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.
Tag: 911
This car doesn’t exist. Or I should say, this model doesn’t exist, since the car clearly does. Porsche never officially produced a 911 Turbo Cabriolet for either the 964 or the 993 models and while such minor inconveniences as non-existence rarely dissuade certain well-heeled Porsche enthusiasts from asking the factory to make one anyway, this car has not come about through those means. Rather this one came about through many hours of labor and a thorough dip into the Porsche parts bin by an owner who simply wanted to improve his 911. Earlier this week Carter presented another take on how someone might arrive at a 993 Turbo Cabriolet and while that car’s development appears to have been somewhat, shall we say, unfocused, this build seems well thought out and carried out with a good deal of care. For starters, it began life as a 1995 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet, which makes for much better starting material than a 1977 911S Targa. Add in a 993 Turbo engine, widened rear bodywork, upgraded suspension, Turbo brakes, wheels, and sport seats and you have something fairly comparable to how we’d have expected a 993 Turbo Cabriolet to look and perform had Porsche chosen to produce one. With more than 124K miles on the clock this isn’t a garage queen only shown at special events, but rather an enthusiast’s dream made reality that is frequently enjoyed.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet on eBay
2 CommentsWhat is the tipping point in modifying a car? It seems a delicate line which is easily crossed; one that once tripped over pushes the car in question into a free fall from object of desire to ridicule. Obviously, if someone opens up a J.C. Whitney catalog and orders all of the accessories available for their Monte Carlo, it’ll be a bit of a laugh. But what about when the ingredients are all top-dollar, high quality units? Let’s take this 911 for an example and break down the components: at it’s base, this is a 1977 911S Targa, or was. Now, by itself that’s an increasingly valuable commodity – so, it’s a good basis, right? Now it wears an updated 993 wardrobe; they’re a hot commodity, too. And who doesn’t love a cabriolet? Okay, so that’s a lot of people. But some people like them, right? How about the motor, a Ruf modified twin-plug turbo? Wow, put those names together today and you’ve got yourself a retirement plan. And while not the purview of these pages, if you haven’t been following auctions anything with the name Boyd Coddington attached to it has some serious value as well since his death. There has even been a spike in value of classic Recaro seats, and right now brown tones are still totally in vogue. So, with all of these individual bits added together, this car should be worth millions, right?
If you need a reminder that 1970s Porsches weren’t always worth a lot of money, look no further.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet…ish on eBay
15 CommentsI have suddenly become very enamored of dark grey cars, especially when they come in a metallic shade. There frequently has been a BMW 135i parked outside my place that I would guess is Space Gray Metallic and with its similarly colored wheels it looks fantastic in almost any light. And that is where my preference lies with these cars: darker grey, metallic, and dark wheels. I don’t prefer the contrast of a silver wheel with these colors. As such, I find this Slate Grey Metallic 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Coupe, to be particularly stunning. I really enjoy this color on the 964 in general and with the black Cup wheels, which I assume simply have been painted, the exterior look is brought into definite focus. Contrast that exterior with a striking Burgundy interior and you have a really great combination!
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Coupe on eBay
1 CommentWhile they aren’t the exceptional values they used to be the market has settled down enough that we can still find good examples of the Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera for pretty reasonable prices. And I think it’s safe to say that there are still quite a few of us out there who hope to still have opportunities for owning and driving these great machines. The 1987 and later model years show higher overall values since that was when Porsche first fitted the 911 with the more stout G50 5-speed manual transmission, but the earlier cars still provide excellent motoring and reliability for on average about $5K less given comparable condition. The example here, a Garnet Red 1985 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe with contrasting Beige and Brown interior, comes from the earlier period of the 3.2 Carrera but looks in just the sort of shape we’d hope for when searching for a nice classic 911.