1965: Targa roll-over bar

“The first standard safety cabriolet in the world” – this was the headline when Porsche presented the first 911 Targa at the IAA in September 1965. The innovation in the new sports car model was the fixed Targa bar, derived from the roll-over bar which had proven itself in motor racing events and guaranteed a high level of protection for the occupants. With its removable folding roof and the plastic rear window that could be folded down, the 911 Targa was also extremely flexible and offered its occupants no fewer than four different options for open-top or closed-top driving. And the hood concept, patented in August 1965, also had other advantages. It solved the problem of the fabric hood bulging unattractively at speed on motorways just as reliably as it did the issue of body distortion, which was common with convertibles at that time. However, the main concept behind the 911 Targa was clearly its high standard of passive safety, which was appreciated by many customers. As early as the beginning of the 1970s, the Targa had an approximately 40 per cent share of the 911 series.