The Porsche 996 profile

Most Porsche drivers are traditionalists. Just as in 1964 when many loyal 356 drivers found the first 911 a difficult departure from what they knew, the water-cooled Porsche 996 in 1997 was met with shock – but it’s now sought after as a classic Porsche.

Fast forward to today and the 911 is the definitive Porsche, with collectors falling over each other to obtain early cars. Porsche 911 values are only heading in one direction.

The Porsche 996

When the 996 generation arrived in 1997, many proclaimed that the headlights looked like fried eggs, and its water cooling wasn’t very 911. But now, the first true ‘new’ Porsche 911 has earned its place in the classic market, and is notably the most affordable of the model.

Porsche sold 175,000 of the 996, more than any 911 that came before it, and the rarer derivatives such as Turbo S, GT2, GT3 are regularly seen at shows. The GT3R and GT3 RS are seen as highly collectable with price tags of more than €100,000. Anyone who can still find a well-priced example of a Porsche 996 is well advised to take advantage sooner rather than later.

A few years ago, you could have found a poorly maintained Carrera 2 Coupé for around €10,000 and no one would have been surprised. Today prices for well-maintained specimens are over €20,000, as the Classic Trader Market shows. For a 4S with low mileage you’d struggle with a budget of €40,000. The cheapest turbo is already listed above €60,000. You may see 996 GT3s for around €100,00 – a vehicle worth closer to €40,000 back in 2015.  An Italian dealer is asking for a hefty €180,000 for a particularly rare GT2.

When I emailed Dieter Landenberger, the chief historian of Porsche AG, for a quote for this article, he immediately picks up the phone. “I’m a fan of the 996,” he says. “The only thing the car has in common with its air-cooled predecessor is the crest on its bonnet and the name.”

Development of the Porsche 996

Everything else is new, just as it was when the 911 was launched in 1964 in original short wheelbase form. Ferdinand Piech soon extended the wheelbase to make the car more drivable. New alloy metals made the 2.7-litre engine possible, and later still the Turbo model put the 911 into supercar territory. All-wheel drive brought additional traction in the 964, making it more balanced. 

But the production of the 911 had become disproportionately expensive, emissions regulations could no longer be met and the fuel consumption of the air-cooled boxer engine was also too high. Even though some of these shortcoming had been turned around with the 993, Porsche was on the verge of bankruptcy in the 1990s.

CEO Wendelin Wiedeking arguably helped save the company thanks to improving efficiency. The 996 had to be easier to manufacture and share as many parts as possible with the Boxster. Wiedeking not only led the marque out of the crisis, he made Porsche the most profitable car manufacturer in the world with a 15% return on sales.

Special porsche 996 models

As many identical parts as possible does not mean as few variants as possible. There were around 20 different versions from Porsche’s ‘new 911’ by the end of production in 2005, says Landenberger. The rarest is the 996 GT3 R, of which only around 63 cars were produced. And the fewer examples of a variant produced, the more valuable the individual cars become. 600 Turbos in the potent S guise were created, and 682 GT3 RS models rolled off the assembly line.

It is only a matter of time before the GT2s, of which over 1200 have been built, start arriving at big auction events. The 2005 vintage is particularly interesting because at that time only 18 cars were produced.

The Porsche 996 was an original design and not overtly retro. The car was wider and longer with a premium interior far removed from the 1964 911. There was even a navigation system for the first time, along with an all-new water-cooled six-cylinder engine.

Porsche 996 Mechanical issues

Speculators should also keep in mind that the 996 needs good maintenance and plenty of care.  A good example of how costly things can get is the car’s oil pressure pump. The standard car already has an oil pressure pump and three scavenge pumps. Turbo and GT2 models have seven pumps for the integrated dry sump lubrication, with potential replacements soon adding up. There are also the well-documented issues with the IMS (intermediate shaft) bearing, the RMS (rear mainshaft) oil seal and cylinder bore hotspots.  

There’s also a danger for investors that values of this car might not continue to rise. This is currently being experienced by the owners of 964, 993 and 959, some of which are significantly below last year’s values. The Historic Automobile Group International’s HAGI-P index, which measures the performance of 14 classic Porsches, has also fallen by around one percent of late.

However, enthusiasts will strongly recommend the Porsche 996. Even if the “normal” 996 Carrera 2 Coupés (approx. 35,000 units in Europe) or Carrera 4 Coupés (approx. 31,000 units in Europe) are inexpensive and will not gain in value as quickly as the rare derivatives, they are the cheapest entry into the 911 world. The neighbours can very rarely tell the difference between models anyway! Potentially high maintenance costs are typically compensated for by the stable values of the 996.

Text Carl Christian Jancke  Fotos Porsche, DD Classics, The Hairpin Company

Author: Classic Trader

Die Classic Trader Redaktion besteht aus Oldtimer-Enthusiasten, die Euch mit spannenden Geschichten versorgen. Kaufberatungen, unsere Traum Klassiker, Händlerportraits und Erfahrungsberichte von Messen, Rallyes und Events. #drivenbydesire View all posts by Classic Trader →