car’s handling.

The Targa was the half-cabriolet answer given by Porsche to its enthusiast customers who wished an open-top driving experience but without the compromise of a convertible.
It is known that when a unibody construction is cut to make it as a cabriolet, the structure has to be reinforced to keep the car safe. Due to that, some parts need to be added to form a chassis and to create a stiffer platform. But in 1974 it was almost impossible to build a light convertible as stiff as a coupe. So, the Targa version offered a good version with a removable textile panel above the front seats.

The 1974 model was redesigned for the first time in the car’s history. The raised bumper design with black plastic bellows on the sides to absorb shocks was a key feature of the car. The roof was cut between the windshield edge and the security arch over the B-pillars. Unlike its coupe sibling, the Targa featured a very big rear windscreen, curved and shaped around the car profile, eliminating the C-pillar. But the car’s profile remained the same 911.

Inside, the cockpit featured sport seats in the front and two smaller ones in the back, which were hard to use. The five-dials instrument cluster offered information regarding the oil pressure, oil temperature, fuel level, tachometer in the middle, the speedometer, and, on the right, an analog clock. The ventilation controls were placed at the same level as the steering wheel and the stereo.

For the engine, the Carrera featured a 2.7-liter flat-six air-cooled engine. The base model offered just 150 hp in the beginning. By 1976, that was raised to 165 hp.

The iconic Porsche 911 was born in 1964 and it became one of the most iconic sports cars in the world.
Its shape was kept over the years, with its sloped rear engine bay.

The 911 was introduced as a concept car at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1963, as a successor for the 356 model. The production version came in the next year, as a 1965 model. In the beginning, it was offered only as a coupe. In 1967 the open-top version, named Targa, was introduced.

From the front, it looked like a regular 911 up to the A-pillars with its “frog-eyes” and the flat and low trunk lid. The car featured chromed bumpers with rubber strips and chromed horn grille under the headlights. The Porsche logo on the hood was golden. A chromed roll-bar was installed as a B-pillar. From there on, a big rear plastic foldable windscreen, which could have been removed and stored in the trunk.

Inside the car, there was a simple flat layout for the instrument cluster. The five-dials concept was kept over the time Another particularity of the Porsche 911 was the starter key closer to the window, while most of the other vehicles had it closer to the center of the car. Even for that time, the Porsche offered luxurious interior, with leather seats and wood panels. Also, on the dashboard, a Blaupunkt radio was installed.

The simple layout for the engine included a four-wheel independent suspension, which was a great advantage while cornering. The car had more weight on the rear wheels and provided better traction.