Caught up with my mate (and Cult of Porsche book publisher) Andy for lunch yesterday and finally had a chance to see his new Porsche Macan S. The Macan is a lovely example. Andy had a little bit of a battle with Porsche Centre Leeds after purchase, but the official Porsche dealer eventually stepped up and dealt with his issues, so all is now rosy in the garden.
In fairness to Andy’s OPC, they looked after him on part ex, with a decent price for his Jaguar. The Jet Black Metallic Macan S with 22,500 miles had just scraped past the minimum tyre tread depth on rear tyres to meet the Approved Used Porsche spec, so he made a bit of noise and managed to get them changed: about £700 worth of Michelins on the 21″ Turbo wheels. Porsche Leeds/JCT600 also fitted a set of front brake pads before delivery.
Porsche Macan S: must-have options
Spec on the 2014 Porsche Macan S is quite nice. The panoramic glass sunroof roof is a good start, and the leather dash and 18-way sports seats would be a must-have for me. Andy’s car also has the PASM dampers, which I have previously thought to be too harsh in sports mode. Andy says the same on the stiffest setting.
Those big wheels set the Macan’s curves off a treat and date my antique Cayenne S on its 18″ off-road tyres. I worry that big wheels ruin the ride but Andy is happy with the quality on Comfort suspension setting and easy it is better than his Jaguar. He also says the Bose hi-fi beats the upgraded Bowers & Wilkins sounds in his previous car, but is missing the Jaguar’s ventilated seats and notes a serious road noise issue with the Macan, citing horrendous road noise on places like the southern M25, especially the infamous concrete sections.
I mentioned excessive noise to a Porsche press officer once, who replied that cabin noise came as standard with a Porsche. This makes one wonder about original Macan S reviews. Auto Express described the Macan S as “superbly refined…with just a whisper from under the bonnet and a faint wind rustle from around the wing mirrors”, which Andy’s experience calls into question. The Cayenne is also quite noisy at speed and 911s are honestly too loud for phone conversations on motorways. Anyone clocking up mega miles needs to road test potential Porsche purchases carefully.
Porsche Macan S petrol vs diesel
The biggest question for mega-mile users will be petrol versus diesel. The same Auto Express journos insisted that the Macan S diesel was the model to have, but this carried little weight with Andy, who insists that no one should buy a Porsche to drive a diesel. And post-VW diesel scandal, who trusts the assertion that a diesel will do 10mpg more than the petrol and deliver the same performance as the twin turbo V6 engine?
Even without the optional sports exhaust, the petrol engine sounds pretty good and goes very well. Andy has been caught out by the performance of his Porsche Macan S once already, when the turbos kicked in coming hard off a roundabout and he almost ended up in the central reservation. He is learning a bit of respect for the throttle. He’s also been considering spending £2600 on retrofitting the sports exhaust system, but I’ve advised him to look at the switchable Akrapovic exhaust setup instead: it is cheaper to buy and will hold a higher percentage at resale. Also easy to take it off and sell separately.
Macan S Ownership Verdict
After a few thousand miles, the Macan S ownership verdict is a big thumbs up and the couple are considering buying another one. It is quite a change from Andy’s original target, which was a 911 Carrera up to £45k. When we’d been out to see a few 911s and then started comparing what spec Macan could be bought for the same money, the 911 dream was over. I think he made the right decision.
My good friend RB has decided to sell his modified 911 hot rod, based on a very late 1989/G-reg G50 3.2 Coupe. He’s owned the car for as long as I have owned Porsches, so it’s a big decision to part with the car, but as there’s a new mega-balls 964 Turbo in the garage (amongst other things), he’s not going to be left short of flat-six thrills.
I’ve driven the Guards Red 911 on road and track and it goes along nicely. I’ve lost count of the road trips I’ve followed this car through the UK and Europe on: my second-ever track day was a trip to Spa with this one, just the two of us. It’s a good, solid, fun 911 that can easily be further tweaked to suit a new owner’s tastes. Even better, the owner is not an idiot, so dealing with him will be easy on the brain.
