Personal choice... if you like the Targa glass which I think is nice, and it works in your environment, then you should do it!

 

Hey! Look what I found,

 

The open, airy feeling of that Targa is amazing! ^^^^ That colour is quite nice too!! ^^^^
You guys had me at "two sets of golf clubs"
Hopefully a Targa 4S will be in my future (one of these days, you know, once the roof is paid off, building loans paid, kids tuition covered, and the list goes on...*sigh*)

 

Here's my Targa purchase story:

basic Coupe: didn't want it.. to dark and closed in.. given the wonderful summers and dark winters of the pacific northwest.

cabriolet: never cared for them.. don't want the whole top down experience... to windy and noisy for my taste and never felt good about the rag-top security.

targa - gives me the solid shell for weather (rain and cold in winters, and ability to get just far enough open to have fun with side windows down and targa top back in the summer/fall),

very open feeling interior, and a hatch back (hauled a bulky flat panel mount in box via the Targa.. slid right in the back window. Never would have been able to get it home in a basic Carrera Coupe, not sure about the Cab.. but as it was December and rainy.. I'd say that would not have worked either)

The way to decide, I think, is this: go to a dealer and test drive them. Sit in a Targa (roof closed and roof open), and same for the Carrera and see what you think... Which feels better to you? Thats the one you want.

The modern Targa roofs don't have much of an issue with excess noise compared to the Carrera.

 

Somewhat baised but they are not too bad in profile

 

I rarely see a new Targa for sale on SoCal dealer lots. I think they must only get them for specific orders.

It'd be interesting to see the geographical distribution of Targa sales.

 

Ditto on the open visual experience of a Targa over other cars. You can see the sky overhead and let the sun warm your face even if it is freezing outside- it is a nice cure for the seasonal short daylight blues. Plus you can get neat experiences like catching a glance of lightning overhead during a thunderstorm- I'll never forget seeing a lightning bolt start near the zenith and arcing down to touch the horizon in front of me, and then a few minutes later seeing the wall of the storm cell towering overhead, lit by the setting sun, while lingering raindrops still fell on the glass roof.

It is equally neat in the city- aside from being able to look up and gawk at tall building, the wider field of view gives you more context for what is around you- I feel very much aware of my surroundings in this car.

The hatchback is nice.

But let me share a very important benefit- your significant other sitting in the passenger seat will get to enjoy the visual experience even more than you do. On long country drives my wife enjoys looking up at the sky, clouds, trees, birds, or whatever else we pass by (under).

 

My 996 was a Targa - absolutely loved it. Great car. The sunshade motor on mine went out - and was very pricey to replace (not covered by CPO warranty) - other than that no issues whatsoever.

 

I wanted a unique car and the targa is especially unique among the various models of the 911's. The glass top is immediately recognizable from a distance. I think of it as the equivalent of a black hat.

One pro to me was that the targa depreciates quickly in the first couple of years so I was able to pick it up at an especially small premium used as compared to what I would have had to pay for new. The difficulty is that your selection on the used market is not that flexible ... You will need to be flexible on your requirements and be patient to get the better end of a deal as the market for targa's is far less liquid.

I have only been impressed by the open feel of the car and its mechanics so far ... So no complaints here. The hatchback feature is more useful than you would think. I don't know why other variants don't have the same feature.

 

Nice shot mate! If you're ever in the Chicago area, you should check out the Autobahn Country Club near Joliet.

 

I had a '79 911SC Targa (black on black) with the rear tail fin and LOVED it! I never cared for the cabriolet's of that generation- I didn't particularly like their lines and found them too boxy with the top either up or down. I loved the glass rear window, and when the top was off the perception was that you were completely open but with much less turbulence than the comparable cabrio.

My current Porsche is the 997 Cab which I love, and own to basically only drive in the summer. Here in Vancouver, the summers are not oppressively hot so a cabriolet works fine and is a nice change from my daily driver.