Targa Tasmania offers more than 2,000 kilometres of scenic and dynamic driving through Australia’s spectacular island state. This globally renowned tarmac rally is a bucket list item for many racers and sports car drivers thanks to its seemingly endless collection of bends, climbs, mountain passes and coastal roads that take in the best of Tasmania’s rainforests, gorges and open plains. It’s a Porsche driver’s paradise, which is why Porsche Cars Australia created the Porsche Targa Tasmania Tour more than a decade ago.
This year’s event saw 68 guests in 34 Porsche sports cars enjoy the exhilarating capabilities of their vehicles in the Porsche Targa Tour, which followed the Targa Tasmania competition category cars on the same closed-road rally stages during this six-day event, which took place last week from Monday to Saturday. Each car’s crew in the Tour comprised a driver and navigator guided by the rally’s road book with a closed-road top speed of 120 km/h.
“Targa Tasmania embodies what Porsche is all about,” said Daniel Schmollinger, CEO and Managing Director of Porsche Cars Australia. “Community lives at the heart of Porsche and this event is a vibrant expression of our community and what car culture means in Australia.”
A fascinating array of Porsche sports cars joined this year’s Porsche Targa Tasmania Tour.
“We had everything from classics to an original Boxster and early Cayman through to modern 911 GT models. One guest had just taken delivery of his new 911 S/T and his first memorable journey was this year’s Porsche Targa Tasmania Tour. This, for me, captures the essence of Porsche and the spirit of the Porsche community.”
Spectacular driving roads
This year’s Porsche Targa Tasmania Tour began in Geelong, just outside Melbourne, where participants gathered for the overnight car ferry journey to Devonport in Tasmania’s north before a leisurely three-hour drive south to the event’s start in Hobart.
“Targa Tasmania embodies what Porsche is all about." Daniel Schmollinger, CEO and Managing Director of Porsche Cars Australia
The first Porsche Targa Tour event stages began on Sunday with the event moving from Hobart to Launceston via a collection of spectacular closed-road special stages and open-road transport stages each day. The event’s long road stages were technical and rewarding and included the tight bends of Hellyer Gorge, the forest surroundings of Weldborough Pass and the flowing roads of Gardners Bay. All of them and showcased the best of Tasmania’s spectacular scenery.
Porsche Targa Tasmania Tour participants followed the Targa Tour Leader vehicle through each of the rally’s more-than 30 special stage sections, giving them the chance to enjoy Tasmania’s spectacular roads, scenery and destinations in this spirited and non-competitive driving program.
“There is arguably no better way to enjoy Porsche sports car performance,” said Schmollinger.
About the Porsche Targa Tasmania Tour
The Porsche Targa Tasmania Tour is a driving event highlight at Porsche Experience. This fully organised seven-day / seven-night tour offers guests the thrill of driving at pace on closed-road stages of the Targa Tasmania tarmac rally. Guests drive in pairs and are grouped according to their level of driving experience. All vehicles follow the route via a roadbook according to a Rally Tour format, where a lead vehicle guides each group. The focus is on driving enjoyment and a maximum speed it set for all participants.
The Porsche Targa Tasmania Tour is an all-inclusive package for two people (driver and co-driver). It includes a return car ferry crossing from Geelong to Devonport, accommodation, Porsche Experience team hospitality, Porsche instructor support, and more. It also takes in some of Tasmania’s famous culinary delights, its best hotels and the state’s full natural beauty. Click here for full details.
About Targa Tasmania
Established in 1992, this six-day tarmac rally across Australia’s spectacular island state takes place in November and is inspired by Italy’s famous Targa Florio and Mille Miglia. This event comprises two driving categories, Competition and Tour. The Competition category is a motorsport event for purpose-built tarmac rally cars which compete against the clock on a series of closed-road special stages. The Tour category allows participants to drive these same stages in a non-competitive format without special-stage timing and without the need to modify their car, emphasising driving enjoyment in Tasmania’s stunning natural scenery.
