There was performance revolution that occurred rather quietly in the mid 2000s. You could argue that it was more evolutionary than revolutionary, but giant leaps in performance were seemingly the norm with every single release of a new model. The Audi S8 had 360 horsepower, and that was a lot – until the M5 had 400. Then the S8 had 450, and the M5 countered with 500 – and Mercedes-Benz was right there, too, with its supercharged V8s. These were power figures normally associated with supercars only a generation before. Heck, by the mid 2000s even the lowly Golf GTi had equivalent power to weight ratios with Porsche 911s from the 1980s. Speaking of Porsches, they had gone absolutely bonkers with their power levels. The last 930 had roughly 330 horsepower – still considered quite a lot in the late 80s – and weighed roughly 3,000 lbs. Sure, the subsequent generations got heavier and more complex as they bathed their occupants in every increasing levels of luxury. But then, the power increased too. By the time we got to the 3.6 Turbo S, power was 380. The 993 added a turbo for quicker spool up and went to even heavier all-wheel drive, yet with 400-450 horsepower, they were anything but slow. Power didn’t change much with the 996 at 410-450 horsepower depending on tune, but delivery was refined even more and they were even faster than the previous generation. The 997 kicked it up another notch, now with 470 to over 500 horsepower on tap – the best part of double the original 930, yet with daily driver tractability, modern convenience and all-wheel drive comfort and security. The 911 Turbo was no longer a widow-maker, but a precise surgical instrument of speed wrapped in a velvet glove with a sugary sweet coating for ease of use.
Another interesting trend was that through its transformation, all of the sudden people really started to appreciate the older cars more. The more complicated the 911 became – and it must in the market, you could argue – the more that people longed for the early days. That was especially true when it came to the changeover to the 996. The softening of the once impenetrable 911 Turbo fortress defenses to allow mere mortals to approach the limits of the car pushed many way; it didn’t help that the 996 wasn’t the prettiest thing to come out of Stuttgart, either. That meant that values started dropping and today these 911 Turbos are nothing short of a miraculous deal. For about the same money as a loaded Camry costs you can get into a thoroughbred rocketship. But if it were my money, I’d eye the successor to the 996; for a slight increase in purchase price, you get better performance, more features and most importantly a better looking exterior:
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