To Porsche fans, air cooled is more than a preference or novelty; it’s a borderline religion. And if the 993 represented the ascension of the prophet of the boxers to near God-like status, the 996 was most certainly the Anti-Christ. As a result, peppered by their own frenzied quest to prove the merit of the the super-Beetle Porsche fans themselves have driven up the prices on the last of the holy 911s. There are several special versions and owners and enthusiasts of each will kindly explain at length why their pick is or should be top value amongst the 993 crowd; but for most people not interested in that multi-hour conversation look no farther than right here. Porsche once again resurrected the the “S” moniker for the 993 Turbo’s last run and it was surely worthy of the crown; upgraded over the already 959-esque twin-turbocharged all-wheel drive 993 Turbo, Porsche added a few horsepower and some styling tweaks to a few hundred of these special Turbos, ensuring their future collector status and accompanying price:
Tag: Turbocharged
Earlier in my Ruf-modified 930 post I asked if you needed an original version of the car. Well, I’m at it again, this time with a car modified to recreate an awesome version of the 993 Turbo – the homologated GT2 Turbo. With more power and lightened to only two-wheel drive with some of the best wheels ever fitted to a Porsche (in my opinion, anyway) the GT2 was an instant classic – so much so that Porsche has subsequently recreated it in 996 and 997 versions. But while the last few versions of the GT2 have been nutty ultimate-street versions of the Turbo, the original GT2 was really a race car toned down for the street; in that mold, today’s 1997 911 Turbo has been converted to capture some of that dual-purpose magic. The question is, does it achieve the magic of the original GT2?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo “GT2” on eBay
1 CommentWhen I was a younger lad, my father was looking for an upgrade to his BMW 635CSi for a track car, and we were scouting out E28 M5s. He finally picked one up, and we headed to the track – these were the days when, short of a modified 930, there wasn’t much faster on track than an E28 M5. We were at Lime Rock park, and I excitedly waited for him to come blowing down the front straight, decimating his competition in a wave of speed, power and sound. Yet, when he did appear on the front straight, his arm was out the window – pointing by what appeared to be a fairly unassuming 535i. My 15 year old self couldn’t really contemplate what had happened; how could a 535i possibly be faster than an M5? The answer was under the hood, where a Dinan Turbo kit subtly hid; with a reported 400 horsepower on tap at full boost, the M5 was no match for this supercar slayer. That power figure may well have been exaggerated by the owner, but it was no slouch, so I was excited to see a similar 533i 3.5 Dinan Turbo pop up in our Self-Service Classifieds:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 BMW 533i Dinan Turbo on eBay
1 CommentIf the insanity of the crazy modified 80s wasn’t enough for you in earlier’s DP 935 Targa, how about a 962-powered 911 Speedster? Sound absolutely bonkers? Yup, it sure is. But in the no holds barred world of the well-heeled, you can create just about anything that you want. Borrowing elements from the 962, 934, 959 and DP935 and adding them to the already quite rare and valuable Speedster, Bruce Canepa created the ultimate enthusiast’s dream of a convertible 911: