There are things in this line of work you never quite get used to.
A factory-fresh Porsche standing in the showroom, smelling of
leather and anticipation, that's one of them. I walk past it, I
know it's there, and still I reach out and touch the door handle
each time, as if surprised it's actually ours. The 911 Targa, by
the way, is the most brilliant no-compromise compromise ever
conceived. When Porsche started fearing a ban on proper
convertibles in America in the late '60s, they dreamed up this: a
coupe that didn't want to be a coupe, with that iconic
stainless-steel hoop like a seatbelt for your head. Purists
grumbled. Everyone who ever drove one kept quiet and smiled. And
that broad aluminium yoke over the roof has by now become just as
recognisable as the silhouette itself. Design as a by-product of
panic, it can turn out that beautifully. That classic hoop is still
there, but the 992.2 now folds the roof away with a ballet of glass
and mechanics that almost makes you want to applaud. Fifteen
seconds of theatre, every single time. There are people who open it
purely for the audience at a pavement cafe. I don't judge that. I
understand it completely. Right, back to the car standing here
shining. The 911 Targa 4S we're offering is a 2026 model year,
delivered by Porsche Zentrum Hagen on 16 March of that year, and
clad in Aventurine Green Metallic. And I want to dwell on that for
a moment, because this colour is no mere splash of green.
Aventurine is that deep, forest-like green that looks almost black
in the shade and suddenly turns emerald in the sun. It's the colour
that says: I know exactly what I am, I don't need to shout. Red is
for people who want attention. Aventurine Green is for people who
already have it and have no use for it. Sitting over the rear is
the familiar biturbo six-cylinder boxer, good for 480 hp here,
mated to the PDK and the four-wheel drive that makes the 4S such a
deceptively easy fast car. Deceptively, because with this 992
generation you only realise how fast you're going when you glance
at the speedo and swallow hard. The boxer still calls out with that
typical Porsche timbre, somewhere between a growling organ and a
swarm of bumblebees on the attack, only now it does so with a touch
more refinement than in the old days. Grown up, but the mischief is
still in there. This one is factory-fresh in the purest sense of
the word. Delivered by the Porsche dealer in Hagen, with the
standard pre-delivery sales inspection neatly carried out, and
otherwise a blank page. No wear, no stories, no previous owner who
crammed in three dogs and a tow bar. What you get here is a 911
that has seen little more than the transporter and our showroom
floor. Four seats, so in theory a family car. In practice those
rear perches are mainly meant for your coat, your weekend bag and
the notion that you are, after all, quite responsible. But let's be
honest: you don't buy a Targa to be sensible. You buy it because on
a Saturday morning you want to open the roof, head for the coast
towards Zandvoort, and feel along the way that a car is also
allowed to be, quite simply, a pleasure. What I so appreciate about
this particular specification is its restraint. No fluorescent
accents, no circus. A green 911 Targa with that steel hoop is the
car you'll still enjoy driving out of the garage thirty years from
now, while the loud configurations will feel long since dated. This
is the taste of someone who knows a 911 doesn't need to be a
statement. The 911 is the statement. Green, closed in character,
open of roof. This is the 911 you buy when you've already seen it
all. **Notable features** - 2026 model year, delivered
factory-fresh on 16-03-2026 - Aventurine Green Metallic, one of the
loveliest understated Porsche colours - Iconic electrically
operated Targa roof with stainless-steel hoop - 3.0 biturbo
six-cylinder boxer, 480 hp - PDK gearbox and four-wheel drive (4S)
- Four seats, leather upholstery - Delivered and sales-inspected b
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