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Not everyone likes a flashy car, but I think even those of us who prefer to enjoy our winding roads in less noticeable fashion can still appreciate the vibrancy created by a sports car draped in a pastel color. And perhaps it is precisely that flash that explains why this Blue Turquoise 1997 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet only has 9,471 miles on it. Either way Porsche has consistently made a habit of making its cars available in these sorts of colors and they will always attract a good deal of notice, both on the streets and at cars & coffee as well as on the second-hand market. For second-hand cars the issue as always is just how much is such a color worth and I think this auction attempts to stretch those bounds to test their limits. I love seeing these cars come up for auction: they’re bright and interesting and easily stand apart from the myriad others on the market. They bring a splash of joy to the droves of silver, black, and white we come across so regularly.
Narrow body versus wide body. Porsche has been pretty good about making both available, especially on their modern cars now that the popularity of each has been well established. The narrow body evokes agility and lightness while the wide body commands respect and hints at the prodigious power and ability of the machine. First found on racing 911s and then made commonplace by the 911 Turbo the wider rear of those cars was more of a necessity manifested by the nature of a high-power rear-engine rear-drive car. With time it became available on non-turbocharged 911s as part of the Turbo-look package before finally becoming a staple of certain models in general. For me the wide-body reached its peak beauty with the 993. That doesn’t mean it’s my favorite, but I do find these to be the best looking of any wide-body Carrera I’ve come across. First available under the guise of the Carrera 4S, that wider curvier rear fills out the 993’s shape and brings perfection to the design. For the final two model years Porsche then made available the Carrera 2S, giving buyers the option of that wider body but while retaining the standard rear-drive layout. Produced in relatively small numbers they’ve proven quite popular on the second-hand market and look sure to continue that success over the coming years. The example we see here is an Ocean Blue Metallic 1997 Porsche 911 Carrera 2S, located in Quebec, with 17,983 miles on it.
There is no doubt that modern day Porsches are impressive machines, with power and performance almost second to none. But when I scan the current lineup, there’s something missing. I’d never deny these are great machines, but I almost feel like there’s a bit of a carefree nature that was apparent in Porsches from the past. Case in point, this 1997 911 Carrera 2 Cabriolet for sale from our friends at Automobili Limited right outside of Philadelphia. The owner of the dealership, Tony Kasser, was kind enough to invite me for a visit this summer and it was an impressive collection of enthusiast machines, mostly of German origin. This 911 Cabriolet is another in a long line of classic Porsches in their collection. In Guards Red over Cashmere leather with a 6-speed manual gearbox, this is a great way to enjoy one of the last of the air-cooled 911s.
We’ve all seen the insanity of the Porsche 993 Turbo market. As air-cooled 911s in general have steadily appreciated in value, the most powerful of the last of the air-cooled models has lead the way with precipitous gains seemingly defying all reason. Naturally, the more rare the model the more extreme those value increases have been and with buyers now showing little hesitation to ask for $200K+ for a standard Turbo it is no wonder that Turbo S owners would seek to capitalize on the madness with even steeper asking prices. That brings us to the example here, a Black and Tan 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo S, located in Florida, with just 9,208 miles on it and an asking price over half a million dollars. There is no doubt that these will stand beside the 993 Carrera RS and GT2 as the most sought-after models, with the GT2 leading the way by a substantial margin. While power increases weren’t substantial for the US market (424 hp vs 408 hp for the standard Turbo) the relative scarcity of the model and the cachet of saying you have the baddest air-cooled 911 around garner these cars significant appreciation. They also marked a slight change in the ethos of the model itself that has continued up to today. Unlike the 964 Turbo S, which was lightened and austere in its fittings, the 993 Turbo S retained the luxurious offerings that have been a hallmark of the 911 Turbo since its inception. It was to be the most refined and powerful road-going 911. Of course, with the release of the GT2 Porsche insured that its customers had both options available to them and sent the air-cooled 911 out in the best ways possible.
Last week we took a look at the big boy of the R129 Mercedes-Benz SL lineup, SL73 AMG. Sandwiched in between the first year the SL73 was offered and the last few years of its production is the SL70 AMG that we see here. As the badge denotes, this SL has a 7.0 liter engine under the hood, a V12 in this case, producing 490 horsepower. The SL70 AMG was a little more common than the SL73 AMG, but not by much, with only 150 produced over a two year production run.
