The origin of the Targa Florio was conceived by Vincenzo Florio, a Sicilian businessman and car enthusiast, in 1905. The inaugural Targa Florio ran around three 92.27 mile laps of the Grande Circuito Madonie in Sicily.
 The year was 1906 and the rally was won by Allesandro Cagno on an Itala with an average speed of 29.06mph. Vincenzo Florio wanted to award a special prize for the winner of the Targa Florio and he commissioned the first Targa Florio trophy from Ren Lalique, famous for his glass radiator mascots. Lalique fashioned a rectangular (not round) plate in bronze. This plate (Targa in Italian) carried a bas-relief rendering of a racing car against a Sicilian background, with the sky filled in with blue enamel.
The Targa Florio ran throughout the Golden Age of motorsport and was finally abandoned in 1973.
Inspired by the original Targa Florio, and contemporary tarmac rallies, Mike John dreamt of organising a Targa-style event in New Zealand. The obstacles that had to be surmounted were many but Mike and a loyal band of enthusiasts brought that dream to reality with the inaugural Targa New Zealand in 1995. The event was an instant success, hailed by the specialist motoring press as "the stuff that legends are made of". Targa NZ set new standards for all future motorsport events.
The Targa NZ travelling circus brought together an incredibly diverse collection of cars and drivers. From vintage sports cars, to Italian exotics, to current, state-of-the-art 4WD rally machines. Together they crossed the North Island, with over 2,000 kilometres of touring stages, backed up by 38 Special Stages run over closed public roads; gathering enthusiasts and new friends along the way. This special esprit de corps became the key note of Targa NZ '95, inspiring camaraderie amongst the competitors even though they were all battling each other for a highly prized Targa trophy.
Since the successful running of Targa NZ '95, the team have also developed other Targa events, Targa Bambina, held in March and based in the Waikato, and Targa Rotorua, held in June based in Rotorua. Once again, these events are also hailed as resounding successes and bring out many new driving teams, all eager to sample the Targa NZ experience. For many the taste of "The Ultimate Road Race" leads to an entry in other Targa NZ events. Since the inaugural Targa NZ event many things have changed, fresh enthusiasts have come on board to assist and, most importantly, Targa NZ was able to secure the sponsorship of Dunlop (NZ), eager to support such a major event.
In April 2008 Peter and Victoria Martin took over the riens of Targa NZ, keen to take it to the next level. They have introduced new systems and processes designed to grow the popularity both in New Zealand and abroad. These changes have made Targa NZ a world class motorsport event with an invigorated sense of purpose, changes which have resulted in an even bigger field for each year's Dunlop Targa New Zealand main event in October. However, some elements remain unchanged as Dunlop Targa NZ is still an event which is all about the enjoyment of motorsport, and the passion for cars.
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