by John Glynn | Jun 6, 2013 | Market & Prices, New Models
Towards the end of the 997, Porsche unveiled a spate of special edition 911s, which raised the spam filters against limited production models. Stuttgart’s just unveiled another special, but this one’s better than expected.
The limited edition runout 997 Carrera GTS was probably the best water-cooled Porsche I’ve driven to date, including all the quick stuff. It suited my love of cross-country thrashing much better. I’ve enjoyed my drives in 991, but can’t escape the list price for what’s now a volume unit, and don’t like how busy the car is inside. The latest model might be different.
Unveiled this week, the 50th Anniversary car looks good at first glance. It uses the wider 4wd bodyshell, so is essentially a C2S with rinky-dink special bits including:
- Specially-tuned PASM
- Sports Exhaust
- Special 20-inch wheels, inspired by Fuchs (glad no Fuchs here)
- Chrome front air inlets, engine grille and rear light panel strips
- Dynamic Lights with bi-xenon and cornering
- 3D logo on engine cover, tacho, sill trims & headrest embroidery
- Cupholder plaque with edition number
- High gloss exterior trim and Sport Design mirrors
- Retro instrument dials
- Tribute material on 14-way sports seats (optional 18-way)
- Swish stiching on interior leather
- Porsche Exclusive gear shift
Despite this comprehensive and cohesive spec, I predict some classic angst. Air-coolers with short memories will screech at the cupholders, but the 3.2 Carrera and 964 both had Jubilee specials with fluffy carpets and painty bits. This is no different.
Sure, it’s miles away from the first 911s, but there’s finally a hint of some personality, so I like it. I like the paint, I like the wheels, and I like the bling-y engine grille with the recessed brake light: wait for the aftermarket to rip that off. I like the trim, I like the clocks and I like the mirrors.
Did I say I liked the paint? I can see a slew of hot rods painted in the Geyser Grey Metallic shown here: like a modern Sahara Beige. Graphite Grey and Black Monochrome are your only other options.
What are the downsides? Ninety-two grand is rather a big one, big like that vast centre console, but no doubt some of you have put your deposits down. I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who’s got one coming: there’s a feature here for sure.
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by John Glynn | Apr 16, 2013 | Porsche News, Market & Prices
Porsche achieved record sales in March 2013. More than 14,000 cars were sold in one month: a record number of deliveries in the company’s history.
In the first quarter of 2013, deliveries totalled 37,000 cars: 21% up on last year. China had increased interest in mid- and rear-engined models, where Porsche says 33% more Boxster, Cayman and 911 vehicles were delivered in the first quarter of 2013. Porsche sold 8,844 cars in China during Q1: up 25% on last year.
Porsche seems pretty bullish regarding 911 sales, which were up almost 19% on Q1 2012, with 7,230 911s sold. Stuttgart says Cayenne is also up on last year, with 20,000 vehicles sold versus an undisclosed number. No data was released on Panamera: a shame following our last post regarding Panamera sales slumps, but few of you will be that bothered and it’s just about to be replaced, in any case.
Look again at the data chart above. While Asia is up over 3,000 cars, with America close behind, Europe is showing a mere 400-car increase. Germany on its own is up more than twice that. Take Germany out, and Euro sales are down.
March is an important month for UK new car registrations, with the new-year registration plate on March 1, and end of the tax year for most companies. March 2013 registration data shows a healthy UK car market, with registrations up almost 6% for the month to just under 400,000 and Q1 up 7.5% year-on-year at just over 600,000 units.
In a rising market, Porsche registered fewer cars in March this year versus last, and Q1 sales are also down, at 1,660 units. The drop is only 4% (roughly 70 cars), but Mercedes was up 13%, Land Rover was up 19% and Jaguar saw sales increase by almost 25% in the first three months of 2013.
Fingers will point at new Porsches coming, but the rest of the world awaits the same new models, and sales are through the roof. Small wonder that New Porsche is putting so much effort into grabbing that business.
The UK, and Europe beyond Germany is now a minor territory, and increasingly less relevant to whatever this is moving towards. Product planners usually pay little attention to 4% of worldwide sales, however important that market might have been, once upon a time.
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by John Glynn | Apr 15, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
Note: this car has now sold via the Ferdinand Magazine Blog and lives in New Zealand.
Fellow European R Gruppe member, Christian, has just sent details of his 911 RS recreation, which he has put up for sale. I followed this car in build for a couple of years and am surprised he is letting it go.
