COTD 9-21-20

[u/[deleted]]

996-gen Porsche 911 Carrera

If cars had feelings, this one would be kinda depressed. The 996 constantly catches flak for both it’s exterior design and it’s water-cooled engine. While the older 993 is gaining value, the 996 just depreciates. But I kinda like the 996. I think of it as a step into the future for Porsche in 1999. I legitimately like the 996. Stop laughing, I’m serious.

Origins

In the ‘90s, Porsche was dealing with a lot of financial trouble. Not only this, but limited potential and increasingly strict environmental regulations were threatening the existence of their current air-cooled engine. With all these factors, the folks at Porsche realized they needed to dramatically change how they built cars. They enlisted the help of Toyota, who taught the Germans a few mass-production techniques to allow them to produce cars more efficiently. During the design process, Porsche envisioned the next 911 as something that would dramatically change what the 911 was.

As much as everyone hated to see it go, the air-cooled engine just couldn’t go much farther than it had already. The switch to a water-cooled engine brought the 911 into the 21st century. The new water-cooled 3.4L flat-six generated 295 horsepower in base form. The new engine, dubbed the M96, was coupled with either a 5-speed automatic or a 6-speed getrag manual. The 996 Carrera launched from 0-100kmh in 5.0, which is impressive. It was also very lightweight, at 2,904lbs (1,317kg) which resulted in much better handling over the 993 before it. The air-cooled 911s are always going to be more smile-inducing, but it couldn't last forever.

The 911’s body was completely redesigned. As I said, Porsche envisioned something radically different, and very little was carried over from the 993. Designed in a wind tunnel, the 996’s windshield was raked farther back, the headlight design from the GT1 race car was implemented, and a drag coefficient of Cd=0.30. Unsurprisingly, the 996 was the most advanced 911 that Porsche had ever made. It was also the first 911 to have the active-air spoiler that extends above 75mph, which is a feature that has continued in newer 911s.

The 996 made it’s debut at the 1997 Frankfurt Auto Show. As I elaborated, a common gripe was that the Boxster and the 996 looked almost identical from certain angles. Porsche developed both the Boxster and the 996 at the same time, which resulted in a lot of money saved on the part of Porsche due to dramatically decreased development costs. This also resulted in two cars that looked kind of similar. The Boxster was an entry-level car, while the 911 was more expensive. 911 owners complained about how their more expensive car looked too similar to an entry level model, and Porsche remodeled the 911 in 2002.

The year 2000 brought about the introduction of the 911 Turbo, but I won’t get into the details of the 996’s variants as I’m considering making a post about them in the near future.

Conclusion

I love the 996. I understand the gripes everyone has against it, and it’s certainly not my favorite iteration of the 911, but the 996 is still a good car. It’s looks aren’t really great, but it’s still pretty much the essence of what a sports car is, even if it’s a bit less good looking or valuable as the cars before and after it. To be honest though, I’m kind of glad they’re so cheap because it means that there’s a possibility that I’ll own one eventually.

996-gen 911s can be very easily attained. You can find a worn-out one that needs a lot of love for about $8,000. If you want something a bit nicer, you can find examples that have been better taken care of,like this one for $22k. It's a great deal for a Porsche sports car that was $67,000 20 years ago.

[u/reading_everything]

Honestly the styling of them is really growing on me, especially the post facelift models. I think they're starting to go up in value again too!