Targa top

The targa style roof opening became popular in the 1960s and 1970s, when there were fears that the Department of Transportation (DOT) in the United States would ban convertibles, due to concerns over the safety of occupants when a car overturns.

Targa and T-top numbers have slowly declined as manufacturers discontinued them in favour of full convertibles with retractable hardtops and folding metal roofs such as the Mercedes-Benz SLK, and by better structural engineering with pop-up roll-over bars behind the seats and front roll-over bars incorporated into the front windscreen.

The glass roof retracted underneath the rear window revealing a large opening.

This system was a complete redesign, as previous Targa models had a removable roof section and a wide B-pillar functioning as a roll bar.

The new glass roof design allowed the 993 Targa to retain nearly the same side-on profile as the other 911 Carrera variants and eliminated the inconvenience of storing the removed top of the old system.

But unlike the previous Targa hoops, the one used on the Type 991 is in sections, where the horizontal span member is a physically separate piece that itself is mechanized to lift off of its vertical supports in order to allow the solid roof panel and its motorized components to slide rearwards as the panel is being stored within the car.