It made slightly more sense when Christian told me how a top secret barn find with a 360 chassis number was behind the decision, although part of me thinks I’d prefer to own this one.
This car is just so right. “This is the only Carrera 2.7L RS replica which was invited to the official 40th anniversary Porsche Carrera RS World Meeting in Stuttgart in September 2012”, says Christian. “It appears in the official participant book as number 36. The car is in overall perfect shape, always very well maintained and handles perfectly. It has a nice driving position as the driver’s seat, the special seat railings and the hub extension were built for a person around 175-190cm (5’7″-6’2″).”
Based on a late 1972 911T (’73 MY), this 911 is what Christian calls a “contemporary 2,7L RS M471 lightweight build”.
The colour is Grand Prix White over Viper Green. Four layers of paint protect a detailed restoration by Hans Patutschnick in 2010, with full photo documentation. Except for DP Motorsport bumpers & ducktail, the body is all steel and was fully wax protected.
Suspension is classic 911 19/26mm torsion bars with Bilstein Nurburgring suspension and raised front spindles. Adjustable 18mm bars front and rear, 7 and 8×15 wheels in proper anodised-with-bright-rim finish and Avon CR6ZZ tyres.
Inside is a DP Lollipop seat, with RS co-drivers seat: love the houndstooth. VDO gauges restored by North Hollywood, original 1973 Momo Prototipo, 85l plastic tank, magnesium transmission with correct gearset and a Quaife LSD. Full transmission cooling and Webasto cabin heating.
The engine is a true work of art, built by Oliver Bienert of Boxer-Motoren, Manching, Germany in 2011. It’s a 2.8-litre MFI, making 281 hp at around 7,200k RPM. The 7R case was modified with shuffle pins, oil bypass and boat tailing, before the bottom end was built around a knife edged 70.4mm crankshaft, with 964 oil pump, Carrillo rods and 92mm Mahle barrels and pistons.
The engine list really is too much, including custom Bosch throttles, MFI pump and twin plug distributor. An RSR flywheel and lightweight clutch finish it off.
Fuelled up with 30 litres and ready to go, the RS rebuild weighs 980 kilograms. It’s done 5,000 miles with no track use since completion. Everything is detailed in the German registration papers, it carries a H (historic) registration plate and is fully TUV approved.
Having just seen what traders were asking at Techno Classica for ordinary early cars, this seems well priced at €94,000. Though he is based near Frankfurt, I hear Christian has had contact from France and the US on this car, so get your skates on if you want to discuss it.
by John Glynn | Mar 7, 2013 | New Models, Market & Prices
Let’s consider a Porsche 911 GT3 Manual to PDK comparison. You grew up driving with three pedals and enjoy using a manual shift. You currently own a 997 GT3 RS: potentially the last RS to be made with three pedals. Porsche now says you should abandon the idea of a manual shift and embrace two pedals forever. So what are the chances of that happening?
This spotless Gen 3 997 GT3 RS has just 1,100 miles on the clock. Recently offered for sale, it went in under 24 hours. “The 991 GT3 situation with PDK-only has increased enquiries for the best examples of 997 GT3 RS,” says the salesman. “We have a growing waiting list for these cars and always want to find more used Porsche 911s for sale.”
No matter how PDK is put over: with launch control, paddle shift, seamless acceleration and all the rest, it’s still essentially an automatic transmission and that’s just not for everyone. I like manual transmissions: the feel of a clutch pedal, the action of the shifter, the process of matching revs with conditions. But I am not a GT3 owner and am unlikely to be in the very near future, so my opinion makes no odds. What do owners think? Do you jump from the three-pedal Porsche train to two, or hang on to your three-pedaller?
Cost to change is one consideration. Latest data from Porsche dealerships says a Porsche owner in the UK running a late-ish Gen 2 997 GT3 with under 10k miles will need the car plus £40K to get a 991 GT3. It’s going to take a lot to loosen those purse strings.
Porsche 911 GT3 Manual to PDK comparison
Will the new car be such a huge step forward? Gen 2 997 GT3 RS has 444 hp in 1370 kilograms, if you abandon some options and add big bucks for ceramics and lightweight seats. The RS has slicker induction and higher compression than the GT3. A single mass flywheel connects to shorter gearing, and the whole lot shrieks through a titanium exhaust. Max RS torque comes higher up the rev range, but those tighter ratios mean it’s more fun to scream.
