Used 2012 Porsche 911 Targa 4S Coupe Review & Ratings

If you call yourself a car enthusiast, you've likely heard of the Porsche 911. Maybe it's even one of your favorite luxury sports cars. If so, you've made a good choice. A sporty icon if there ever was one, the Porsche 911 (pronounced "nine-eleven") crafted true European luxury and continues to set the standard for luxury coupe design today. This year, there are over twenty Porsche 911 variants, including Cabriolet (convertible) and coupe models. And, though you might notice that this year's 911 doesn't differ greatly from the 911 models that came before it, it's important to understand that it's necessary for the 911 to go through small, careful evolutions over its lifetime to retain its iconic look. The Porsche 911 hasn't only been successful on pedestrian roads throughout its lifetime, either. It has also been very successful in racing circles.

One of the versions of the Porsche 911 available for the 2012 model year is the Porsche 911 Targa 4S coupe. The Targa version of the Porsche 911 was first introduced in 1967 and translates to"shield" in Italian. The Targa was introduced as a "stop-gap" model, and the original Porsche Targa featured a stainless steel roll bar and took its name from the Targa Florio sports car road race in Sicily Italy, in celebration of Porsche's great success in the race (seven victories from 1956-1967 when the Targa was first produced). The first Targa models were armed with a removable roof panel and a removable plastic rear window (fixed glass in later versions).

Today, the Porsche 911 Targa 4 coupe is equipped with both a glass roof and a glass hatch. This roof is fully integrated and can be opened at any speed. Because this roof is rather heavy, the Targa's suspension has been differentiated from the Porsche 911 Carrera models. The "4" in the Targa's name denotes a new feature for this model- an all-wheel-drivetrain. Targa 4 models are slightly slower than Porsche 911 Carrera models, due to their AWD function and heavier roofs.

That doesn't mean that the Targa 4 is slow though- especially the sportier Targa 4S variant. After review, we admit that the Targa 4S coupe is a fast and powerful machine. It achieves a top track speed of 185 mph and a zero-to-sixty time of 4.7 seconds due to its 3.8-liter H6 engine, which achieves 385 horsepower. And, starting at $106,400, the Targa 4S isn't the most expensive Porsche 911 model. Overall, the Targa 4S is powerful, comes at a reasonable price, and holds impressive safety features. Comfort and technology features are also plentiful- though options and packages can add up quickly.