Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
First things first: It’s a base model Boxster, in a pedestrian color combo, and it still only has a 4 cylinder flat-four turbo. If your puritan eyes are already bleeding I understand. But if you’re curious and not easily offended, you might be interested to hear it’s a one owner car and a 6 speed manual. But the best part is the seller is asking just under $36k buy-it-now on eBay. I find that combination pretty interesting suddenly.
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The launch of the Porsche Panamera back in 2010 naturally came with mixed reviews. The purists saw it as another money grab and called it ugly, while others saw it as a way to still get their Porsche fix with four seats without buying a Cayenne. Porsche themselves saw it as an attempt to broaden Porsche’s appeal beyond that of hardcore fans, and most importantly, make more money. It was a nice enough car, but even to this day, people call the rear end styling a disaster that the designer threw in the towel on. None the less, Porsche cranked out the typical lineup of a base model, 4, S, 4S, GTS, Diesel, Hybrid, Turbo, and Turbo S options. That totaled five different engine setups if you are counting, and almost every single one of them came with the 7-speed PDK or 8-speed Tiptronic S transmissions. However, there were a few unicorn 6-speed manuals out there in the wild. Word is there were only 146 in total, 50 examples in base model and 96 in V8 Panamera S trim. Today, we found of those 96 up for sale in Paris, France of all places. Be warned, this is not your typical used Panamera for $28,999. Very far from it.
The year is 2019 and we are full into an era where a first generation Porsche Cayenne can be had for the cost of a German Shepherd puppy. Seriously these, along with its hunky cousin Volkswagen Touareg, are trading for shockingly low prices thanks to the classic formula of low demand, low quality and higher than normal repair costs at a higher than normal rate. Buying one of these now is a gamble that I don’t think anyone is really ready for because while money can fix anything, you can’t buy more time from the inconvenience that these things can cause. If you wanted to snag one for a pure hobby knowing that this is going to be a bumpy ride, there is one special build that is worth looking out for: the 6-speed manual.
For whatever reason, Porsche brought over a handful of 6-speed manuals mated to their 240 horsepower version of the 3.2 VR6 in the 5,000 lb. base model Cayenne. I’m sure every dealer who were allocated these had thoughts about not setting the parking brake and letting them roll away given how hard these were to sell when new. While Porsche also brought the 6-speed manual in the GTS model, that one was mated to a 405 horsepower V8 and sold as a performance model, so it made sense in a way. Here we are now some 14 years later and a handful of these bounce around on the used market in conditions you would expect an old Porsche SUV to be in. Everything is sticky, it smells like crayons and the center carrier bearing probably needs replaced again. Still, this example up for sale in Chicago might have you thinking about it if you are just crazy enough.
It’s no secret that I love wagons, my first car was a wagon, and I still drive one to this day 16 years later. Here…
11 CommentsThese 3 series wagons are becoming a rare breed, one with a manual transmission is almost unheard of. So, what’s the big deal? As you…
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