Autocar May 20, 2020

“IT’S TRUE SOME people in my position get misty-eyed and protective, and reluctant to move things forward. But we’re not going to be like that.” The welcome words of Jaguar design director Julian Thomson, almost a year into the job after succeeding Ian Callum. Callum’s impressive era moved Jaguar’s design into the future, with critically acclaimed designs such as the original XF, the XJ and, most radical of all, the I-Pace. Seemingly unbreakable rules were broken by Callum and the results were fantastic. But however good Callum’s cars are to look at – and to drive – sustained commercial success hasn’t followed. Jaguar has remained a relative minnow on the world stage; Tesla sold more than twice as many cars as Jaguar did last year. Despite Callum’s work, Jaguar still…

“IT’S TRUE SOME people in my position get misty-eyed and protective, and reluctant to move things forward. But we’re not going to be like that.” The welcome words of Jaguar design director Julian Thomson, almost a year into the job after succeeding Ian Callum. Callum’s impressive era moved Jaguar’s design into the future, with critically acclaimed designs such as the original XF, the XJ and, most radical of all, the I-Pace. Seemingly unbreakable rules were broken by Callum and the results were fantastic. But however good Callum’s cars are to look at – and to drive – sustained commercial success hasn’t followed. Jaguar has remained a relative minnow on the world stage; Tesla sold more than twice as many cars as Jaguar did last year. Despite Callum’s work, Jaguar still hasn’t shaken…

Porsche is continuing its five-decade love affair with the Targa roof design, revealing the eighth generation of the semi-convertible 911 variant. The new 911 Targa picks up where the last generation model left off – with a fully automatic system that stows the hard-top roof panel behind the rear seats. When operated, the entire rear deck and screen lift up to allow the roof section to fold into the space. This leaves the car’s characteristic central roll-over bar in place of the B-pillar behind the door. The mechanism is able to open and close the Targa roof in 19 seconds – seven slower than the fabric-roofed 911 Cabriolet, which was launched last year. Porsche describes the Targa as offering “open-top driving in a cabriolet paired with the sleek convenience of a coupé”. It…

Porsche is continuing its five-decade love affair with the Targa roof design, revealing the eighth generation of the semi-convertible 911 variant. The new 911 Targa picks up where the last generation model left off – with a fully automatic system that stows the hard-top roof panel behind the rear seats. When operated, the entire rear deck and screen lift up to allow the roof section to fold into the space. This leaves the car’s characteristic central roll-over bar in place of the B-pillar behind the door. The mechanism is able to open and close the Targa roof in 19 seconds – seven slower than the fabric-roofed 911 Cabriolet, which was launched last year. Porsche describes the Targa as offering “open-top driving in a cabriolet paired with the sleek convenience of…

With other VW Group brands reducing variants, do you really need to offer a cabriolet and a Targa? “Our colleagues are constantly asking this: ‘Don’t you think if we don’t offer a Targa, people will go for the cabriolet and we can save money?’ But looking at the sales figures, there is a big percentage that just go for this shape and iconic design. And for me, it’s part of the 911 story to offer something not going the way everyone follows.” Is there a solid long-term business case for making convertibles? “Fifty per cent of our sports cars are open: this is very solid. If we consider only Carrera and Carrera S, 17-18% are Targa, which is a pretty big number.” Are you going to bring back the Speedster…

With other VW Group brands reducing variants, do you really need to offer a cabriolet and a Targa? “Our colleagues are constantly asking this: ‘Don’t you think if we don’t offer a Targa, people will go for the cabriolet and we can save money?’ But looking at the sales figures, there is a big percentage that just go for this shape and iconic design. And for me, it’s part of the 911 story to offer something not going the way everyone follows.” Is there a solid long-term business case for making convertibles? “Fifty per cent of our sports cars are open: this is very solid. If we consider only Carrera and Carrera S, 17-18% are Targa, which is a pretty big number.” Are you going to bring back the Speedster format for the 992…