Porsche's Technological Innovations Part 9: Targa, a Lucky Name Inspired by Racing

For Porsche, engineering, racing, and marketing have often been one and the same: names like Carrera and Targa, inspired by motorsport victories, have become symbols of the brand. Remarkably, the name Targa went on to identify not just a specific Porsche model, but even a distinct body configuration — regardless of brand. But how did this name come about, and more importantly, why?

The Targa solution was Porsche’s brilliant response to a form of protectionism — similar to tariffs, to use a current comparison — which aimed to enhance safety for open-top cars. Let’s not forget James Dean’s death in a road accident while driving a 550 RS. But this legislation also masked an effort to slow the spectacular success Porsche was having in the U.S. This would have meant a sharp drop in sales of the small open-top German cars. Not wanting to lose American customers who were demanding an open-top version of the 911, Porsche revolutionized the concept of open-air driving with inspiration from racing. These were the years when race cars started being equipped with roll bars to prevent fatal consequences in case of a rollover. So why not draw inspiration from those?