Newest 911 Porsche Targa 4 has the technologically enhanced footwork to go with its flashy styling and trick top system.
What’s the best thing about a sleeper car? Probably the fact that its nondescript exterior hides a powerful surprise that can terrify challengers and wow onlookers at the same time.
Another is that it doesn’t have to prove something all the time. People aren’t constantly pulling up to lowkey cars and trying to bait their owners into racing. That works against cars like the new Porsche 911 Targa 4. With its well-known badge and flashy silver targa bar, it has a lot to live up to. MotorWeek’s latest test of the $120,650 Targa 4 shows that it pulls it off.
The Targa’s unmistakable top has come a long way since the days when the Targa was meant to be a safer way to provide an open-air driving experience. In the 1990s, the 911 Targa “wasn’t nearly as distinctive looking as it is now, more of just a super sunroof,” according to MotorWeek host John Davis. The 991 version of the 911 Targa featured the targa bar and a power-operated rear lid for the roof panel.
The 992 iteration comes standard with a silver targa bar, but a black one is available. Davis says, “The fabric roof features a magnesium structure, helping to mitigate some of the weight gain of the glass-intensive lid and the elements that put it in motion.”
Porsche designed the newest 911 Targa 4 to be a car for all seasons – hence the 4 – for all-wheel drive, at the end of its name. That not only helps in bad weather, but makes driving in pleasant conditions even more enjoyable.
Along with the quick-shifting eight-speed PDK gearbox and 235/40/19 front and 295/35/20 rear tires, the AWD system helps put the twin-turbo 3.0-liter boxer six engine’s 379 horsepower and 331 lb-ft of torque to the road effectively. MotorWeek timed the 4 and recorded a 0-60 mph time of four seconds flat and consistent quarter mile runs of 12.3 seconds at 118 mph.
It’s too bad they were only able to take the 4 through a slalom course instead of onto a road course. Thanks to its torque-vectoring differential, Porsche Active Suspension Management and Porsche Traction Management, the Targa 4 “seems to handle better the harder you push it.” Good to know there’s plenty of substance under all of that cool retro style.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
