It’s been a while since I’ve featured Porsche’s 911 RS America and I’m curious about their current place on the market now that the air-cooled market has slowed down a good bit. It also provides us a nice contrast with yesterday’s Carrera 2 and I think reveals some of the potential issues with that car’s price relative to similar 964s. The RS America represented the US version of the 964 Carrera RS, though in truth it’s a far cry – and far cheaper – than the RS. It features a few aesthetic details that separate it from a standard Carrera 2, most notably the fixed whale tail rather than the mechanically-raised spoiler standard on other 964s, along with the departure of some creature comforts in the name of lightness. Performance is enhanced with sport suspension borrowed from the Turbo. These have remained highly sought after on the second-hand market over the past two years with values of many of them easily exceeding six-figures. The example here, a Grand Prix White 1993 Porsche 911 RS America, comes in with an asking price just below $100K. Of the four available options this one comes equipped with sunroof and A/C.
Growing up, I never really understood the appeal of wagons, or “estates” as we called them in England. The triumph of sensibleness and practicality over style, they didn’t seem particularly cool or desirable. Instead, they were for posh people in the countryside who owned big dogs. But as I’ve gotten older, and particularly since I moved to America, something has changed. Not only do I find myself needing to carry around a lot more stuff these days, but wagons have become, well, cool. No longer the staple of the staid upper classes, they’re for the person who needs the extra space of an SUV or a minivan but says “f-that, I’m not ready to give up on life just yet.” And there are some seriously cool wagons around these days. On a recent trip home to London, the first sight greeting me in the car park at Heathrow was that of an F11 530d M-Sport, B8 S4 Avant and an E63 AMG estate, all lined up next to each other. It’s as if somebody was trying to make a point.
