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Two weeks ago I took a look at the base 992 Porsche 911 Carrera, which is akin to being the dumbest student at Oxford – outstanding performance in the grand scheme of things, but lowest on the totem pole within the group of peers. Today, I wanted to go a little higher on the 911 food chain with the upscale GTS. To me, the GTS was the best compromise if you really didn’t need a GT3 or the harsh ride it comes with but still wanted an extra bump in power over the S. Today’s example, a Carrera 4 GTS, comes to us finished in the wild color of Python Green. However, much like GT3s, don’t expect a deal.
Will the madness ever stop? Looking at today’s car, maybe not.
This is a 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo S. The “king of the hill” 993 Turbo and one of the most desirable air-cooled Porsches ever made. Just 345 examples were produced and only 182 of them were imported to the US. As you might have guessed, most were driven sparingly. A few thousand miles a year at most and then once prices started climbing, the miles started decreasing. However, this is one example that didn’t even hit that few thousand miles. This example comes in with the number 1,779 shown on the odometer. That’s it. Also, it has a totally crazy leather-to-sample Boxster Red interior. Brace yourself for this price.
The 992 generation of the venerable Porsche 911 Carrera is the first time I’ve felt the base model actually produces up to the level of performance you are paying for. Yes, I understand that buying a 911 in the past was much more than just 0-60 times, but if you buy a base 911, you probably were feeling the power of the S and later GTS was worth it. Not with the 992. A PDK equipped 911 Carrera can rip out 0-60 times in as little as 3.6 seconds. That was supercar numbers back in the day. You just have to bring over $100,000 for that privilege now. The days of buying a new base 911 for $56,000 are not coming back.
I’ve really come around on the 981 Porsche Cayman. For a while, I thought maybe they weren’t offering enough for the price and if you are going to spend the money you might as well just pay more for a 911, but they’ve grown on me. A big part of it was that the 718 was such a disappointment with the turbocharged flat-four and the awful sound it produces. Porsche knows this, otherwise the new GTS 4.0 probably never goes into production. Buyers want the great sounds in addition to everything Porsche has to offer.
Today’s car, a 2015 Cayman S up for sale in Miami, might have everything you are looking for in a 981. I know I’m awfully intrigued.
Talk about a bright color. This is a 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 Club Sport finished in the crazy and peculiarly named Yellow Green. Yes, that is the name of the color. Yellow Green. It’s not even a bad German translation either. Gelbgrün is literally Yellow Green. Either way, I hope you like being noticed and driving around in pain because you’ll be doing that in this car and paying $200,000 for the privilege of doing so.