Here is how RB explains it – (note: this car is now sold! Many thanks for reading)
Porsche 911 Hot Rod Explained
There’s much more to tell than I can fit in an advert. The history and development of this car is transparent – it’s all online. I truly hope someone like-minded can buy this special car and have as much fun as I have had. On the right road, on the right day, with the right people, there are not many better experiences.
Unlike many “recreations”, this is not a 1- or 2- year project produced with a view to resale. In contrast to that, I have owned this car for nearly 16 years, slowly evolving it to what it is now. Everything has been done on my watch, at my expense and by my design. If you fancy a walk down internet lane, you can trace much of the car’s history on impactbumpers.com where I have posted under my own name for many years. And what you can’t find there, I have documented in a comprehensive history file.
Based on a 1989 3.2 Carrera, I have taken everything I know about 911s and used that to develop what I think is a fantastic, sports purpose, lightweight 911 with much of the character of Porsche’s own RS cars. Initially built for fast road and track days, but more recently focussed on European road trips, this is one of the most developed G-series 911s you will find anywhere.
For disclosure, I need to start by pointing out that the car was Cat D recorded almost twenty years ago. Like many other 911s in that era, a small accident plus low values conspired to create an insurance write-off. I had the car stripped and jigged immediately after purchase, and then condition inspected. It’s now straight and has had a full body resto since then. Cutting to the chase:
Bodywork
A rust free car subject to a full body restoration when converted to wide body approx 7 years ago
The rear flares are steel 930 and most everything else is plastic for low weight
The sunroof was deleted and the fuel tank is centre fill under the bonnet
Bumpers are 3.0 RS/IROC pattern and the rear tail is IROC – being the most efficient “non-wing” tail you can get, front bumper just repainted
Headlights were new during the rebuild and the wiring is all through a modern blade fuse style board greatly enhancing reliability
Engine
Engine rebuilt by Steve Winter at JAZ (part of about 15 years of JAZ history) with standard 3.2 pistons and cylinders, 993 Supercup cams and a 964 plastic intake
Built for 7000+rpm but limited to 7000rpm making 283hp via Wayne Schofield tuning
Lots of other good bits in the engine build sheet
Turbo Thomas custom exhaust (just repacked)
Not a (normal) lazy 3.2, but an engine inspired by the MFI RS engines, one that loves to rev and has throttle response that non-MFI 911 engines dream of
With a kerb weight under 1050kg, the power-to-weight ratio is more early GT3 than 3.2 Carrera
Transmission
Being an ’89 car, the gearbox is G50 meaning a 240mm hydraulic clutch, modern shift feel and a largely fail safe shift action
The clutch is a spring-centred 930S clutch, the pressure plate is light aluminium and the diff is a Powerhaus II assymetric plate type LSD – like 993RS
Gearbox mounts are poly as are engine mounts. The shift action is precise and falls naturally to hand with a slightly extended shifter
Suspension/Wheels/Brakes
Carefully and thoughtfully upgraded suspension. Torsion bars are 22/29mm Sander Engineering hollow bars and the rear anti-roll bar is an adjustable 22mm bar
Dampers are custom valved Bilsteins to the JAZ Porsche recipe
Bushes are Neatrix rear and polybronze front
Offset monoball top mounts to remove stiction and add precision
Brakes are 964 front calipers over 944 Turbo discs and C12 rear calipers over 3.2 discs
Wheels are 8 & 9 x 16″ Fuchs with spacers/adapters and good Bridgestone tyres
Interior
A mix of light weight and just enough comfort
Recaro Pole Positions with custom leather covers and alcantara cushions provide the comfort and lightweight sound deadening, closed cell foam and OE carpets keep just enough noise at bay
The cage is an FIA spec OMP 6 point with welded in mounts
The steering wheel is a 996 Cup Car item and the doorcards are 964RS style with alcantara covers
Heat is 3-season with small heat exchangers providing enough to clear the screen and take the chill off
Six-point harnesses and a fire extinguisher complete the mix
The honest truth is that most of this car has been tested and replaced. The fuel pump quit in the Swiss Alps and is now a Bosch motorsport 044 pump. The steering rack was replaced at one point: the list goes on. But what this car is really about, is a platform developed and optimised for great road trips.
