Porsche reveals the new 911 Targa, exclusively available with all-wheel drive

One of Porsche's most iconic iterations of the 911, the Targa, becomes the third model to be brought into the eighth generation 992 lineup, after the Coupe and Cabriolet. Originally planned to be launched at the Beijing Auto Show in April, the show's postponement due to the ongoing pandemic has lead Porsche to its first virtual reveal of the historied model.

The 992 Targa sticks with the classic targa bar finished in silver, frameless doors and single piece curved rear windscreen, a design which debuted on the 1965 Porsche 911, and made a return with the 991 series model. Thankfully, considering the retro novelty of the domed rear window in place of C-pillars, and folding soft-top. The cloth roof stows away in 19 seconds, while the manually-operable wind deflector above the windshield has been further tweaked and Porsche promise substantially less wind buffeting for occupants, between speeds of 50-145kmph. Meanwhile, the body itself is as slippery as the coupe, with a 0.29Cd.

Mechanically identical to the Carrera 4/4S models, the 992 Targa benefits from the same 45mm increase in body width over the previous generation 911. Likewise, staggered wheel sizes front-to-rear make sure the new Targa sits on its wheels more aggressively than the previous Targa. Wheel sizes are 19/20-inch for the Targa 4, and 20/21-inch for the Targa 4S.

The big news is that the 992 Targa 4/4S will also be offered with a 7-speed manual transmission along the 8-speed PDK, with the manual only recently having been made available on the rest of the 911 range. The Targa 4/4S, like the Coupe and Cabriolet models, are powered by a 3-litre twin-turbocharged flat six-cylinder engine. Outputs stand at 385PS/450Nm for the Targa 4, and 450PS/530Nm for the Targa 4S with its slightly larger turbos running more boost. Despite the gain in weight, from the previous gen to the new one, the two cars dispense of the 0-100kmph dash in 4s and 3.6s respectively, making them between 0.1s to 0.4s quicker than the 991 Targa.

Both new Targa models feature PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) variable damping as standard, while the Targa 4S gets an electronically controlled locking rear differential in addition, an option for the lesser variant. Brakes on the Targa 4 are 330mm rotors with four-piston fixed monobloc callipers, growing to a 350mm six-piston/four-piston setup front-rear on the Targa 4S – with red callipers calling out the extra power of the model, in both acceleration and deceleration. Options include ceramic rotors, rear axle steering, and active anti-roll bars.

With the Targa model, Porsche also debuts its InnoDrive adaptive radar-based cruise control system, which can predict and optimise cruising speeds for up to 3km in advance based on real-time navigation data, road gradients and corners. Porsche's enhanced Smartlift function can be programmed to automatically raise the nose of the car up to 40mm based on GPS coordinates as well, making the Targa even easier to live with.

The Porsche 911 lineup in India currently consists of the rear-wheel drive Carrera and Carrera S in coupe and cabriolet body styles, apart from the recently launched Turbo S.