1986 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet – M491

The M491-equipped Carreras of the mid-80s are some of my favorite 911s to come across. They combine the aesthetics, suspension, and braking of the Turbo with the stout and reliable engine of the standard 3.2 Carrera. Not everyone wants a turbocharged 911, but some do prefer those other features. Of perhaps even greater appeal are those rare Carreras that combine the M491 package with the M470 front/rear spoiler delete option. That combination makes for one of the best looking 911s around. We almost never see one for sale.

However, these Turbo-look 911s find themselves in a difficult place in the market. 930 prices have come down for driver-quality examples and now are inching increasingly closer to the higher values of the M491 cars. At some point, the extra thrust of the Turbo might simply become too appealing. For collectors, the math is slightly changed as an M491 Carrera is more rare than those 930s and perhaps could make for a better long term option. Here we’ll take a look at one whose asking price falls squarely within that 930 range: a White Gold Metallic 1986 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet, located in Tennessee, with Tobacco interior and 84,766 miles on it.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1986 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet – M491 on eBay

Year: 1986
Model: 911 Carrera Cabriolet
Engine: 3.2 liter flat-6
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 84,766 mi
Price: Reserve Auction ($78,800 Buy It Now)

This gorgeous two owner factory M491 car is all it appears to be! The car comes with the original window sticker with a $53329.00 MSRP,$10248 was the charge for the 930 Performance body/chassis (M491).The car is as stunning in person as it appears in the pictures.The car has been well looked after with well documented services.The top is as new,the interior is better than pictures reflect with tight leather seats,void of cuts,scratches,or splits.The carpets are as new,the wheels are void of scratches and curb rash.The tires are a fresh set of Retro Bridgestone Potenzas.The car runs and drives as a well serviced Carrera should drive,nice deep throaty sound,tight suspension,good clutch and brakes.Review the 70 pictures posted,if you like the pictures,you will love the car.The color and body combo is so beautiful I could not stop taking pictures and yet I still did not capture how handsome this car is.The car is located in the Nashville Tn metro area,independent inspections are welcomed and encouraged.There will be an additional $99 assessed to the sale price for dealer doc fees.This and other European collectibles may be reviewed at JPFRAZIER.com.You may reach me at 615-971-4409

As far as presentation goes this Carrera Cabriolet performs quite well. It looks in really good shape inside and out and other than the steering wheel appears to be original. There’s no word on if the paint is original so that may be a first area of inquiry. The seats look great and show a high level of care. The color combination also is a very attractive one and fairly rare. So there’s a lot to like and while we aren’t provided details of its history in the ad text it does look to come with a decent bit of documentation, including the original window sticker.

Will all of that get us to nearly $80K? I suspect it won’t and bidding sits a good deal short of that right now at $55,002. While this 911 presents quite well the mileage is probably a bit too high to support that price. Either that or it’d need to be one of the rare G50-equipped Carreras from later years. Still this is a really nice example of these great cars. But at $80K you will have to ask yourself whether you might want to go the whole way and find yourself a 930.

-Rob