STEREOTYPES are commonplace within the motoring world - you just can’t get away from pre-conceived and often completely wrong opinions.
Audi TT? It’s a hairdresser’s car. Mazda MX-5? As girly as they come. Any Alfa Romeo? It’ll break down within 100 yards. Audi A1? Bought by people who don’t know about cars. Well, maybe the last point is hard to argue against...
As you reach the upper echelons of the market, they don’t stop, and if anything divide views even more. Red Ferraris are loved and hated in equal measure for how flash they are, and you’ve been led to believe that Porsche 911 Targas have always been dominated by two things: wind noise and confidence-shattering wobbliness.
Mess about with a traditional coupe’s roof and you’re onto a loser, right? Hold that thought.
Now I adore Porsche. Whereas look-at-me Ferraris and Lamborghinis appeal to everyone’s inner child, Porsche - especially with the 911 - are the purveyors of true driving thrills. They know how to make a car that appeals to people who’d opt to take the longer route home but more often than not, I’d say the simpler they are the better. A 996-generation GT3 RS with its manual gearbox has and always will be my dream car.
I’d been led to believe that driving a Targa with its fancy roof stowed away was the least pleasurable member of the entire range - a concoction of unbearable buffeting, blustery wind and earache.
This car - the Targa 4 GTS - is a little different. Porsche’s GTS moniker now appears on all its models - right from the Boxster to the Panamera - so it’s a familiar badge, being seen as a half-way house in the 911 range between regular Carreras and the full-blooded GT3 and GT3 RS.
They’re stiffer, sportier and a bit punchier without ever eclipsing the quicker, more expensive versions and ultimately appeal to more people, those who want to use their 911s every single day.
The recently facelifted 911 - known to us motoring snobs as the 991.2 generation - now looks better than ever. Because it's four-wheel-drive, it has the buxom, wider hips to accommodate the extra track and of course those drop-dead gorgeous centre lock alloy wheels.
Inside, it oozes quality and as you’d expect of a £120,000 car, feels every bit of its price. There’s the finest Bavarian leather, a brilliant Burmester hi-fi and masses of kit including the best satellite navigation system I’ve ever used.
But let’s talk about the beating heart of every great 911: its engine and gearbox. I’ll admit that in the past, I have bemoaned Porsche’s move to reducing its capacity and their cull of manual transmissions, but I can safely say I’ve been converted to their new way of thinking. What do I know? Little, especially compared with Porsche engineers’ considerable nous.
The engine, now a 3.0-litre, still has six cylinders and that typical 911 tone, albeit with the added thrust and whooshes generated by two turbochargers. It produces 450bhp and although it’s porky at 1,600kg, the rate in which it sets off and continues to pile on speed is alarming. Let’s not forget that Porsche know how to build proper turbocharged engines, so we should not be surprised by this new powerplant’s greatness.
It’s mated to an optional twin-clutch semi-automatic gearbox - known as PDK - and it’s by far the best non-manual I’ve ever used. It’s fantastic when left to its own devices, but you’ll be gobsmacked by just how fast it changes when you take control via its steering wheel-mounted paddleshifts.
Because it has PDK, that means it’ll complete the 0-60mph sprint in 3.6 seconds and 100mph in a shade over seven - blindingly quick and incredibly tractable given the power’s sent to all four wheels.
For a car that weighs as much as it does, it’s remarkable how it disguises its considerable bulk when you’re on the move. Sure, the damping is on the stiff side so jutted surfaces are a chore, but there’s none of the jelly-like wobble most soft-top cars have, and the way it digs into the tarmac and grips obliterates any notions that Targas aren’t true drivers’ 911s.
They most definitely are and although the Targa probably isn’t as sharp as its hard-topped sibling, what you do get is masses of noise and the bonus of being able to drop the roof at the flick of a button.
The steering, now electrically assisted, is wonderful and has bags of feel, but it’s its powertrain that dominates the whole experience. Take hold of the gearbox, slot in several downshifts and the optional sports exhaust pops and bangs like a firework - it’ll annoy some but for sheer sense of occasion, it takes some beating.
Stereotypes shouldn’t always been listened to. The new 911 Targa, especially in 4 GTS specification, is a full-on everyday supercar that combines practicality, luxury and that all-conquering four-wheel-drive poise with pace, involvement and downright beauty.
It’s costly, but it’s a masterpiece and should never be viewed as anything other than a fantastic car to drive.
