AAeeessasannersaenesenscoaaseraeasarseneseeeee IN 1965, Porsche introduced the 911 ‘Targa ~ a 911 with a one-piece removable roof panei. ‘The idea of the Targa was to allow occupants to enjoy the open-air feeling of 2 con- vertible (well, almost) with the safety of an integral rall- ; bar/roof structure. The 911 . Targa was very successful and “’ many.automiobile manufactur- ers copied the Targa concept, -although Porsche retains the “copyright to use the Targa | ” name. : «More than, 30 years later, “Porsche has introduced an all- “Sew 911 Targa with a different _ kind of roof. Instead of a removable roof panel, the new * ‘Targa has 2 large, sliding glass "*, sunroof that can be opened - -and closed from the cockpit ‘with the flick of a burton — at can ~ cag; detach the roof panel, and svore.it in the trunk —or ~~ rey, that there’s not enough time to replace. the roof panel: sunroo! blind under the sunroof AW f glass open, there is very little wind buffet- ing even at highway speeds, however rearward vision is dis- torted because two, tinted,” es of glass are t to see through . “The.Targa looks like 2.911 Coupe in profile, but it’s actu- ally a Cabriolec (convertible) ~ with specially designed roof © members to give it the clean, flowing lines of a coupe — ° ~ something that previous Targa’s lacked. . _* However, since the.new Targa does not have an inte- Targa ; if it starts to rain. Ie takes less than 10 seconds to close the -” in addition, there’s a slid-."* . THE 1996 Porsche Carrera Targa opened and closed while driving wi underneath the sunresf blocks out new Targa at MCL Motors, 1739 Burrard St., Vancouver. gral roll bar or rollover struc- ture other than the windshield, it doesn’t offer the same rollover protection that earlier models did — rather ironic, since this was the original pur- pose of the Targa. Think of it -as a convertible with a green- house on top. - Since the Targa’s glass and aluminum roof structure is not an integral part of the body, creaks and squeaks can occur. I experienced “You don’t have tu stop the — Price as tested: $ Base price: $103,600 “cf, Bype: ewo-door, four-pas- senger targa’ - - Layout: longitudinal rear “engine /rear-wheel-drive Engine: 3.6-litre air- cooled, horizontally ‘opposed ‘six-cylinder, .| SOHC, 12 valves ‘Horsepower: 282 @ -6;300 np.m. | Torque: 250 ft.-lbs. @ $250 rpm: Curb weight: 1,445 kg (3,186 lbs.) an “Wheelbase: 2,272 mm . (89.5 in.) ; sae -cracking sounds near the windshield header for the first few days that I had the Targa, which then.secmed.to dimin- ish after ‘a few days. Porsche representatives informed me that the Targa’s roof members are adjustable to eliminate this . problem. ; When it comes to torsional and bending rigidity of the body itself, the new Targa is very strong because it has the "same additional body rein- forcements of the Cabriolet. Mechanically, the Targa is oH Rak SPECIALISTS 7. WH Our 38th Year 1.€.B.C. - BCAA. - ARAB a “APPROVED CENTRE FREE COURTESY CARS FOR COLUSION REPAIRS — “UPFETIME GUARANTEE” B AS LONG AS YOU OWN YOUR CAR | DONTAYLOR veabtemag * Estimates *§ 71418. B Somé owner, same high : qd fech equipped'shop..” Consultation 74: Pembe loud creaking and Be Ws, the same as the rear-wheel- drive Carrera 2. Its rear- mounted, horizontally opposed, air-cooled 3.6-litre six-cylinder engine pumps out 282 horsepower at 6,300 ‘rp.m. and 250 foot pounds of torque at 5,250 r.p.m. Transmission choices are a six-speed manual with a rather heavy clutch and the Tiptronic S automatic transmission which allows the driver to shift manually if they so choose, without a clutch. Shifting is done by tapping the shift lever forwards to upshift and back- wards to downshift. Alternately, there are two buttons on the steering, wheel kes which can be used to change gears by pressing the - thumb on the top part of the button to upshift and on the bottom part to downshift. Acceleration times aré bet-- ter with the six-speed manual ° transmission than with the Tiptronic. With the former, 0° | - t9 100 lan-h (62 m.p.h.) takes a blinding quick 5.4 seconds, while with the Tiptronic it . * cakes a still-pretty-darn-quick 6.4 seconds. ; “Like other 911s, the Targa has a fully independent sus- pension (front MacPherson - struts/rear muftilink and self: stabilizing system), and four vented, cross-drilled disc brakes with ABS. Handling is flat, stable and surprisingly _neutral, and braking is superb. - ‘Targas come equipped with standard 17-inch aluminum wheels and Z-rated tires — seven inches wide in front and nine inches wide at the rear. With the six-speed manual transmission, the Targa is , priced at $103,600. With the Dual air begs, remote keyless entry system, 4-wheel power S 0 wa oe. B Photo submitted features a iarge glass sunroof that can be ith the push of a button. A retractable blind bright sunlight when needed. Test drive the Tiptronic, it rises to $108,356 (that’s almost $5,000 for the transmission). 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