Over the last few years, I have been as far as Slovenia, though the Alps twice, the Route Napolean and through the Pyrenees. Track days at Spa, Le Mans and the Ring plus the usual UK tracks are all notches in the belt. I have tested most everything you can test and the car stands ready for it’s next big trip. Ready to create new memories with someone else.
At times, it has felt like I have poured my heart and soul into this car and when the roads and the company are just right, the highs I have experienced are about as much as anyone can hope for in a car. I cannot emphasise just what an amazing package this car is. The handling balance is just perfect, the diff gives amazing drive and the engine sings its little heart out time and again as it reaches for the rev limiter.
I am not selling a concours car or a replica of anything, but I am selling a car that you will build memories with. If you want a car that lets you joins Euro R-Gruppe events, the Bergmeister or my own “Porsche Peleton” trips then this is it.
I have rambled on in my description, but I have 16+ years of story to tell. I know I have left out a load of stuff, but if my 3.2 sounds like you, then let’s talk. Far be it for me to suggest what a new owner may use this car for, but if they want to join me (and my fellow road trippers) in new Euro adventures, then I sincerely hope that is something that I can look forward to.
Boring stuff – the car will come with a new MOT in May and a service from JAZ. I am happy to deliver the car to JAZ Porsche in St Albans for Inspections. See contact details in the for sale ad here.
So I’ve done a couple of blogs on the new 991 GT3 up to now. That car is an interesting piece of news for 911 fans, but you know I’m not big into new stuff. Air-cooled is my thing, specifically 3-litre 911s and, more specifically, LHD 3-litres where possible. But, when my friend Simon invited me to come get his sweet RHD 1979 Porsche 911 SC for a day and help him move it up country, what kind of snob would say no to that? I was booking a train ticket faster than you can say “pedal offset”.
The destination was Tower Porsche: south of the river off Tower Bridge Road. I’d not been south of the river for a couple of months and I do miss my old stomping ground after a while, so I caught an early train, got to London at 7 and walked along the Thames for an hour or so, stopping to get some breakfast en route. All those people heading for work in the City and me heading for a day in a 911 SC – what a joy it is to be alive.
My quarry was parked just inside the workshop doors. I had a good chat with John the boss, sharing experiences from our recent trip to Techno Classica Essen, but eventually made a move to let him get on with things as they’re not short of work down in that there London. The SC sprang into life first turn of the key and we headed off into the morning traffic.
LHD vs RHD: Classic Porsche
My first 911 was LHD by choice and I have never looked back. The brake and clutch pedals in the RHD cars are offset well to the left of the column, and that 915 shift is a bit of a pain on the 1-2 plane when sitting on the wrong-hand side of the car. If you’ve never driven a LHD SC/impact bumper and only ever driven righties, you won’t give the RHD setup a second thought, but all my SCs and my current C3 have steered from the left. To me it is how they should be, and it is no great hardship to use here in England. That said, one soon adjusts to new surroundings and attention is drawn toward other issues.
One of the most common complaints with pre-G50 impact bumper cars is the weight of the clutch when in traffic. Later 3.2 Carrera G50s bring the hydraulic clutch and it’s obviously a nice thing to have, but when it has to be paired with a 3.2 engine, I think I’ll stick with the weight and the shorter stroke 3-litre, thanks. No problem with 3.2 Carreras, the 3-litre is just my personal preference.
Simon’s SC has comfort seats trimmed in cool Black Watch Tartan and that makes the cabin a nice place to be. Sunroof open and windows down a touch, the SC’s reduced ventilation compared to post-’86 3.2s is less of an issue – on a dry day, at least – and the Arrow Blue paint turns heads almost better than Orange. This is a very pretty car with no shortage of period details, including the chrome brightwork, cookie cutter forged wheels and periscope headlight washers.
