AIR apparent?

Porsche’s 993 dramatically changed its Targa game with an all-new design in 1995 – how does it fare today?

The sky is the colour of slate, the temperature scarcely into single figures and there’s a fine drizzle hanging in the air. This isn’t a Targa sort of day. Photographer Dan and I are killing time in the Paul Stephens showroom, ogling Porsches and contemplating a third mug of tea. Dan wants the rain to stop before he can start snapping, but there’s a fully-fuelled 993 Targa outside and I’m itching to get behind the wheel. Eventually, Dan relents. “We’ll just have to work around it,” he shrugs as we climb aboard, raindrops now drumming steadily on the glass roof.

The Targa itself started life as a workaround. Porsche feared the US would outlaw full convertibles on safety grounds, so the halfway-house Targa – with its fixed roll-hoop and removable metal roof – was a means to sidestep legislation back in the 1960s. The drop-top ban never materialised, but Porsche’s Targa proved a sales success and soon became a fixture of the 911 range. It evolved gradually for almost three decades until a radical reinvention in 1996. The 993 Targa had arrived.

Nobody could accuse the 993 of being a workaround. This thoroughly modern Targa boasted a panoramic glass roof that retracted electrically behind the rear window. No longer did the driver have to remove a heavy, cumbersome Targa top and find somewhere to stow it; the 993 morphed from coupe to near-cabriolet in around 10 seconds, and at the touch of a button. The engineering was complex, but the execution brilliantly simple.

The styling, too, was a study in subtle elegance. Interestingly, the 993 Cabriolet, upon which the Targa is based, had been designed to more closely resemble the Coupe. Stylist Tony Hatter said: “I never liked the look of the early Cabriolets. The classical 911 shape is the Coupe. With the 993, we tried to get some of that form into the roof.”

This thinking also permeates the Targa; to the untrained eye, it’s almost indistinguishable from its Coupe cousin. Drag coefficient, too, is an identical 0.33. Unless you happen to be looking from above, the rear side windows – which taper to a sharp point instead of a smooth curve – are the obvious giveaway. Note also the pop-up wind deflector aft of the front screen, two-piece alloys with five concave spokes, absence of rain gutters on the roof and ‘Targa’ script on the engine lid.

‘Our’ Arena red Targa is for sale for £52,995 at the time of writing. At some point during the past two decades, its factory split-rims have been swapped for the more familiar Cup alloys and the rear badge has gone missing but, aftermarket radio aside, the car is otherwise standard. “We rarely see modified 993s,” explains Tom Wood, sales executive at Paul Stephens. “Owners tend to keep them original and simply enjoy driving them.”

The roof remains closed, but I’m already enjoying this one. The expanse of thermally insulated, Uv-resistant glass overhead feels like an aircraftstyle canopy. It floods the cabin with light, an effect exacerbated by the Classic grey carpets and trim (most owners opted for Midnight blue or black). In contrast to the claustrophobic 993 Cabriolet, with its huge three-quarter blind spots and plastic rear window, the Targa feels airy and accommodating. It looks better than the Cab when ‘open’, too.

“Removing the roof is like switching from stereo to surround-sound”

Porsche only sold the 993 Targa in two-wheeldrive C2 spec, but the weight of that 3,600cc flat-six over the 255-section rear tyres means ample traction, even on rain-soaked roads. Breathing through a Varioram induction system (as fitted to all Targas) it comes alive at 3,000rpm, then discovers its electrifying second wind beyond 4,500rpm. Throttle response is fantastically linear and, despite being offset towards the centre of the car, the floor-hinged pedals are well spaced for heel-and-toe downshifts.

Many Targa buyers chose the four-speed A50 Tiptronic auto, which offered manual shifts using the floor-mounted lever or – as a no-cost ‘Tiptronic S’ option – via rocker switches on the steering wheel. This car, thankfully, has the six-speed G50 manual ’box. Upgraded with new internals for the 993, it weighs the same as the five-speeder in the 964 and demands 40% less effort. Shifts feel slick and snappy, without the dextrous delicacy required in older 911s. There’s also a strong springloading from left to right that seems to urge you onwards up the ’box. As we blast across the border from Essex into rural Suffolk, I need little encouragement.

