Which 911?
 

Suppose I were to say "fuck it all" and buy a 911, used or new, which one to buy? $150k max, pretax. Preferably around 100k. Must be a manual. Must be RWD.

996 GT3. Manual, brutal, narrower than the 991 and newer. A few choices out there under 100k. Cheapest.

996 GT2. Manual, brutaller, the widowmaker. Too much of a handful? A beater if available in my price range?

Carrera T. Manual, simple, straightforward, louder, lighter than other cars of its generation. Newer so nicer. But less special?

If I went new, to get a manual and all the performance mods, I'd have to get a Carrera S. Then I could get rear steer, adaptive suspension, and active anti-roll. Keep it under 140k pretty easily. Probably significantly faster than any of the above. Definitely a worse "investment".

Why not a GT4 or Cayman 4.0? They're not as special on the street. Just not as special overall. Maybe if Porsche made one full power GT2 or GT3 style, but they haven't. A Cayman doesn't feel like an event to drive. A 911, even a base Carrera, is an event.

I don't know if they would fit your criteria but I have read/seen a couple of reviews that suggest that some GTS models are closer to the GT variants than to "standard" 911s and good value because of that. Maybe they are a consideration.

At least you can say "variants " here without starting keyboard panic

Pardon? I don't understand. :)

I don't think you can go wrong with any Porsche sportscar.

I had a Boxster S and a Cayman S and I loved them both.

I was cross shopping a regular (used 997) 911 when I bought my 2021 Supra.

I love my Supra and I am 10/10 happy with it, but every time I see a 911, I wonder if I would be 11/10 happy with the 911.

Just make sure you get a mechanically "good" one.

The old saying, "The most expensive car on the road is a cheap Porsche" seems to be true.

You seem to have a bigger budget than I did/do, so I think you could get an amazing car.

Anyway, good luck!

I don't know if you are being serious or being funny.

It is what Lant was referring to in his comment. The word "variant" can cause some concern over here right now.

the 996 GT3 is often overlooked. It's much more analog compared to the newer 911's and has that brilliant Metzger motor. I've driven one and it was amazing. Much will depend on your priorities just don't buy new. I bought a 911 turbo with 3,000 miles on it and the plastic still on the back seats. he paid 120k and I paid 78K.

The 996 GT2 is a lot of car for how analog it was and easy to get into trouble with. I tested one before buying my Turbo. I remember an interview with Walter Rorhl after he test drove it and his comment was "You aren't going to sell these to the general public are you??"

Turbo. Whatever year you can find in good condition and within your price range. No issues with IBS to contend with. Any other model, this must be dealt with or you are gambling your investment. It's probably a $10K job and if not fixed add that to your immediate cost.

After '09 the IMS issue went away.

Which 911?
 

Or 996 turbo / 997.1 turbo
Mezger engines don’t have IMSs.

When did you buy your turbo?

Correct however the Carrera’s from 99 to 08 did not have Metzger motors.