What is the difference between a Porsche Targa and a Porsche Carrera ?

Hi,





What is the difference between a Porsche Targa and a Porsche Carrera ? I know that the Carrera is more powerful but are there any other differences ?





Thank You,





Marco|||Depends on the specifics... though in some cases, a Porsche could be both a Carrera and a Targa. Both names have their origins in specific races where Porsche enjoyed a great deal of success (Carrera Pan America and Targa Florio).





The Carrera name originally came into use by Porsche to refer to cars that were their ultimate performance offerings, and at that time, outfitted with the 4 cam engines. This was then expanded to use with cars like the Carrera GTS (904) and Carrera 6 (906), which were essentially race cars offered for street use for homologation purposes.





The real mark of the Carrera name moving into more recognized use when Porsche introduced the 911 Carrera RS in 1973. The RS was introduced as a homologation base for the RSR and was very much the ultimate version of the 911. In subsequent years, the Carrera was offered as the top model in the 911 series, as well as appearing with the 924 Carrera GTS and GTR versions. In the mid-1980s Porsche began to market all of their 911 models as Carreras. This has continued on through subsequent models like the 964, 993, 996, and current 997. While they are often referred to as 911s, they are marketed by Porsche as the Carrera.





The 911 Targa was introduced in 1967. Due to concerns about body rigidity, the 911 hadn't been offered as a Cabriolet. The Targa was in essence, a Cabriolet with an integrated roll bar that provided the needed structure for the unibody (it had a removable top that sat in front of the roll bar, and a soft plastic fold down window behind). A few years later, the soft plastic window behind the roll bar was replaced with a wrap around glass window, creating what most people recognize as a 911 Targa.





The Targa was produced in this fashion on through the 964 models. It has been produced on and off since, although the versions from since have instead featured a retractable roof that runs from the A Pillars all the way to the back window (still retaining the same side lines as the coupe).





The Porsche 914 models also had Targa roofs, but were not referred to as Targas in terms of model designation. The Targa was a body style offered in the 911 and Carrera model lines (along with Coupe; Cabriolets have been offered since 1983).





So in many years, both Carrera and Targa could refer to the same car.|||The term "Targa" refers to the body style of the car. The 911, in its original Targa version was first shown at the 1965 Frankfurt Auto Show. It was the first open-air version of the 911. The top of the car was removable, as well as the rear soft window, leaving only a large roll bar ("Targa bar"). The name Targa was chosen after the popular Italian race "Targa Florio", where Porsche cars had raced successfully. Starting in 1969, the rear soft window was replaced by a fixed glass. In more recent Targa versions, the removable top has been replaced by a glass top that slides backward.


In short: you can't compare "power" between a "Carrera" and a "Targa" since the first refers to a particular Porsche model, the second to its body style. You could have a Carrera Coupe, a Carrera Cabriolet (convertible) or a Carrera Targa, which means a Carrera with the Targa body style.