Porsche revived the old-school Targa with the 991-generation 911 to great fanfare back in 2014, so it’s not messing with the formula for the 992. Meet the 2021 911 Targa 4 and 4S, the latest—and final—body style for the 992-generation 911. Orders are open now, and Porsche expects the first Targas to arrive stateside later this year.
“Not a lot of things did change and this is something that we can be proud of,” said Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, the 911’s chief engineer in an interview with R&T. Indeed, much of the top hardware comes from the 991, with detail work focused on making everything work with the 992’s new interior. There’s a new deflector on top of the windshield that helps with buffeting at speed, but other than that, the hardware changes are minor.
You still get the noise-insulated fabric top, which stows behind the front seats, the distinctive aluminum Targa bar (which can now be ordered in black), and the big wraparound rear glass. All of this—especially the glass—makes the Targa heavier than the 992 Carrera 4 Cabriolet, which weighs in at 3614 lbs, though Porsche hasn’t yet released an exact weight figure. Dr. Walliser said that the 911 team tweaked chassis and all-wheel drive settings slightly to compensate. More weight in a sports car isn’t good, but remember, this isn’t the ultimate driver’s 911
“We have these diehards and petrolheads, but we have also the connoisseurs and proud owners that prefer to wash their car in the driveway so that everybody can see,” Dr. Walliser said. “We respect this because we judge that this group is around 30 percent of all 911 buyers.”
Dr. Walliser said that the take rate for the Targa was around 20 percent during the 991’s run, and that’ll likely continue with this model. The new Targa will only be offered with all-wheel drive, which has been the case since the 997-generation Targa debuted in 2006. Dr. Walliser said Porsche doesn’t offer a rear-wheel drive Targa since the car’s typical customer likes to option up lots of luxury features, and typically prefers all-wheel drive anyway.
Other than weight, the specs of this car match those of the 911 Cabriolet. The base Targa 4 gets a 3.0-liter twin-turbo flat-six making 379 hp and 331 lb-ft of torque, while in the 4S, those figures jump to 443 hp and 339 lb-ft of torque. The PDK dual-clutch gearbox is standard, but you can get a seven-speed manual with the Targa 4S. Porsche’s adaptive PASM suspension is standard, while Porsche Torque Vectoring+—which includes brake-based torque vectoring and an electronic limited-slip rear differential—is available for the 4 and standard for the 4S. If you go for a manual 4S, you get a traditional mechanical limited-slip differential.
So no surprises here, but we’re Targa fans, so this new one is a welcome addition to the 992 family. And a pricey one—the Targa 4 starts at $120,650 while the Targa 4S carries a $136,550 MSRP.
And there’s more to look forward to from the 992. “We are still missing something with a wing,” Dr. Walliser said.
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