2002 Porsche 911 Targa; Big Air.(Brief Article)

Let's not mince words: The new Porsche 911 Targa is a 911 Coupe (AW, Sept. 24) with a giant sunroof and a goofy hatchback. Like the 993-series 911 Targa before it, this new ``Targa'' isn't really one-at least not in the sense of the original. Did you expect differently? A return to neither a cabriolet nor a coupe, not a hardtop nor a sedan, but rather something completely new, perhaps?

Well, nothing about this car is really new, not even the approach to safety that's left the original Targa concept for dead. Remember, it was this concession to safety that created the ``safety cabriolet'' in the first place, back in 1965. How this emphasis allows justification for the ongoing 911 Cabriolet we're not sure, but the bottom line is that we're going to be living with this misnomer of a Targa for the foreseeable future. There are far worse things to have to live with.

The car is as much a delight to behold and drive as any 996-series Carrera, with a similar shape and the same mechanical and interior pieces. (Sorry air-ficionados: It's the same water-cooled, 320-hp 3.6-liter boxer six.) What's different is the massive sliding glass roof-which can be moved back to allow a 4.8-square-foot opening-and its complementary glass hatchback over the rear seats/luggage compartment.

The effect is much like the bottom-of-the-rung Mercedes C230: Opening the top slides the big pane of glass rearward just underneath the hatch, creating the large open area-and putting a whole lot of glass in the way of seeing out the back. It also results in a strange paradox: Despite the huge space above, a tall person will find the thick side rails quite close to his head. For those long in the torso, this might be uncomfortable.

The top can be electrically opened to any degree, as much or as little as you'd like. A ...