For decades, the Porsche 996 was the 911 that purists had all but disowned. Being the first water-cooled 911, it was an affront to the air-cooled aficionados who ran the local Porsche clubs. From its “fried-egg” headlights to its at-the-time bulky design, the 996 assumed its role as the ugly-duckling 911. Little did we know, everything about the 996 that was then scoffed at, is exactly what would make it the ultimate attainable enthusiast car in the 2020s.
Porsche
What Changed For The 996?
The 996 didn’t change; we did. As modern cars got increasingly bloated and electronically assisted, enthusiasts began pining for the days of old – when cars had soul, and felt like more than appliances. Even journalists spend more time reviewing the infotainment systems in new cars than their actual mechanicals, it really is the dystopian nightmare of the enthusiast. This fatigue of “Driver Assistance” and the rubbery monotony of driving cars meant to meet emissions standards left truly exciting new cars out of reach for most people, especially millennials and Gen-Z enthusiasts.
Enter the 996, fully depreciated. Once a discouraged bet considering the catastrophic IMS-Bearing issue, which, if left untreated, would cause catastrophic engine failure, and its Porsche-level maintenance costs, it is now arguably the most user-friendly yet supremely capable Porsche that is attainable to enthusiasts in America.
Porsche
This “fear” of the IMS-bearing failure, as well as its earlier reputation of being undesirable, kept prices relatively stable at the fully depreciated level, where clean ones could be had for less than the price of a Toyota 4Runner from the same years. Having built over 200,000 of them, we can expect prices to stay under $25,000 for the base variants, while clean examples of their flagship variants such as the 996 Turbo and GT3 have already caught the attention of collectors and valuation analysts, the GT3, GT3RS, GT2, and Turbo variants of the 996 generation used the legendary Mezger engines, derived from the GT1 race engines. These flagship variants, after experiencing suppressed valuations for over a decade, cost a pretty penny these days.
Porsche
The Sweet Spot
Modern enough to have automatic climate control, hi-fi audio, and reliably start every morning, yet old enough to have hydraulic steering, repairable components, and a key to start it. The 996 is entering its swan era after having its ugly-duckling slump as an enthusiast’s car that requires legitimate skill to get the most out of. If you’re looking to get your hands on one, make sure you replace that IMS-bearing with the dual-row IMS fix, if it hasn’t already been done.
Porsche
The 911 has always been about “accessible performance, not flat out performance”. The 996 is the very embodiment of this philosophy, providing the kind of experience at 55mph on some twisty roads that $1,000,000 cars with a thousand horsepower could never; the 996 has transformed from an undesirable and unreliable bet, into the enthusiast-loved, cult-classic it was always destined to be.
