Photo: S.Baldauf/SB-Medien
German carmakers are part of a special breed in how they time some of their important car launches. For example, Porsche's upcoming 911 Targa is probably just weeks away from its official unveiling near the winter solstice, despite being essentially a summer-friendly convertible.
A prototype of the model devoid of any kind of camouflage was recently spotted completing its cold-weather testing in Santa's backyard in Northern Europe.
Since only a year has passed since the 992 generation of the 911 was officially introduced in Coupe and Cabriolet it wouldn't make a lot of sense for Porsche to reveal the Targa version so soon, especially during the winter, but as we said, German carmakers are special.
For the record, the previous generation of the coveted Targa and the first one to feature such an intricate way to open its roof was revealed approximately 3 years after the regular-bodied 991 was introduced.
The 2020 model looks like it has almost all but completed its development phase, especially since most of the complicated roof mechanism is a carryover from the old model.
Set to be available with at least three different engine versions, the new Targa will come standard with all-wheel-drive, meaning that the spied prototype is not exactly out of its element in the snow.
At first, Porsche will likely launch it in Targa 4 and Targa 4S guise, while a Targa 4 GTS version will arrive a tad later in the model's life-cycle. Apart from slightly worse performance figures coming from the increased weight, all versions will have virtually identical specs with their 911 Coupe and Convertible counterparts.
This means that the Targa 4 will feature a twin-turbocharged flat-six with 385 PS and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) of torque, while the Targa 4S will come with a 450 PS and 530 Nm (391 lb-ft) of torque version of the same engine. The range-topping Targa 4 GTS is expected to have around 480 PS but no official information has been made available until now, apart from rumors about a mild-hybrid system based on a 48-volt architecture.
Since only a year has passed since the 992 generation of the 911 was officially introduced in Coupe and Cabriolet it wouldn't make a lot of sense for Porsche to reveal the Targa version so soon, especially during the winter, but as we said, German carmakers are special.
For the record, the previous generation of the coveted Targa and the first one to feature such an intricate way to open its roof was revealed approximately 3 years after the regular-bodied 991 was introduced.
The 2020 model looks like it has almost all but completed its development phase, especially since most of the complicated roof mechanism is a carryover from the old model.
Set to be available with at least three different engine versions, the new Targa will come standard with all-wheel-drive, meaning that the spied prototype is not exactly out of its element in the snow.
At first, Porsche will likely launch it in Targa 4 and Targa 4S guise, while a Targa 4 GTS version will arrive a tad later in the model's life-cycle. Apart from slightly worse performance figures coming from the increased weight, all versions will have virtually identical specs with their 911 Coupe and Convertible counterparts.
This means that the Targa 4 will feature a twin-turbocharged flat-six with 385 PS and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) of torque, while the Targa 4S will come with a 450 PS and 530 Nm (391 lb-ft) of torque version of the same engine. The range-topping Targa 4 GTS is expected to have around 480 PS but no official information has been made available until now, apart from rumors about a mild-hybrid system based on a 48-volt architecture.
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