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This is not a car I normally would post. The dealer hasn’t provided us much in the way of description and it’s PDK rather than a true manual, which isn’t typically what I seek out in these cars (though more on that below). However, this color combination is so striking that I simply cannot pull myself away from it. Here we have a situation where two very attractive colors have been combined to produce a result that I think makes each of those attractive colors even better. The exterior is paint-to-sample Aetna Blue, which first originated on the Porsche 356 and is itself a wonderfully elegant and vintage color. The interior is a Bordeaux over Black combination that seems to have just the right amount of each to make the interior look very refined. Bordeaux, itself, already is a fairly refined version of a red interior. When you put these colors together the whole certainly is greater than the sum of its parts. I really like it.
A couple weeks ago I featured this Speed Yellow 2005 C4S Coupe. It appeared to be an exceptional example of what is a generally unloved model. I stated in that post that I think bright colors really work in the 996’s favor when it comes to maximizing the attractive qualities of its exterior. However, not everyone wants a brightly colored exterior and Speed Yellow is about as bright as they come. Also, as much as I liked that C4S it was very expensive with a price well into good 996TT territory.
Here I hope to remedy those two problems. This is the same model 911, from the same model year right at the end of 996 production, so you get what is for me a better looking 996 and the sort of usability that always has made the C4S a worthy candidate for daily driver duties should that be your desire. Obviously it’s nearly the polar opposite in color. I’ll admit I could do without the tint, especially of the rear lenses, but otherwise where a Speed Yellow 911 will turn every head, this black one should allow you to cruise by (mostly) unnoticed. At 20,086 miles, the mileage is still quite low but it’s priced almost $20K less. That’s a lot of money for Speed Yellow and a few less miles.
A funny thing has been happening recently: I’ve begun to be attracted to the 996. The general design is one I never was a fan of during production and I can’t say those feelings ever changed. Yet here I am unable to take my eyes off of another 996. I do think there are some caveats. It is the slightly altered bodywork of the Turbo, the C4S, and the GT3 that I find very good looking. The standard 996 design still leaves me cold. And the interior is still mostly terrible. But I do find the peculiarities of the design and the way those come through on certain models to be quite alluring. They aren’t clean lines and I actually like that. The 997 certainly fixed much of this, and the 991 extended that even further, but perhaps it all became too clean. Perhaps following upon the beauty of the 993 Porsche thought they needed to make things a little uglier, a little more interesting. I don’t know, but I’m starting to think it worked.
I’ve been featuring a fair number of very high-priced 911s of late. I certainly love them and in most cases their rarity earns them the feature. But for most of us those cars always will exist well out of reach and merely as pieces to admire in someone else’s collection. There is also the problem that in most cases you really can’t even drive the darn things.
This 911 should possess none of those issues and while certainly not cheap as second-hand cars go there’s nice value to be had here within the realm of the 911 itself. Here we have a Speed Yellow 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Coupe, located in California, with 6-speed manual transmission and 33,750 miles on it.
I’ll admit this post is kind of silly. The universe of interested buyers for this 911 is going to be vanishingly small. It’s very high priced and has so few miles you pretty much can’t allow it to leave the garage. Yet here I am writing it up. It’s been for sale for a little while. I’m not sure if it’s been continuously for sale, but I first came across it two years ago and I feel like I see it now and then. I suppose the problem is that every time I do come across it I’m attracted. I was on the hunt for 993s to feature after coming across a Turbo that immediately reminded me why these 911s are so beautiful and captivating. During that hunt this one popped up again so I went with it.
This is a Speed Yellow 1997 Porsche Carrera 4S, located in New York, with a ridiculously low 1,096 miles on it. It’s also well optioned with hard-back sport seats and factory Aerokit. It is nothing other than stunning.
