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I don’t mean to harp on the Porsche 996 Carrera 4S so much, but the entire package of what they offer, especially at their current prices, always seem to draw me back in. Whether it be the wide rear end, 18″ Turbo Twist wheels, or the heckblende rear reflector, these cars just seem to do it for me. For what they were working with, I think Porsche nailed this design and pulled just enough pieces from the Turbo to keep you interested, but not so much that it was almost as expensive as the Turbo and no one would bite on it. Now, some 15 years later, this are at the bottom of the price curve and ripe for the picking. Time to snag one?
No, that letter ‘K’ in the title wasn’t a careless keystroke that I’ve been know to make. It is the understanding of the decimal unit prefix in the metric system denoting multiplication by one thousand. In layman’s terms, this 911 has 376,000 miles. To make it even more interesting, this particular 1986 Porsche 911 was optioned with the M491 code, which means “a sheep in wolf’s clothing”. Okay not exactly, but it denotes the car has the body of a 930 Turbo, but engine remains the standard 3.2L flat-six. You’d think this car has 37,000 miles by looking at it, and the owner must think so too as it sure is priced like it is.
If you are going to all-in on bright green, prepare to go all in. The greens that Porsche offered up back in the 1960s and 1970s were not for the shy and judging by the today’s car, it’s still that way. This is a 2017 911 Carrera 4S in paint-to-sample Viper Green and there is certainly no mistaking it. I can see why they called it Viper Green, because in a never-ending sea of cars in earth tones, seeing a car painted this color is like getting bitten by a viper. Okay, maybe that was an extreme comparison, but you get where I am going with this. Judging by the mileage on this car, it seems like the first owner didn’t like to be seen in this one.
The 1989 model year was the final year of the torsion-bar 911, and only 1,156 US-market Carrera coupes were made. If that number seems low, it is because the 1989 was a split model year, as the 964s were also sold as 1989 models. Given that the 911 basically looked the same from 1974 to 1989, I can’t imagine it was a fun job trying to sell these 1989 911s when new when totally new 964s were sitting in the showroom. Now some 30 years later, most seek these out for the G50 gearbox and special options like the sport seats. They bring a slight premium over the older 911s with the 915 gearboxes, but at the end of the day its all about condition, mileage, and options. This example caught my eye up for sale in Idaho is finished in classic Carrera White with matching Fuchs and blue interior. A fairly nice spec on its own. Mileage? Just under 121,000. So a potential nice driver-quality 911 for a decent price, right? Not so fast.
Earlier this summer I took a look at a 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera Targa that, in short, was stunning. I know you are probably scratching your head and trying to figure out how a 996 Porsche can be stunning, but trust me, that is one of the finest 996 examples I’ve seen in a long time. Problem was, it was on the other side of the ocean and the steering wheel was also on the other side. Great news for our English friends, but not ideal for us Yanks. Wouldn’t you know, another attractive 996 Targa popped up for sale outside of Chicago with a bunch of maintenance done, including the IMS bearing, and has a fairly reasonable price. A possible downside? Only two pedals.
