Report: Jaguar plays with the targa-topped idea

The folks over at Jag evidently think they can squeeze into the market Porsche recently tapped back into. The concept of a partially removable or retractable roof is not a new one, and, in fact, US safety legislation scared automakers into doing this trick back in the 1960s.

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The offering from Porsche starts at over $100,000, so unless, Jag decides to put their offering out at a level eclipsing the $99,000 base price for the top of the line F-Type R, it is likely that the Jag will be less for what it is worth. Though it is possible that Jag will choose only to offer either the 3 liter six or the 5 liter V8 exclusively, at least at first.

Jaguar’s Chief of Design, Ian Callum, said that the company is considering it, but that the margins would likely be close: “the issue with the Targa is volume. If you think of Porsche, 10 per cent of its cars are Targa, 10 per cent of ours is less than theirs. You have to work out the business case but we have considered it, it’s not decided yet.” If Porsche’s wild marionette of a retraction mechanism is something Jaguar has in mind, (as opposed to a massive moonroof), the R&D to make the car handle well and design a mechanism that will work well within the warranty period may be significant.

-By: Sawyer Sutton

Source: Carscoops

Sawyer Sutton

Sawyer Sutton is a long-time Vermonter and lover of cars, big machinery, and photography. These are his words on cars as Senior Editor of egmCarTech.

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