Engines cooled by water, funny headlights, bits shared with Boxsters… it’s easy to underestimate how alien the 996-generation Porsche 911s must’ve seemed to air-cooled diehards when the Carrera debuted in 1997. But this bold new breed of 911 is now getting sucked into the classic world’s gravitational pull, with enthusiasts becoming misty-eyed about the days before PDK transmissions and flappy paddles, when cable throttles, narrow bodies, even those ‘fried-egg’ headlights ruled.
For all the criticisms levelled at the 996 both then and now – something reflected in 996 values compared with other generations, on which more in a mo’ – there’s no question that the 996 is an exceptionally significant 911, one that helped Porsche recover from its nadir in 1989.
Just how significant? Well, in 1989 Porsche produced only 15,000 units total, way below the usual 40,000 or so of the years before, enough to push the company to the brink of collapse. Yet from 1997 to 2005, Stuttgart made 175,262 units of the 996 alone, supported by a further 164,874 first-generation Boxsters from 1996 to 2004 – a model in essence the same up to the B-pillar but differentiated by its midengined layout and much more affordable pricing. More sales, better economies of scale, mission accomplished.
Late last year, Porsche itself issued a press release acknowledging that ‘together with the Boxster, [the 996] secured the continued independence of Porsche exactly 25 years ago… With the exception of the iconic 911 design and the rear-engined drive concept, everything was new.’
All 996s are sports cars, of course, but today we’ve brought together two sought-after variants that demonstrate the staggering elasticity of that proposition – race-bred GT3 of singular focus meets high-tech Turbo of many talents. Together they prove that, as much as
