Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.
This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.
While the United States might be Porsche’s second largest market, that doesn’t mean we always get the fun stuff when it comes to special edition models. A lot of times it just isn’t worth it for Porsche to make a US legal version, thus we are stuck with every single other model they do bend over backwards to sell us. One of the most popular, and now most expensive models, was the 2010 911 Sport Classic. Porsche claimed it was inspired by the 1973 911 Carrera RS 2.7 and it had one of the most interesting and subtle changes you might not even notice, a double-dome roof. Other special equipment includes 19″ Fuchs-style wheels, a SportDesign front lip and ducktail spoiler, some contrasting racing stripes, carbon-ceramic brakes, adaptive sport seats with some cool trim, and the “Power Kit” on the 3.8-liter flat-six. Production was limited to 250 cars and the sticker price came in at €169,300. That was nearly GT2 money at the time. However, if you were lucky to buy one of these when new…..it was money well spent.
I think as much as I fantasize about daily driving a Porsche 911 GT3 or at least using it for all my mundane tasks that require driving, it probably isn’t the best idea ever. Outside of the ride being extremely stiff, you plain old just put a bunch of wear on the car doing something any car could do. In a sense, it’s massive overkill. However, you can still can get your 911 fix by being a reasonable person and do what most people do: just buy a Carrera 2. It is still an extremely capable and rewarding sports car, but it’s also tame enough to handle the daily driving duties. Not to mention they are nearly half the price as a GT3 in the same chassis. Today, we might have one of these perfectly daily-driver 911s without spending anywhere near $100,000.
In terms of contrast between the 997.1 Porsche 911 Turbo and the 997.2 Porsche 911 Turbo, it is very clear – at least when it comes to comparing the cars with the gearboxes that only have two pedals. A few days ago we looked at the 997.1, it has a regular five-speed automatic transaxle with a traditional torque converter. It is slow, it is soft, and it sucks a lot of power. However the clouds cleared once the 997.2 came around and the Tiptronic box was replaced by the snappy seven-speed PDK gearbox. All of a sudden it isn’t a penalty to only have two pedals in the footwell; the 6-speed cars physically can’t shift faster than the PDK car. Yes, I know it isn’t all about 0-60 times and being the fastest, but PDK was a game changer for the 911 Turbo. Even better when talking about a 997.2 Turbo S, which is what we have up for sale today.
I’ve mentioned this before – but unless you have a keen eye, the 993, 996, and 997 Targa models don’t exactly scream “Hey, I’m a Targa!”. They all used very complex glass roofs with a hatchback-style piece that can be helpful in some situations. Still, these models have a far contrast to the return of the Targa panel that we saw with the 991. For the 997 chassis, all the Targa cars were built on the Carrera 4 body, which of course meant all were all-wheel drive. Just 1,760 were produced worldwide, with only 800 coming to America. This 2011 Targa 4 up for sale outside of Philadelphia is finished in the wonderful color of Racing Green Metallic over a Sand Beige interior; however, it is not cheap.
Oh boy. Today’s car might be a nice refresher on how not the sell a car. In general, the modifications you make to a car do not appeal to other people when it comes time to sell. If they do, they very rarely add any value. Let me repeat that. They do not appeal or add any value to said car. Unless the modifications fix a problem factory, i.e., an aftermarket charge pipe on a BMW 1M after the OEM one explodes, you are better off selling the car as stock. This only increases as the value of the car goes up. $7,000 Honda Civic with wheels, coilovers, and an intake? Someone on Craigslist might bite. Lime green wheels and accents on a 997.2 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet? Grab a heat gun and start pulling.
