Rendered Speculation: Would an Audi A1 Targa look like this? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: In the Autoblog Garage - 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S

Continue reading Review: 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S

Review: 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Mopar Underground Challenger Targa

Gallery: Mopar Underground Challenger Blacktop

Continue reading SEMA Preview: Dodge Mopar Challenger Targa and Blacktop

SEMA Preview: Dodge Mopar Challenger Targa and Blacktop originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lexus returning to Targa Newfoundland with GS 450h originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 13 Sep 2008 16:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Click above to watch the video after the jump

You can't go lopping the top off of a $1.5 million supercar without replacing it with something. Well, you could, but not if you're going to sell it for more than $2 million apiece. That's why when Bugatti unveiled the new Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, the automaker made sure to demonstrate not one, but two removable roofs that will be included with the targa hypercar. The first is a transparent polycarbonate hard-top section that can be removed and stowed for open-air driving. But in case the obscenely wealthy driver finds himself caught in an unexpected torrential downpour (or just a drizzle, for that matter), Bugatti has also developed an umbrella-like soft-top that can be deployed in an emergency. Unfortunately, the fabric roof section can't withstand the 252 mph top speed that the polycarbonate solid roof can, limiting speeds to an embarrassing 80 mph.

The deployment of the fabric temporary roof was a little difficult to describe in words and pictures, but fortunately our Latin friends at Autoblog En Espanol have found a video of the roof in action. Follow the jump to check it out.

Gallery: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport

Gallery: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Live Debut

Continue reading VIDEO: Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport's umbrella roof in action

VIDEO: Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport's umbrella roof in action originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport.

The wraps - and the roof - have come off the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport here in Monterey, finally answering a question few have asked and even fewer will sample.

As you'd expect, Bugatti hasn't just hacked the roof off the Veyron and gone to the pub. The windshield is slightly higher, the daytime running lights have been tweaked and then there's the showpiece: a removable, transparent polycarbonate roof, which blends the A-pillars into two painted carbon fiber strips that lead into the massive air intakes feeding the 1001 hp, quad-turbocharged, W16.

If you stow the roof at home for the world's fastest open-air, four-wheeled experience and the heavens decide to open, a folding roof stored in the luggage compartment can be - according to Bugatti - "opened like an umbrella." With the soft-top in place, speeds are limited to an incredibly low 130 km/h (81 mph), otherwise, the Grand Sport can hit 252 mph with the polycarbonate roof and 224 mph with the top removed.

Bugatti made several structural enhancements to ensure the Grand Sport shares the same chassis rigidity and safety standards as its fixed roof counterpart. The monocoque has been reinforced around the side skirts and transmission tunnel, the doors feature new longitudinal beams, and the air intakes have been redesigned to include ten-centimeter-wide carbon fiber elements to protect occupants in the event of rollover.

Only 150 examples will be made available, with the first 50 going to registered Bugatti customers. The first model will be auctioned off at the Gooding & Company auction tomorrow night, with all the profits over the 1.4 million euro ($2.05 million) sticker going to charity.

Hit the jump for the press release.

Gallery: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Live Debut

Gallery: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport

Continue reading Monterey 2008: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport

Monterey 2008: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Click for a hi-res gallery of the new Porsche 911 Targa 4S

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. That seems to be the motto of the newest iteration of the latest generation of the Porsche 911. The new 911 Targa is available exclusively with all-wheel-drive, in either Targa 4 or Targa 4S guise, bearing the 911 Turbo-derived electronic four-wheel-drive system that replaces the viscous mechanical system on the previous generation, and coupled to Stuttgart's new PDK dual-clutch transmission.

What sets the Targa model apart, though, is its sixteen-and-a-half-square-foot glass sliding roof, specially treated to filter out UV rays that can be opened in just seven seconds to let the air in. Sale of the new model in the United States will begin in October, just as the sunshine's going away (depending on where you live) with list prices of $89,500 and $100,100 respectively.

Check out the press release after the jump for more info, and the images in the gallery below for more angles.

Gallery: 2009 Porsche 911 Targa 4S

Continue reading Porsche opens up the new 911 Targa 4 & Targa 4S

Porsche opens up the new 911 Targa 4 & Targa 4S originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bugatti Veyron Targa to debut at Pebble Beach originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As we reported previously, following the unveiling of the new 997-generation 911, Porsche is preparing to unveil the new Targa variant. However someone seems to have gotten the jump on Stuttgart, snapping a few shots of an undisguised new Targa ahead of time.

The model in the spy shots is the all-wheel-drive Targa 4, identifiable by the badge on the rear deck (most obviously) and by the red tail-light strip running the width below it like on the fixed-roof and convertible Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S. The shots also seem to indicate that the contemporary glass roof on late-model Targas will carry over to the new model, however we'll have to wait a bit until Porsche releases official details to get the full 411 on the new glass-top 911.