Classic Porsche 911 SC Daily Driver
Lots of us once used our SCs as daily drivers, and the niggles had to be worked around, including those weedy wipers and eccentric heating controls. Not much else grates on the nerves: these are great cars to use every day. The lack of power steering was never an issue and remains a delight. I don’t use the radio in any of my cars (apart from the Cayenne since I stuck in a DAB radio), so the noise in the cabin has always suited me fine. The floor-mounted pedals are proper, the super-plasticky column levers for wipers and indicators/turn signals maybe less so, but they feel right nevertheless.
“We used to think that 3.0 and 3.2s were quick,” laughed John as I prepared to set off. “Now you go on track in one of these alongside GT3s and they just disappear into the distance.” Not much point mentioning a little group of IB hot rods that regularly push the GT3 boys along and I suppose the hot rods are kind of cheating anyway. But as outright lap times are not my priority, SC speed suits me just fine.
These light little cars with their superb traction and torque pull away beautifully, whatever the speed. Third gear in a 915 ‘box is such a flexible ratio: perfect for town or on the highway. This SC had the familiar issue of a sticky fuel tank sender due to lack of use for a while and could have done with the front end tracking sorting, but, all in all, it was a joy to drive. I averaged 25 mpg through London, around the M25 and up to the A5 and beyond. Everything in the car worked, without exception.
Towards the end of my day with the SC, I was parked outside my youngest daughter’s school, waiting for her to emerge. A chap in his 50s walked past, turned around, walked onto the road along my side and gave me a big thumbs-up, saying “love it mate, rock on.” Having spent a few hours in the driver’s seat, I was happy to share his enthusiasm. Perhaps SC fans are all in their fifties these days, but it doesn’t bother me much: youth is wasted on the young, as they say. I’m content to be older now, with kids all growing up, a few good friends to relax with and a few quid to spend on old stuff like this. The SC has also settled nicely into seniority, so we made a good pair on the day.
Old 1970s 911 SCs may not be the newest, fastest or prettiest Porsches (albeit they have long been the prettiest to my eyes) but, as solid all-rounders, nothing comes close. I have a big soft spot for the LHD 964RS, but would otherwise take an SC every time, if a certain stripped-out C3 was not available. This SC is now off to a new home: I hope they enjoy it as much as I did.
The last few months have seen a slowdown in air-cooled Porsche market activity. Long-time owners who have watched their hobby become a speculator playground may have welcomed the lull, but there’s no guarantee of its permanence.
A seasonal slowdown has always been the way of classic Porsche prices. As the cars get put away through September and October, so the market tends to hibernate, with fewer cars available and buyer attentions elsewhere as Thanksgiving, Christmas and myriad other distractions keep people at home through the snowy winter months (northern hemisphere folks).
As the weather improves and the evenings get lighter, the classic car season starts to pick up. By the time we get to Essen TechnoClassica in late March/early April, the market is getting back up to speed and we begin to see where the haves and have-nots might be found, as record prices for particular makes and models are set in a retail rather than auction context, in front of Europe’s largest single audience of devoted classic car fans. Once Essen has happened, we start to see price trends taking shape for the year ahead and that is always an interesting point.
Falling prices for classic Porsche
A number of recent Porsche insurance valuation customers have asked how the fall in Porsche prices is progressing. Looking at current selling price data and the supply levels for RHD impact bumper cars in particular, I see no sign of falling prices for ‘regular’ 911s. 964RS and Carrera RS have come back a bit from their ultimate highs, but that adjustment happened a while ago and has stabilised since. Demand for ordinary 911s has not melted away and with constrained supply, prices are stable for now.
A market slowdown just means fewer buyers are out there, but when the sale is not an urgent one, you just sit it out and wait for buyer numbers to increase. That is what’s happening now. There has been no obvious fall off in prices for SCs, 3.2 Carreras and 964 Coupes since this time last year.
As an impartial market observer rather than a Porsche dealer, I see no obvious signs of a serious downturn for air-cooled Porsche selling prices. The biggest risk to prices would be a sudden spike in owners wishing to cash in their chips, but I don’t get the feeling that this is imminent.
