Which 911?

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by EAGLE5

The 997 Carrera I drove was like the 2013 FRS turned up to 11, with the FRS at 8.75. The 996 Carrera was more like a 10. I believe neither were S models.

I'd go with the rawest, most in-your-face one, like you said... The Widowmaker.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by TommyW

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??"

If I was chasing anything, it would be this.

[TommyW]

To be clear, my sorted FRS is as pleasurable as my P cars in many ways and just as enjoyable. With the aero, tow hook and decals EVERYONE wants to race though. I can afford pretty much anything and for an overall driving experience this car suits me fine. The 911 TT (not stock) is just WAAY too much car for the street and just didn't feel like it would be good on the track and the consumables would be way to expensive to warrant it

[wbradley]

Just get a 992

[EAGLE5]

Originally Posted by wbradley

Just get a 992

No why?

[wbradley]

Originally Posted by EAGLE5

No why?

Why not?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_992

[Sapphireho]

My 993 was a great performer. I just hated the look of the headlights. Wish I had kept that one, but can't keep them all.

[TommyW]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

My 993 was a great performer. I just hated the look of the headlights. Wish I had kept that one, but can't keep them all.

Really? I thought the 993 was the best looking 911 ever made.

[WolfpackS2k]

Originally Posted by EAGLE5

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.

Why isn't the 997 GT3 on the list? They're around 100k I think. Based on the options I vote 996 GT2. I can't stand the 992 - it's so so so big. 991 isn't as bad but it went turbo and is ridiculously complex.

[TommyW]

These

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...ckType=listing

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...ckType=listing

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by TommyW

Really? I thought the 993 was the best looking 911 ever made.

I love 993's, by far my favorite. I could never afford a P car, just appreciate from an owner approving distance.

[WolfpackS2k]

993 is my favorite by far.

The hate for the Caymans in here is a little odd IMO. They're far similar in size and weight to the "archetypical 911". 997s look great but gained a lot of weight. 991 kept the 997's weight in check but dimensionally grew. And the 992 is a huge bloated 911 that looks like it went crazy at the Golden Corral all you can eat buffet.

[DarkSunrise]

GT3. Any generation. 996, 997, 991. Like you said, there’s something special about those cars. I’ve always been impressed by the ones I’ve come across at the track and even in the canyons. I had some fun with a 992 and 997 gt3 in the canyons recently and both sounded incredible.

GT4 Cayman would be high on my list too. It’d be a tough call between say a 996 GT3 and 981 GT4. At that point I’d probably drive both and see which one spoke to me.

Honestly though with used car prices being what they are, probably a bad time to stretch to make an expensive used car purchase, assuming you don’t have a boatload of cash laying around.

[Atmo]

Originally Posted by TommyW

I've had several 911's. The power delivery and the engine sound are the biggest differences. In my '73 S I never turned the stereo on, just rolling down the windows and listening to that thing go through the gears was the best music possible.

I've owned a few 911's but the air cooled cars, and especially a '73 S, required total focus but were the most memorable and exciting physically and mentally. Luckily I never crashed, but there was this one night in the rain...