[Source: GermanCarScene]

Spy Shots: Porsche 997 Targa uncloacked before unveiling originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

True targa-top Porsche 911 available from aftermarket originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 May 2008 08:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: First Drive: Bugatti Veyron

Bugatti Veyron targa confirmed for next year originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Back in October we told you that a targa Pontiac Solstice was on the way sometime in 2008, and now some sources are reporting that the removable top two-seater will be unveiled in New York in two weeks. The targa setup will consist of panels over the driver and passenger seats that can stow into the trunk of the two-seater. It's still unknown how many configurations the stowable top will have, but hard and soft-top variations are possible. Production on the targa Solstice will reportedly start in January of 2009, with 10,000 units per year planned.

We really enjoyed our time with the Solstice GXP last spring, but the soft top was way less than stellar, as anyone who has attempted to operate one will tell you. A targa roof could fix that problem while still delivering on the fashionable looks of the 2002 concept car. There is still no news concerning a Solstice coupe, but Maximum Bob wants one, and we're with him.

UPDATE: Source credit corrected.

[Source: The GM Source via Jalopnik]

New York '08 Preview: Pontiac Solstice Targa may appear originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bugatti Veyron Targa details coming slowly, unlike car originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Pontiac planning Solstice Targa? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

LEAKED: Official Audi R8 Spider sketch originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Jul 2007 12:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Click on the image above to jump to our high-resolution image gallery

Innovations in retractable hard-tops come from what could very well be the broadest range of sources in the industry. The complex retractable roof systems are sometimes designed and developed by the automakers themselves, sometimes by specialists like ASC, sometimes from design houses like Fioravanti (whose flip-top made it onto the Ferrari Superamerica), and sometimes they're even made by independent garages (like this Mustang we brought you earlier). This system, perhaps the most innovative to date, was designed by component manufacturer Magna Steyr and showcased in the MILA Future concept.

The roof is an ingenious four-in-one system that transforms from a fixed roof into a full convertible, a targa or a "landaulet" with the rear window retracted. The system is comprised of the roof section, the rear decklid (with integrated B and C pillar buttresses) and the retractable rear window glass, and is designed to optimize trunk space.

The concept was apparently displayed at the huge Geneva show a couple weeks ago, but with all the manufacturers' press conferences running with typical Swiss precision, we unfortunately missed it. You can, however, check out the images of the car in various states of openness in the gallery as well as the press release after the jump.

[Source: Magna Steyr via Carscoop]

Gallery: Magna Steyr MILA Future concept

Continue reading Swiss Army Roof: Magna Steyr MILA Future

Swiss Army Roof: Magna Steyr MILA Future originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Mar 2007 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bugatti is moving ahead with plans for a new model to succeed the record-shattering, earth-moving, mouth-watering Veyron supercar. That's what Thomas Bscher, chief of the Volkswagen AG subsidiary, contends, despite reported efforts by Porsche to derail the über-ultra-super-duper-premium-luxury carmaker.

Here we assume Bscher's not talking about the upcoming targa variant of the Veyron, but a completely new model. We can expect that whether it's a front-engined touring coupe, a CLS-style four-door coupe or a super-luxury saloon, the next Bugatti will share a great deal of the mechanicals with the Veyron so as to defer further development costs and better utilize the enormous amount of resources that went into the supercar.

While Posche wants to marginalize Bugatti into an even more exclusive brand, confining it to rare one-offs and thereby all but eliminating it from the scene, previous reports suggested the brand may go further down-market instead. But with a host of brands producing a variety of vehicles, Bugatti would need to be very careful not to step on the toes of sister brands Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini.

One thing's for sure, Bscher notes: they won't be producing another car like the Veyron from scratch again. (Neither will anyone else, for that matter.)

[Source: The Car Connection]

Bugatti moving ahead with Veyron successor originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading LA Auto Show: Porsche debuts 911 Targa 4 and 4S

LA Auto Show: Porsche debuts 911 Targa 4 and 4S originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 30 Nov 2006 16:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Porsche also debuted its 2007 911 Targa 4 and 4S at the Paris Motor Show, in addition to the superlative 2007 911 GT3 RS. The Targa concept has been around since 1966, and the new Targa 4 and 4S give buyers the option of having the open sky experience of a convertible without loosing the rigidity of a solid roof. The 4.2 pound glass roof of the Targa 4/4S can be retracted to provide 4.8-square feet of open air. The glass rear hatch compliments the roof by continuing the open-air impression all the way to the rear of the car, and the roof frame is embellished with a polished aluminum strip to hark back to the days of the removable top Targas of the first generation 911. There is also a semi-translucent, black-cloth sunblind to protect the occupants from the sun's death rays.

The drivetrain choices are similar to the current 911 hardtop and convertible, so the Targa is an interesting compromise for those who may love the open air motoring but find a hardtop more practical. Thanks to Eric again for catching the Targa 4S in the flesh, so to speak.

More photos after the jump.

Continue reading Paris Motor Show: Porsche 911 Targa

Paris Motor Show: Porsche 911 Targa originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Sep 2006 17:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Porsche launches Skydriving minisite for Targa originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Jul 2006 10:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.