Ferrari Patent Hints at the Return of a Targa Top
New patent filing indicates that Ferrari may build its first mass-market targa top vehicle in nearly 20 years.
While Porsche has enjoyed tremendous success with their own targa top 911, Ferrari hasn’t built anything mass market with a targa-style roof since the 355 way back in 1999. If you wanted a removable roof on your Ferrari, you had to opt for limited production models like the 575 V12 Superamerica , LaFerrari Aperta, or J50. But now, it looks like fans of the prancing horse might just get one more option for that wind-in-you-hair experience.
As first uncovered by Auto Guide, it appears Ferrari has filed a patent with the European Patent Office for an new targa top design. And as you might imagine, the images show a pretty straightforward application. The setup involves a coupe body sporting a rigid roof. The roof features built-in support by way of the upright in the windshield up front and a “robust” full-width rollbar in the back. The patent also mentions that this design would be inexpensive and easy to produce, making it even more likely to see the light of day.
Obviously, we won’t see a rebirth of the 430 as depicted in these drawings. But Auto Guide speculates that it would make sense on a mid-engine, V8-powered car like the 488 GTB. It would make a lot of sense adding a targa option somewhere in that model’s range, of course. Or it could even be in the works for a future model that we haven’t seen yet. Whether that be a limited-production car or mass-produced one remains to be seen.
Given the success of the new 911 targa and the ease of building one, it makes a ton of sense for Ferrari to follow that same path. Almost too much sense for it not to happen.
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