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I sort of don’t know what to make of this 911. I like the look. I was drawn to it immediately. I like the model itself: a 2005 Porsche 911 Carrera S Coupe with around 85K miles on it. Originally it was Seal Grey, now it wears a red full-body wrap. In general terms, the model itself is a fairly desirable one when considered for performance per dollar. But as should be entirely apparent it isn’t original. Nor are its modifications of the sort that I would think would really attract other buyers.
So I’m curious. I’m curious where bidding will take it. Like just about any modified car of this sort, in order to reach its asking price the right buyer – someone for whom these modifications are just right – will need to come along. Could you buy a similar 997 and perform these modifications and come in under the asking price? Probably not. Could you find a less expensive Carrera S Coupe that remains unmodified and is a lot of fun to drive? Certainly. It all comes down to what these modifications mean to you.
I don’t normally prefer to post two cars from the same seller on consecutive days, but this seller has two very different 911s for sale and I like both of them quite a bit and for entirely different reasons. So, here we are. Yesterday’s 964 Turbo showed us a fairly pristine example of the 3.3 liter Turbo. It’s a model I probably don’t pay enough attention to focusing instead on the 930 that preceded it or the later 3.6 liter 964s. It came with a very high price tag.
Here we have something entirely of a different nature. This is a Petrol Blue 1978 Porsche 911SC Targa with Cork interior and 65,500 miles on it. It’s not pristine – though the mileage is fairly low – but the color combination is phenomenal and the added detail provided by the Targa roll hoop enhances the overall look. Compared with the 964, the price should be much more reasonable.
The other day I was discussing the appeal of the Porsche 930. Let’s now jump to its successor, the different but also similar 964 Turbo. The 930 appeals for its general lack of smoothness. Its lines are a series of angles balanced by wide curves with the 911’s distinctive round forward pointing headlights leading the way. The 964 carried on that tradition, even if it was an almost entirely new design. The engine too was a refined version of the 930’s 3.3 liter flat-six mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. There would be engine changes in its final production years, but in ’91 and ’92 there was certainly a lot of familiarity to be found under that new skin.
This has placed those turbos in a somewhat odd space. They are surely desirable, but I’m not sure we give them nearly the consideration we do with the 930. The same is true when we compare the early 964 Turbo with the later 3.6 liter models. Their relative appeal is understandable: the increased performance and relative rarity of the 3.6 models makes them increasingly desirable. The desire for the 993TT – the last of the air-cooled Turbos – remains higher still. So what do we do with these less frequently recognized Turbos? I guess we might as well take a look at one:
As I’ve more frequently turned my attention to modern 911s, largely in an attempt to locate better performance value, I am still reminded of the 930. The 911 has become quite refined over the years. Porsche has now long been a luxury brand and it is expected that its 911 Turbo will carry on that luxury. While the 930 wasn’t exactly a no-frills 911, it also would be hard to describe as refined. It was more than capable of biting a ham-fisted driver and strictly on appearance refinement hardly would be its calling card. That path lay for Porsche’s own venture into very high dollar territory with the 959. The 930 remained a menace.
It is that quality which always brings me back to it. Modern 911 Turbos are faster and more capable performers in almost any conditions, all while being able to serve as a daily driver. In many cases on the second-hand market they’re cheaper too. So why the 930? For me it just takes one look.
I kind of stumbled into this car by accident. And I like it so I guess it’s a happy accident! This is a 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera S Coupe. It’s done around 61K miles and has a 6-speed manual transmission to deliver its 355 horses to the rear wheels. I don’t know quite how I ended up on its page. I certainly hadn’t set out to look for an early 997. But there I was and here we are.
I have been taking a look at more examples of the 996 lately because they do come in at pretty nice value. I’ve also grown to like the design more on some of the models. It’s all sort of a compromise though as I try to find examples that make the best of the model’s design flaws. When we step up to the 997 those issues mostly fall away. Many viewed the 997 as a return to where it appeared the 911 was headed following the 993. The 996’s divergences were smoothed over or replaced. In general, the 997 design has been better loved and we’ve seen its basic ethos carried on through the 991.
All of this is to say that if you can afford a little bit more car, then you can still do well for performance value with an early 997. And that’s why I stuck with this 911 after I stumbled into it. I wouldn’t say there’s anything particularly special about it. It looks like a nice, honest, 911 and at a pretty good price. There’s nothing wrong with that.