Amazingly, the rain has finally fizzled out and shards of sunlight are breaking through the clouds. On a freezing day in January, that can only mean one thing. Dan gives me a knowing nod and I prod the button on the centre console that releases the roof. The front section hinges forward and the glass panel glides smoothly back. It’s swift and near-silent (there are no 991-style flip-and-fold theatrics here) yet the car feels transformed. Coats zipped up and sunglasses on, we look cool but feel, well, cold.

At speed on a dual-carriageway, a bracing breeze skims my forehead, but the wind deflector keeps turbulence to a pleasant minimum – with the side windows up, at least. The experience doesn’t feel hugely different to a ‘proper’ convertible. Yes, we’re shivering in the name of road-test rigour, but – on the plus side – we’re no longer sealed-off from the elements. Or the noise of that 385hp Mezger six.

For my money, the 993 Carrera has always been a little too refined, its rambunctious rumble muted by Porsche’s pursuit of ‘premium’ buyers. Removing a physical barrier between your ears and the motor does much to compensate, like switching from stereo to surround-sound. Busy and mechanical at idle, the engine note hardens to a voracious snarl as it soars towards a 6,800rpm cut-off, each gear-changes punctuated by rasps from the twin exhausts. The Targa weighs 1,400kg – just 30kg more than the Coupe – so the stats are all but identical. Yet the open 993 feels faster; its amplified soundtrack heightening the sensation of speed.

Unfortunately, there’s a price to pay for this freshair fun, and that’s a relative lack of rigidity. We’re on a typical British B-road now, its surface pockmarked with potholes, and the Targa’s chassis is taking the brunt. There’s a slight softness, which manifests itself in less incisive turn-in and occasional shimmies over transverse bumps. You’re unlikely to notice the difference unless you drive both 993 Coupe and Targa back-to-back, but the latter car is more relaxed – and thus fractionally less fulfilling on rollercoaster roads such as these.

We are talking fractions, though. The 993 Targa is still a superb driving machine. While a modern

991 Carrera batters B-roads into submission with its surfeit of grunt and grip, this feels like a car on tip-toes: poised and playful. Its default mode is mild understeer, but a flex of the right ankle is all it

takes to adjust the 993’s angle of attack, not least on still-damp Tarmac. The steering, too, is joyous: full of fingertip-fizzing feedback. Only the brakes – adequate, but lacking in ultimate bite – betray the car’s advancing years.

Targas are known for roof-related squeaks and rattles, but this car stays commendably silent over the worst surfaces Suffolk serves up. Its air conditioning – option code M573 and very desirable on 993s – blows cold and its electric blackout blind (another means to keep cabin temperature down on sunny days) slides as it should. Wear on the driver’s seat bolster is the only real evidence of its 22 years and 63,000 miles: a testament to Porsche’s mid-1990s build quality.

Lest we forget, the 993 was the last 911 to be handassembled. It feels like a product from a different era to the mass-produced 996, and consequently even a common-or-garden Carrera seems special.

The Targa... perhaps even more so. Only 3,256 were built, less than five percent of total 993 production, and while it doesn’t offer the definitive 993 driving experience, the Targa’s rarity, graceful styling and best-of-both-worlds compromise between Coupe and Cabriolet make a compelling case overall.

There’s also another factor to consider: cost. The sales specialists at Paul Stephens say that 993 C2 manual Coupes are the most in-demand 911s with their customers at present. In terms of other notable market trends, the 993 C2 Targa offers a very similar package but, in a reversal of list prices when new, is now around £10,000 cheaper than an equivalent Coupe. Prices start at around £35,000 for a car that needs work, rising to £60,000 for a near-perfect example. Manuals are typically worth between £3,000 and £5,000 more than Tiptronics, while most buyers prefer dark paint colours or silver.

Our time with the Targa is almost up. The pale sun sinks into the horizon as we steer due south, heater blasting, roof still open. This is the period photographers call the ‘golden hour’, when the evening light glows with soft warmth, and it looks even more beautiful from inside the open 993’s glass bubble. Against the odds, this has turned into a Targa sort of day after all.

Thanks

The 993 Targa in our pictures is currently for sale at Paul Stephens. Call +44 (0)1440 714884 for more information.