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I don’t really know why the 996 GT3 has become one of my favorite cars. Porsche always has produced wonderfully performing cars capable of serving double duty as a track car and daily driver and their various GT or, earlier, RS and CS models shift that balance between performance and luxury decidedly toward the performance side of the spectrum. So we know they’re great and it isn’t really surprising that many, including myself, would find them quite alluring. But the 996 GT3 still feels different to me in the way it more recently has captured my attention. I began to look at them in earnest a couple of years ago when, like pretty much every 996, they seemed like a phenomenal value and prices seemed poised to rise. Well, prices have risen. Not so much that you’d only consider one as a garage queen, but they’ve risen nonetheless. Yet I still find myself coming back to them.
I don’t have any particular relationship to these GT3s; I’ve never driven one and these days see them very rarely. The last point may be part of the attraction as any rarely seen car is sure to elicit stronger emotions than something you encounter every day. Here’s one in my favorite color among the standard offerings: a Speed Yellow 2004 Porsche 911 GT3, located in Connecticut, with 47,200 miles on it.
It is almost silly how many variations of silver exist. And this isn’t just a Porsche phenomenon, but they do seem to lead the pack. Here we have another: a Meridian Metallic 2003 Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe with Cinnamon leather interior and 25,002 miles on it. I don’t think I have ever seen Meridian Metallic, though to be honest I’m not entirely sure I’d know if I saw it unless it was sitting amongst a few other silver 911s. It seems to exist somewhat in between Arctic Silver (lighter) and Seal Grey (darker). We might think of it as a silver in the vein of Polar Silver, not in the sense that the hue is the same, but rather that it is a variant of silver with a slight blend of another color. Polar Silver naturally possesses a hint of blue to it, whereas Meridian appears to have a slight purplish/pinkish hue. I will admit I kind of like these variations of silver since they possess more dynamic properties that will change depending on the type of light and I do find this 911 to be strangely attractive. Even so, at the end of the day, it’s still silver. I wouldn’t necessarily seek it out, but as an option on a very nice looking Turbo it might tilt me slightly in its favor.
While it definitely appears the market for a good 996TT is rising that doesn’t mean all of them are becoming expensive. Such appears to be the case with this 2003 Porsche 911 Turbo equipped with the X50 performance package, the Turbo aero kit, and a set of hard-back sport seats. It has an asking price of $50K and that’s not too bad at all! Of course there is a reason the price seems more reasonable and that’s because at 87,549 it has a few more miles on it than we typically see on a Turbo. That’s still reasonable mileage for its age so if it’s been cared for and there aren’t any other lurking issues, then those miles may not represent too much of an issue.
Update 8/30/18: The asking price has been dropped from $94,995 to $88,995.
996 GT3 prices do seem to be going up. It was inevitable given how highly regarded these 911s are among the Porsche lineup even when we factor in that many still don’t like the styling. More modern GT3s will bring with them higher levels of performance, but the 996 is no slouch and its rawness relative to the newer models continues to garner them high praise. And even with higher prices they remain some of the few you can find under six figures.
The one we see here, a Guards Red 2005 Porsche 911 GT3 located in New York with only 21,164 miles on it, is one of the more interesting examples I’ve seen. Guards Red doesn’t seem especially common on any 996, let alone a GT3, and the details in the interior with deviated stitching and red gauge faces provide some nice contrast. I’m not a fan of the black wheels, but otherwise I really like the way everything comes together on this one.
How much performance is enough? If we set aside the small percentage of drivers actually capable of exploiting any of the world’s supercars I’d imagine that bar was eclipsed long ago. I ask this mainly because my first thought upon seeing this 2002 Porsche 911 GT2 was, “why would you spend more?” Newer, more refined, more utility (maybe?): I can understand these aspects of upgrading. I also understand that in some cases it is the combination of performance and refinement that really drives prices higher. But I don’t know, this feels like a reality check of sorts.
Of course this GT2 isn’t exactly what we’d call inexpensive and if you can afford a toy like this, then the cost isn’t really that big a deal when it comes to searching out even more performance. If your goal is raw performance though, then for this money what else is out there that’s better?
