RE: Porsche 911 Targa 4 S: Review

[sisu]

daytona365 said:

Gixer_fan said:

daytona365 said:

Are people so lazy now, that they need all that complicated (and heavy) gubbins to remove a simple lightweight targa panel ?........Oh yes, 'image' at the traffic lights. These cars used to be bought by enthusiasts.

Call me an old sceptic but you'd always have a feeling that it's going to fail at some point - when you're in the middle of nowhere (or worse, in front of a crowd) and it's starting to rain...

....Quite right. I once saw a pretty decent Mercedes SL have the self same problem. Only trouble was it was neither up nor down, but somewhere in the middle ! The driver was not amused !!

- The large rear glass means that any country where you have sunshine the car will heat up in the sun.
- Hardtop/cabrio roofs need very precise alignment. Basically you are trying to poke a hole +/- 0.5mm with a hinged 2m long stick.
- Any contamination of the seals (from Ash tree sap in London) or you operating it on uneven ground such parking on a road hump/deep gutter/bump means that it stresses. This causes it to jam either then or in the future as unlike a fabric roof where there is designed flexibility and light weight the heavy hardtop aggravates the problems.
- There isn't a hardtop/cabrio that doesn't have issues and these don't get better with age or ageing warranties.

[red_slr]

Engines ARE going to fail at some point.... should we not buy cars with IC engines?
Lets buy EVs then... oh wait the batteries might not last 10 years.
Guess we are all walking then!

[Steven_RW]

I can only imagine that porsche tested the roof mech on uneven surfaces, with grime mud and dirt build up and so on.

Or maybe they forgot to check PistonHeads for expert advice on how to test a car :-)

Said in good jest, as I know we could point at other Porsche "failures" as examples.

Anyway, it looks ace, as does that picture of the black one the gent has posted above.

Love it.

Regards,
Steven_RW

[ZOLLAR]

One of these is Swansea, owned by an interesting individual.
It's in the same colour as the one in the article, must admit it does look really nice.

[foxhounduk]

This car is a statement. There is no other reason for it's existence. Achingly beautiful design.

Montblanc pen / Patek Philippe watch / 911 Targa.

[sisu]

red_slr said:

Engines ARE going to fail at some point.... should we not buy cars with IC engines?
Lets buy EVs then... oh wait the batteries might not last 10 years.
Guess we are all walking then!

Porsche engine failure? Well nothing like a 996 3.4 for strength reliability, backed up by honest, no questions asked trustworthy Porsche Dealer support. The interior of the 996 was the industry standard for quality and workmanship with some of the best electronics available in the world.

Then you traded it in on an early Porsche Cayenne S V8 and have had 80,000 trouble free miles. You know that after 5 years a Porsche Cayenne is like money in the bank.

But you already knew that from the fantastic Porsche UK customer service that sets the standard for helpfulness and joy.

That is why you bought a 991 GT3

[toppstuff]

foxhounduk said:

This car is a statement. There is no other reason for it's existence. Achingly beautiful design.

Montblanc pen / Patek Philippe watch / 911 Targa.

You tart.

[dinkel]

OK. Targa sorted. Next: 928.

[unsprung]

Timbola said:

Might just have hit the top of my wish-list.

What an absolute beauty.

A beautiful combination: black car accented with brushed metal. Looks the dog's.

However, like one or two others here, I do wonder about the durability of that complex roof mechanism. And the added weight.

Would nobody have bought the new Targa if it had a traditional targa panel that would be lifted and stowed, manually, by the driver? The decision to go with this sort of clockwork / Rube Goldberg mechanism says as much about today's car buyers as it does Porsche.

[vsonix]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

People will be getting nostalgic for the glass roof ones soon then

I already am. Would love a car with the fresh-air fun of a cabrio but without the body flex, scuttle shake, extra weight from complex roof mechanism and other assorted downsides of a traditional drophead. I'm sure there are now lightweight plastics that could replace the glass targa roof of old. Two or three sections so it's easy to store. Clear plastic for summer, insulated carbon fibre or kevlar for winter.

[Bladedancer]

daytona365 said:

Are people so lazy now, that they need all that complicated (and heavy) gubbins to remove a simple lightweight targa panel ?........Oh yes, 'image' at the traffic lights. These cars used to be bought by enthusiasts.

Did they? I though they were always bought as either manhood extenders or mid life crysis toys.

[foxhounduk]

toppstuff said:

You tart.

Lol

[sunsurfer]

daytona365 said:

Are people so lazy now, that they need all that complicated (and heavy) gubbins to remove a simple lightweight targa panel ?........Oh yes, 'image' at the traffic lights. These cars used to be bought by enthusiasts.

+1