Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
When it comes to the argument of which Porsche 911 is the king of the hill, you won’t see me dismiss the 997 GT3 RS 4.0. Porsche and the GT team basically did everything they could to crank 500 horsepower out of a flat-six squeezed in the back of the 997. At the time, this was supposed to be the last GT car with a true six-speed manual. So when these dropped, all 600 were jumped on like wild dogs on meat. Now ten years later, double the MSRP and you can take one home. Fair deal?
One of the more interesting special editions to come out of Porsche in the last 20 years was the 2006 911 Carrera S Club Coupe. As a thank you to PCA members, or maybe a way to milk some more money (probably both), Porsche produced 50 Club Coupes only available to PCA members though a random drawing of everyone who put their name in the hat. If they were chosen, of course they still had to pay $105,000 for a Carrera S painted in exclusive Azzurro California and with a bunch of options. For comparison, a 2007 911 Turbo was around a $120,000 at the time, so this was not a cheap C2S. Seems like a bad deal, right? Well, not if you held on to it for all these years.
Two decades in, is it finally time for the 996 Porsche 911? Personally, I think so. Our negative feelings on things generally seem to wane over time, and after 20 years, that seems to be the case for the 996.1. Are we looking at 964 and 993 levels of appreciation? Of course not. But I do think that these will slowly become less of a black sheep of the 911 family and more of just an entry-level into the 911 family.
Today’s car, a 1999 up for sale Nebraska, looks most certainly to be one the prime examples to snatch up. It’s classic Arctic Silver Metallic over a Boxster Red special leather interior, and just to top it all off, it has just 29,000 miles. This one will be a fight.
The 997.1 Porsche 911 is probably my favorite “budget” 911. I wish I could put “budget” in size 82 font quotation marks given we are talking Porsche here, but in the grand scheme of things where a new base 992 C2 is $100,000, your buck doesn’t go very far these days. Now you are probably saying, “What about the 996?” And yes, you are right. But given the very small price difference between the 996 and 997.1, I think it is the perfect sweet spot of having a modern 911 without spending over $50,000 just to get a seat at the table. Today’s 997 has my favorite Lobster Fork wheels and isn’t a boring color. There’s only one problem though – the transmission.
Go big or go home, right? Just when I thought the $442,540 Porsche GT2 RS I looked at back in May couldn’t be top, someone tried. This 2018 GT2 RS Weissach up for sale in Toronto, Canada went totally crazy with a Python Green Chromoflare finish and an interior to try to match. I hope Santa brings you a truck full of money this year, because that is what you’ll need to take this one home.
