TAILOR-MADE; Porsche's newest Targa further divides the 911 line.(News)

Byline: J.P. Vettraino

The 911 Targa ranks with Kleenex and Dumpsters. Forty years after its launch, its name is almost generic for cars with a fixed-frame roof that opens.

The first Targa was introduced in 1967 in response to U.S. safety regulations that looked as if they'd make convertibles nearly impossible to sell, and the idea had legs. A retractable glass roof debuted on the 1996 911 Targa (known to Porchephiles as the 993), and on a water-cooled, independent-rear-suspension 911 for 2002 (the 996). Now comes the 997-based 2007 911 Targa, and it's different.

Its roof and operating mechanism are essentially the same as before. Thinner glass helps trim 4.2 pounds from the package, though the Targa still weighs 132 pounds more than a comparably equipped 911 coupe, with 114 pounds attributable to the roof itself and 18 to structural enhancements in the body-in-white.

In exchange, the Targa offers a full glass roof with a large panel that slides rearward under the backlight. The seven-second process can be undertaken at any speed. As a practical benefit, the Targa's rear glass opens like a hatch, allowing easier access to the 8.1 cubic feet of space behind the 911's front seats (a foot more than the coupe). The Targa is easy to identify in profile, thanks to the triangular shape of its rear side glass and the aluminum trim strip along its roofline.

So what's different? This is the first Targa with a choice of engines. The 911 Targa 4 gets Porsche's 3.6-liter boxer six (325 hp, 273 lb-ft), 18-inch wheels and standard skid-control electronics. The Targa 4S has a 3.8-liter boxer (355 hp, 295 lb-ft), 19-inch wheels and Porsche's Active Suspension Management. Each features VarioCam variable valve timing and lift, which makes either one of the sweetest, most tractable sounds anywhere.

The "4'' may be more significant. This is also the first Targa offered with-and only with-the all-wheel-drive system available on the Carrera and Turbo, built around a viscous, multi-clutch transfer case that delivers from 5 to 40 percent of the drive torque to the front wheels. Porsche says Targa folk are more likely than other 911 owners to use their cars as daily drivers, less likely to take them to track day; we figure Porsche knows its owners as well as any manufacturer.