Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS UK first drive

Of the endless 992-generation Porsche 911 variants, the 191mph Targa 4 GTS is the one you’re least likely to see.

For one thing, it’s expensive: £126,000 compared with £111,380 for the RWD Carrera GTS coupé and £115,920 for the regular Targa 4S. At only five grand less than the 911 GT3, the Targa plus GTS combo doesn’t come cheap.

For another, and GTS-grade or not, most people pining for an open-air 911 experience will gravitate towards the Carrera Cabriolet, the current iteration of which suffers no notable drawbacks stemming from the loss of the coupé’s solid roof panel and doesn’t require coming to a standstill to lower or raise the roof (part of the Targa’s artful deck extends beyond the car’s footprint mid-action, so necessitates stopping).

Most of all, though, you might question the wisdom of giving the heaviest, most touring-flavoured model in the 911 line-up a GTS makeover intended the make the car feel more focused and aggressive. That said, the Targa doesn't get the 911 Turbo-derived PASM Sport suspension that's intended for very hard driving and is found on the coupe and cabrio GTS derivatives. The setup lowers the ride-height 20mm from standard and features helper springs at the rear, which are designed to ensure the main springs remain seated after instances of maximum extension. The Targa GTS does with the regular PASM suspension, which drops the body 10mm.

Elsewhere, the 3.0-litre flat six's uplift in power, from 444bhp to 473bhp, is of course welcome as part of the GTS overhaul, as are the staggered, smart (21in at the back, 20in at the front, Turbo S design) centre-lock wheels, plus the Turbo-grade cast-iron brakes.  

No doubt, the Targa 4 GTS is an immensely desirable car, and any criticism as regards the concept of pairing the Targa with GTS running gear is going to come down to splitting hairs.   

It also succeeds as an object. The curved pane above the rear axle and the punnet-handle hoop (dark for GTS, rather than the regular silver) are an attractive pair, and the predatory stance is just so. This example, in GT Silver and with the 18-way adaptive sports seats, comes in at almost £140,000 but in fairness feels at least as special as any Aston Martin Vantage Roadster or Audi R8 Spyder. To these eyes, silver-painted wheels, rather than black, would really set it off. 

The extra-vocal GTS exhaust is welcome, too, and the difference is appreciable whether you’ve got daylight shining directly into the cabin or not. The temptation to unleash the engine and get up to the 7500rpm redline is that much greater in the GTS not only because of this more aggressive edge to the exhaust note but because the revs seem to build more quickly and freely during the final 1000rpm or so compared with the less powerful but mostly identical units in the regular Targa 4 and Targa 4S.