A Targa roof is a particular style of roofing where the car has a detachable roof. A car that has a Targa roof top still keeps the roll bar positioned at the rear behind the seats. The style of the Targa roof lies between a convertible car and a closed coupe car concept. Often in a Targa-roof top, the rear window can be fixed or removed.

The first production car with a Targa top roof was, in fact, the 1961 Triumph TR4. At this stage, Triumph called this type of roof a surrey top.

The term targa top was first used by Porsche after the Targa Floria road race in which they entered. Porsche used this type of body style to allow a quicker entry and exit to the car by drivers in 1962. Many other race cars liked the idea, and so adopted the style as well.

Targa roof top cars are different from T-top cars, which have a solid, non-removable bar running between the top of the windshield and the rear roll-bar.

The Targa roof body style became popular in the 1970s when there were concerns about the dangers of convertibles overturning and killing the occupants. As a result, many convertible car manufacturers adopted Targa tops or T bars.

Nowadays, the true convertible style has come back into fashion (no rear window, and no visible roll bar.). This has been helped by the fact that the technology built into the car will detect if the car is overturning; and in a matter of some tenths of a second, a rear roll bar can position itself into place before the flipping automobile lands upside down. Mercedes Benz has successfully designed their recent convertibles with such technology.We hope that helps answer the question ‘What is What is a Targa Roof?’!

Back to Car Glossary