[Schulisco]

Originally Posted by WMichelsen

Is that true? I thought it was named after the Targa Florio race.

We're both correct...

https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/2020/products/porsche-911-targa-generations-history-21010.html


Named after the Targa Florio

With the new concept, Porsche was responding to increased safety requirements for open-top cars in the American market, countering voices calling for cabriolets to be completely banned in the United States. When deciding on a name for the model, consideration was given to race tracks where Porsche has been particularly successful, quickly leading to Targa Florio – the road race in Sicily where Porsche has enjoyed great motorsport success since the mid 1950s. For a short while, “911 Flori” was under discussion, until Head of Domestic Sales Harald Wagner stumbled on the answer by asking the question: “Why don‘t we just call it Targa?” The Italian term also means “number plate”, but legend has it that this only came to light when the copywriters were working on the sales brochure. In August 1965, Porsche applied for a patent for the Targa concept and from autumn 1966 the Targa supplemented the Coupé for the 911, 911 S and 912 with resounding success. From the late summer of 1967, the Targa models could also be optionally ordered with a fixed and heated rear window made of safety glass in place of the fold-down plastic rear window. A solution that became standard equipment just a year later and which remained a feature of the targa more or less unchanged until 1993.


https://www.motor1.com/news/591489/porsche-explains-targa-name-911/


The word Targa is Italian, meaning number plate or license plate. Porsche allegedly didn’t know about this translation until the copywriters worked on the sales brochure. Porsche applied for a Targa trademark in 1965, and the Targa joined the Porsche 911 lineup in 1966.



https://dastreffenmag.com/11774/targa-origin/


911 Targa production started in 1966 in readiness for the 1967 model year. A total of 718 Targas were produced in the first twelve months of assembly. Buildnumbers were then increased from seven cars each day (compared to fifty-five 911 coupes) to ten. A sales boom was underway, although issues concerning supply and demand meant British buyers had to wait until February 1973 for the right-hand drive 911 Targa to arrive on UK soil. Porsche pitched its new design as “the world’s first safety cabriolet” — the aforementioned roll bar afforded the host vehicle structural rigidity and extra protection in recognition of what the manufacturer thought US legislators were poised to bring into law, yet the Zuffenhausen design team managed to make the Targa’s defining feature — a practical solution to a concern about driver and passenger security — a thing of beauty by affording it a brushed metal finish. A design element that would go on to become an important part of the 911’s heritage, this stainless ‘hoop’ ensured the first open-to-the-elements 911 was instantly identifiable, even to the most casual of car fans.