<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"You can find them dotting old used-car lots or drowning the &amp;#039;P&amp;#039; section of the local Craigslist, and you can find them cheap. So many 911 Targas seem to have been driven daily, callously treated like Volkswagens, and sold for less. The 2014 Targa may change that. Stiffer-bodied and softer-sprung than the 991 Cabrio and aimed at a driver more inclined to cruise than cane, the Targa is a comfortable way to cover ground. The 350-hp Targa 4 and 400-hp Targa 4S both come with all-wheel drive and the accompanying Porsche widebody. Both of Porsche&amp;#039;s seven-speed transmissions are available; the manual adds a measure of fun over the quickness of the PDK automatic. Either is lovely. But the best feature is standard equipment: the curbside theater. VIEW: The assembly of a 2015 Ford Mustang on the Empire State Building  No heavy lifting is required; the press of a button sets in motion something like mechanical performance art. The rear window, a massive thing made from layered, lightweight, laminated glass, lifts on spindly steel legs and is moved so far back and out of the way that the 911&amp;#039;s rear parking sensors had to be recalibrated. It&amp;#039;s so far that the brake lights are almost entirely covered\u2014one of several reasons why Porsche chose to limit top operation to when the car&amp;#039;s at a standstill. The lifted top looks like a robot jellyfish, moving around so delicately that it appears weightless. Then the Targa bar, available only in brushed aluminum, unfolds a pair of ear-like panels to allow access for more robot arms to lift the cloth-covered magnesium roof out of the way. It folds itself so that it looks like a robot octopus and then disappears inside the robot jellyfish, and just like that, you&amp;#039;re roofless. It&amp;#039;s robot magic. READ: The 7 things we learned about the 2015 Honda Fit  It took watching the amazing procedure up close once or twice or 40 times to stop being annoyed at Porsche for making such a damn complicated thing instead of, say, a modern 912. And don&amp;#039;t think about the inevitable service costs, nor the poor mechanic who has to align one of these roofs during crash repair. Because you know what? I love it. Targas were once a buffeting cacophony, but this 911&amp;#039;s interior is quiet enough for an elevated conversation at highway speed. An eyebrow spoiler atop the windshield frame can be raised to further control wind thrum. The only real trouble seems to come from the roof&amp;#039;s rear seal, which constantly mumbles the sound of two balloons touching each other when the roof is installed. Porsche knows it&amp;#039;s a problem and is fiddling with it. LEARN WHY: The Dinan S3-R is brutally perfect  Porsche claims that scavenging some engineering from the 911 Cabriolet helps make the Targa slightly cheaper than that car: $102,595 for the Targa 4 and $117,195 for the 4S. The important stuff\u2014comfort, daily drivability\u2014is all improved over the Cabrio. And the Targa looks more elegant, too. The Targa has spent 50 years as the least-desirable member of the 911 family. Looks like no more.\u00AD "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/first-drives/reviews/a7655/2014-porsche-911-targa-4/>