Porsche introduced the 911 Targa at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt in September 1965. The Targa is neither a cabriolet nor a coupé, neither a hard top nor a saloon, but something completely new: the first safety cabriolet in the world with a fixed safety or roll bar.

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.

The Targa also remained a fixture of the product range for the second 911 generation, the G series models built from the late summer of 1973. For the first time, the 911 body was sustainably modified, now featuring new box-shaped bumpers with black bellows on the side, in line with new legislation in the United States. They were able to absorb impacts up to speeds of 8 km/h without any damage to the body. No changes were made to the technical Targa roof design. The visual appearance was modified, however, with the previous durable brushed stainless steel Targa roll bar now also available in black. Even when the 911 SC cabrio was included in the range in January 1983, once again a Porsche that could be driven with a fully open top, the targa remained a fixed constant – even beyond the end of G series production in 1989.