Long-Time Owners mothball their cars
No doubt many owners have stopped using their 911s in recent years. As one Californian owner of a number of hot rods said to me recently: “my local shop is so busy that I can’t even get a quick re-seal done. It’s good that they’re busy, but an indicator that finding a shop that is both good and relevant is tricky at the moment. I also have to say that I am distancing myself from the early Porsche crowd on the basis that it’s no longer the same demographic. There are plenty of old crowd like me, kind of hiding out now: still with the cars but not out there in the public eye so much.”
I know my friend is busy on exciting new work projects and has less time available to socialise, but I hear the same story from lots of people, not just in CA. I’m in the same boat and I don’t really mind not using my 911, as I have lots of other stuff to get done and twelve other cars to busy myself with.
Despite the palpable changes in demographic and available leisure time, there has been no huge flood of much-loved cars to the market. These 911s form part of the owners’ life stories, they embody a lifelong ambition to own a 911 and of course, they are making money parked up. If the market were to collapse, it would utimately cost the owners nothing. Their 911s are bought and paid for, and a fall in prices and change in the crowd might encourage them to start using the cars again. So they are not coming up for sale.
No big influx of cars and no changes to the external factors = no big drop in price.
2017 Price Predictions
The owner/enthusiast in me hopes that average examples through Europe and the USA being advertised for ridiculous prices will all remain unsold through 2017 and encourage overenthusiastic speculators out of the market. You may think this unlikely and I am inclined to agree. My inner price geek expects realistically priced examples with good history in good condition to continue to sell at the current level, if not a tiny bit more as this year gets started.
The advice to anyone considering an air-cooled Porsche purchase of the common-or-garden variety (SC, standard Carrera etc) who might be waiting to see if prices come down remains as it has been for several years: stop waiting. Buy a good solid car with history and start enjoying it ASAP. That advice has not changed in the decades I have been watching this market and it still holds true today.
My most recent used Porsche Market Report signposted rising demand for water-cooled Porsches: witness the 200-kilometre 996 GT3 RS that sold for £343,000 including premium at the recent RM Paris sale.
Good as this news may be for low-mileage GT3 RS owners, this trend is influenced in no small way by the rabid interest in low-volume, air-cooled collectables, as shown by the £1.8 million Porsche 993 GT2 at Sotheby’s in London last year and the £1.1 million Porsche 993 Turbo S Cabriolet at February’s RM Paris sale.
With prices now off the chart for real air-cooled rarities, prices for rarer water-cooled examples are being boosted with an air of expectation (not that a 200-km 996 GT3 RS is bad value at £340k if you have £5 million to spend on old cars). So while there is a growing respect for the rarer water-cooled models, high prices are linked to the staggering heights reached by air-cooled rarities at auction.
Many amongst Ferdinand’s core audience will disregard these one-off auction results as irrelevant to the market for old-school classic Porsche 911s built in greater numbers. However, where the money-no-object crowd places its bets has a direct effect on the mindset of anyone attempting to gauge where the price trends could take us during the next three to five years, assuming the external economic factors and influences remain broadly consistent.
Strong auction results do of course affect retail asking prices for 964RS, 911 Turbo and filter down to sales of the cheaper 911s. This trend then knocks on to other models, including the 944 Turbo and 968. Private sale asking prices are obviously linked quite closely to what dealers seem to be getting away with, so whatever happens in a showroom eventually makes its way to the classifieds.
Porsche Undesirables
Sadly for classic Porsche buyers, no truly undesirable models exist amongst the ranks of Stuttgart’s finest. Only those with a real taste of Volkswagen are anywhere close to the lower ranks of the pecking order – like the standard 924 and 912E (both of which I own/have owned myself, before you moan about elitism) – but everything else is now priced more than twice what it was a few years ago, such is the interest in classic Porsche product.
I still think the 912E is a great buy at the sort of level seen in RM Paris: £29,400 inc premium was a very good price for a collectable example, as many elements of these cars are unique. I wouldn’t want to be paying much more if buying for investment, but a low mileage minter will certainly cost at least that sort of price nowadays. These were very rare cars in their day and are not easy to find in top condition. That said, mine is destined for 911 power and some hot rod tweakery – I am not hunting for originality in my stable.
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