Porsche Targa gets new convertible roof design

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Most cars have a metal roof. With a convertible, the roof obviously opens up to let in the sun and the wind. And then there's the Porsche Targa.

You can drive along with the center of the roof open for a partial convertible feel. The Targa design has been around since the 1960s, but the newest Targa goes about the opening and closing process in a whole new way.

It's all thanks to a bit of clever engineering from the Porsche development lab. There's one button to open or close instead of fiddling with latches.

The sequence is a little reminiscent of the way the machines operate in the "Transformers" movies. Of course, the rest of the car is just like the regular Porsche 911, available as a base model with 350 horsepower, or as an S model with 400. No matter which performance level you choose, all-wheel drive is part of the package.

With the Targa roof, the price climbs from standard 911 levels. The most basic Targa model is over $100,000, and a Targa 4S piled with options is over $140,000. It's the price to pay for having the coolest roof on the road.

Even though Porsche pioneered the Targa roof, other brands have used it over the years. Sometimes they call it a hatch roof. But with all of them, there was always the dilemma of where do you put the section of roof when you've taken it out?

The original Porsche 911 Targa used a folding roof section that was easily stowed in the trunk. The most recent one did things a bit differently, with a glass roof that slid back over the rear window.

Other cars that have used solid Targa roof sections over the years, like the Chevy Corvette, and Acura NSX made it necessary to stow a big piece of solid roof in the luggage area.

But this new design from Porsche takes the cake for cleverness: The center roof hides out of sight.

Porsche's Targa has always looked cool with its distinctive roof open. Now it can boast about also looking cool while opening or closing.