Porsche 911 Targa 4 yours from $120,650, 4S available with manual box at no cost

While the fastest 992 you can buy today remains the Turbo S, the third body style of Porsche’s eighth-generation 911 is the Targa model, ready for the summer with all-wheel drive in Targa 4 and Targa 4S tunes. The Targa 4 combines a 379-hp, twin-turbo flat-six with an entry price of $120,650; the Targa 4S is a 443-hp affair starting at $136,550 and available with a seven-speed manual at no cost.

The Porsche 911 Targa was mostly created for America, first introduced as “a safety cabriolet with anti-roll bar” at the 1965 Frankfurt Motor Show. By now, gone is the original concept: a convertible that is as rigid as a coupe yet comes with a removable roof you can store in the front of the car. Instead, the 992-generation continues right where the 991 left off, with a fashionable, retro-design roll hoop and an impressive—yet hardly lightweight—folding-roof mechanism that can open or close in just 19 seconds.

Both 4 and 4S models come standard with all-wheel-drive, Porsche Traction Management (PTM), and the eight-speed, dual-clutch transmission (PDK). In this spec, the Targa 4 will accelerate to 62 mph in 4.2 seconds; the 4S can get there in 3.9 seconds, only to peak at 189 mph. If optioned with Porsche’s new seven-speed manual, the latter, faster Targa model will also include the Sport Chrono package.

When it comes to torque, the Targa 4 gives you its max output of 331 lb-ft all the way from 1950 rpm to 5000; the Targa 4S offers its 390 lb-ft higher in the rev range, between 2300 and 5000 rpm. The 4S also includes an electronic rear differential lock with fully variable torque distribution, which remains optional on the Targa 4.

The rest of the spec sheet falls in line with any other 992-gen Porsche. Alloy wheels come standard, in staggered 19- and 20-inch or 20- and 21-inch combinations, and are kept warm by 330-mm discs with four-piston monobloc fixed calipers sprayed black on the 4. The Targa 4S gets red six-piston units over 350-mm discs on its front axle. As always, you can upgrade to Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB). Would you be tracking your Targa, though?

As far as gizmos go, both Targa models feature the same 10.9-inch center screen. This display packs Connect Plus with Apple Car Play as well as online navigation based on swarm data. Porsche InnoDrive, which includes adaptive cruise control, remains optional; with the enhanced Smartlift function, ground clearance can be programmed in advance. All this is rather irrelevant, though, as I’m sure we lost you at that satin silver roll hoop …