Glass-roofed variant joins the revised Porsche 997 range
Four-wheel-drive variants of the new 911 outnumber rear-wheel-drive. Thought that would get your attention. Six plays four thanks to the new Targa, which, as last time, comes in two versions (standard and ‘S’) that are exclusively four-wheel-drive. Why so?
‘Design’, Carrera product manager Horst Nonner replies. ‘The Targa’s roofline looks better with the four-wheel-drive’s wider body, so that is why.’ Wow. Porsche letting aesthetics take priority over engineering. Who’d have thought we’d ever see that day?
However, let’s dig a bit deeper. Thanks to its complex roof, the 1530kg manual Targa 4 is 60kg heavier than the Carrera 4 and only 25kg lighter than the Cabriolet. Let’s dwell on that a second, because 60kg (not to mention the additional £5550) is a substantial penalty to pay for a glorified sunroof, particularly since much of the extra weight is positioned in the worst possible place – up high.
Full article:evo