However good the 991 GT3 and RS derivative prove, the 997 GT3 RS is huge fun. The controls are responsive: old-school steering offers exceptional feedback and is never too heavy. Wider track front and rear means that only on track will you get to the limits of grip: owners of so many UK GT3s regularly take them to the Nürburgring, and any track day at Spa shows a few RSs in the mix.
Set up to deliver excitement on track, the GT3 RS offers a monumental 911 experience. There are driver aids, sticky tyres, dynamic engine mounts and more, but you still have to work those three pedals to get the best from the car.
Given how good the old car is, it’s hard to see how shaving a few tenths off using two pedals and paddles will improve upon driving rewards. A high cost to change now versus uncertain long term return on investment asks quite a bit in this economy, and Porsche dealers may rue Stuttgart’s PDK-only decision.
by John Glynn | Mar 4, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
Following my brief daydream of 928 ownership after watching the Wheeler Dealers’ Porsche 928 episodes last night, I couldn’t resist a quick eBay search of what was available.
I kept my search under £1000 and found two: a 1981 example which was utterly falling apart on a £1500 Buy It Now, and a D reg model with no wheels, horrid rear spoiler, no interior trim and a dead engine for £800. Forgive me for not sharing links to either.
A quick check on Twitter before bed showed my mate Nick Appleton had found something rather more impressive: this 1993 5.4-litre GTS Auto in Amethyst.
The seller’s text is as follows: 1993 L registration finished in Amethyst metallic with contrasting silk grey leather/rubystone trim with small wood pack, spec includes eight way electric seats, air conditioning, electric sunroof, cup 1 17″ alloys, cup mirrors, 84,000 miles with full service history, stunning colour combination, very rare car in today’s market, very clean throughout, £15,995
It’s not the sort of Porsche I’m interested in spending sixteen grand on, but what a peach if it’s your kind of thing. The sale is here on eBay.
by John Glynn | Jan 25, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
I’ve owned two Porsche 911 SCs: Coupe and Cabriolet. I’d love to have kept both. In my opinion, the 911 SC is the perfect air-cooled 911. Not starter 911 and not introduction to Porsche: the perfect air-cooled 911 available for sensible money.
It’s simple, reliable, quick enough for most of us and relatively cheap. At least it used to be. Prices have been moving up since I started my Porsche forum at impactbumpers.com in 2006, to gather mid-year, SC, 930 and 911 3.2 Carrera owners and enthusiasts. I’ve been talking up the bumper cars in mag features for years now, and SC prices are finally beginning to get where they belong, relative to everything else.
Contrary to all those magazine buyers’ guides pushing people towards the 3.2 Carrera, the 3-litre SC is no poor relation. The longer stroke 3.2 engine is a bit lazier than the revvy SC, so while the 3.2 makes more power on paper, driving the two cars back-to-back does not confirm the Carrera as an obvious ‘upgrade’. I’ve had more than a few SC versus 3.2 thrashes on open roads and track days, and the SC is the car I would pick for either, every time.
SC prices have always trailed 3.2s and are likely to do so for the foreseeable future, but we’re seeing more sense on prices for the best SCs. My classic Porsche insurance valuations view the price relationship on average SCs and 3.2s as the market views them, but I’ve long valued really great SCs along the same lines as 3.2s, and recommend owners think very carefully on what they agree their SC values at. Really great RHD examples will not be easy to replace for under £20k in the UK.
Take the 911 SC seen here, which just sold today on eBay. The description read well enough: nice solid car, some work to the b-posts and sills, fresh black metallic paint, engine rebuild with Carrera tensioners: all the right bits there, if you believe the buyers’ guides. The pics show some issues for originality freaks: aftermarket steering wheel, 3.2 Carrera sports seats, aero mirrors, 7″ & 9″ Fuchs with wrong polished finish, aftermarket hi-fi, but all of these can be fixed. 154,000 miles cannot.
Still, it seems a solid car, so what price for all this finery? £18,610 in ebay bids: 42 of them, from a £1,000 start to the final bid a few seconds before the finish. The auction pictures weren’t great, but a good car is getting hard to find now. For it to hit this much on eBay with a finish on a weekday afternoon is pretty impressive and shows some real support for the humble SC.
If you’ve got a low number sitting on your Porsche 911 SC agreed insurance valuation, you need to update that opinion. Drop me an email and get it valued properly. Same goes for everything: this number relates to 3.2 Carreras just as it ties into 911 SCs and all of the others.
