Do you see a market for targa's with new Ferrari model's or has that ship sailed with them relying on spiders to scratch that itch from now on? The Superamerica sure was a nice solution. I'm partial to the 328 through 355 with the GTS style. Robb
As long as the cars remain as large as they currently are and as "swoopy" (forgive my unscientific term) I would imagine a targa is out of the question. Have you ever seen a 360 parked next to a 3x8? The difference in size and overall proportion is shocking. Personally I like the tara as an option. Then again I also prefer manual cloth tops as they are easy to maintain over time without lots of complex motors, etc. Then again what to I know? It is the 21st century after all... my $.02
My 328 GTS was parked next to a F430 berlinetta at a show this past weekend. The 328 looked (and is) tiny in comparison.
The targa on the C5 Corvette is pretty sexy, see through too! I'm sure Ferrari could pull something out of their bag of tricks
I have both in my garage (although the 328 is a GTB) so I know what you mean. The cars are nearly identical in weight however. Dave
As beautiful as the targas are I think they are the past for Ferrari. It seems like the convertibles with insane hydraulics have taken over. Service will probably end up being a nightmare on these things.
I love the targa, best of both worlds. I have never found the hassle of storing the top behind the seat to be a significant detractor. That being said, the 360 spider, IMO, is much better looking and better put together than the 355 spider. Personally, I want to be able to take the car to the track. There is no doubt that the targa loses chassis stiffness. I find this an acceptable tradeoff for the open top.
I think it's a matter of whether customers would accept a manual top of any sort on a luxury car. Lotus Elise, sure. But we're used to full automation now. I agree - and the hassle of storing the top is forgotten once you've had a power convertible top mechanism fail. Also, Ferrari did a great top preserving the cars' lines with the targa. Porsche really struggled, IMO, after inventing the idea. Chevy did a nice job on the C6 Corvette.
It is also even more quickly forgotten if you have ever wrassled off the removable hardtop like a C4 Vette, a 57 TBird, or an older MB SL had. Yes, early Ferraris had these too in a few cases...and they too are probably a thing of the past for Ferrari. Porsche tried it for the Cab early in the 996 line - while sort of good looking it was impracticle and no longer seen. The "glass-roof" P-911 Targa is gone now too, let alone the old "Basket-Handle" version like I used to have in the 60s and 70s. I see that the Corvette world may be losing the targa top as well - new C5 and C6 Z06 and ZR1 got rid of it, and I'll bet most buyers of the regular hatchback that really want to drive top-off will just buy the convertible version. When even Porsche - who at least invented the name, if not the form - gives up on it, you can see the writing forming on the wall... I can tell you this, though - I would not want to have a nightmare of the 246 Dino as a spider without the Targa bar and the Dino curved rear window. Just wouldn't be right.
Porsche is releasing a 997 targa (or at least that's what they call that giant glass sunroof) http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/29/new-porsche-911-targa-next-in-the-997-pipeline/
Old SL hardtops were hell - you needed a crane and six burly guys. There is a new Porsche 997 Targa. http://www.mgmsl.com/nlisting.cfm?ID=82dfdd07%2Dd673%2D49bf%2D9c1d%2D3460c004b4d1 I thought the new Corvette had a lift-off top?
I like the Targa versions of the 246, 3X8, and 355. I think use of a targa roof panel worked well in preserving the flying buttress designs of these cars. The 360/430 shape is really so different from the 355s and previous models that a Targa might not do much for preserving the shape of the 360/430 shape and it probably isn't necessary. Not to mention the spyder versions of the 360 and 430 look far better than the picture I saw of the one prototype 328 spyder that was produced. Best regards, Dino
New Corvette (base coupe) does, but they made it solid in the high performance cars for rigidity, I believe. I did not know that Glass Targa was coming back on the P-997. I like my 993 version, except that you can't see out the back glass when the sliding roof panel is all the way back. In truth, the glass Targa is not really a "Targa" - it is just an extra large glass sunroof. I probably won't be going there because it costs too much and it is not aircooled. Hopeless romantic that I am.
Isn't there a new Bugatti targa? 10 radiators though - not exactly air-cooled. I think the rigidity problem is solvable.
Obviously, we are looking at this open top issue from an American perspective. EU folks have roads that are high speed friendly where countries are on the small side, like a state here. Only the states support the convertible/targa sports car. You can drive much faster in the comfort of a berlinetta in the EU. Ever try doing 120 mph in a convertible for 3 hours? A visiting friend from Germany made a great point the other day. She drove from Boston to Buffalo to see Niagra Falls with her children. She loved the Amercan highway system because it was so much more easy than driving on the Autostrada. ie, people not climbing up your tail pipe all the time. She marveled about the way drivers drifted along at 70 mph. She found that very relaxing. Open tops are for Americans. Chinetti proved that
i love targas they provide the best of both worlds when it comes to motoring. i wish ferrari would return to making them.
The Targa top won't be popular in the foreseeable future. Ferrari is pandering to a clientele who want - and get - instant gratification. The revochromic roof on the Superamerica is the new Targa top. No one wants to stop and unsnap or unclip buttons or levers or flaps and remove a piece of the car and stow it. People want the "Easy Button" seen in recent Staples commercials. Just press it and whatever you want is magically done. An unwieldy glass roof on top of a car is not exactly a great weight-saving idea. But the single horse on the rear of the car is just as important as the five hundred other ones that are under the hood. So the ease of the roof is just as much a paramountcy as its weight is moot. People who like/want/are fine with "dealing with" a Targa top, are the same people who might pay to do a conversion like this: Image Unavailable, Please Login I saw this car on Wednesday at the 7-11 near my house. The owner had the conversion done after he bought it. He said it doesn't take long to remove or reinstall, and the car's structural rigidity isn't compromised to a high degree. Needless to say, it's not automated, so that's one less electromechanical worry, and being remiss of a glass roof or an electric motor is added weight savings.
There are two aspects to Targa tops. In theory, a rigid Targa can restore some of the frame rigidity the car loses by removing the top. But the Rube Goldberg self folding hardtops have a little of that as well. But mostly, Targa tops were a response to insurance mandates. In the '70s, there were a number of decapitations from convertibles driving under truck beds. (The windscreen frames were tissue paper.) Also, the newly mandated shoulder harnesses in the '80s had manufacturers looking for a place to mount anchor points in a convertible. And shoulder harnesses meant that the driver was strapped in above the upper hard points on a topless car (even with the ragtop up). Insurance companies started putting huge premiums on cars without "rollover protection", effectively killing off convertibles in the 'States for ten years. Throughout the '80s, you had hardtops and the odd T-top, and no real ragtops. Those days are gone. Perhaps because even convertibles have gotten larger, and don't line up with trucks the same way. So there's not really the incentive, anymore, for manufacturers to have to engineer three variants of the same car: hardtop, ragtop, and targa. They can cover most of the market with a hardtop and a folding top version. (Hmm: I just realized: my three cars are ... a hardtop (EVO), a Targa top (328), and a full ragtop (Alfa). Viva variety. (The Alfa predates shoulder harnesses.))
