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Is the 996 the ugly sister?

nigel99

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16 Jul 2015
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With no intention of upsetting any 996 owners, I just can't see this ever becoming a classic car.

The 993, 997 and 991 are things of beauty but the 996? I think the main issue is the headlight design which makes the thing just look dated, unfortunately I feel the same for the 986 boxster.

Am I missing something when looking at these cars? What are the real design points?
 
nigel99 said:
With no intention of upsetting any 996 owners, I just can't see this ever becoming a classic car.

The 993, 997 and 991 are things of beauty but the 996? I think the main issue is the headlight design which makes the thing just look dated, unfortunately I feel the same for the 986 boxster.

Am I missing something when looking at these cars? What are the real design points?

The front end divides opinion but the arse is better than a 997 (particularly with the turbo spoiler) and the 991 is big and bloated and doesn't have any exterior superior design points imo. The 993 is a beautiful shape. I'm a 996 turbo owner lol.
 
Everything is subjective. I love the look of 996's and think that 997's are dumpy and trying too hard to be retro 911's. 964's are much prettier than 993's and 991's are just too big. We all have an opinion, yours and mine differ and that is a good thing. Life would be boring if we all liked the same thing. I don't give a toss if 996's don't ever become classics, I love the way mine looks and drives (996 C4S), and will be keeping it forever, regardless of what it may or not ever be worth.
 
Disagree, obviously!

The 996 brought something new to the design line, not just water cooling (no sniggering at the back about engine failures!)

Swoopy, curvy lines inside and out with a nod back to its heritage, without aping it shamelessly. Just look at the door trims and instrument binnacle.

It introduced the 911 to a whole new customer base.

The range is clearly demarked with each looking very different- narrow body, 4S and Turbo. I would challenge even a dedicated Porsche spotter to tell the difference between a debadged 997 4S and a 2.

Personally, I really like the look of the 996. The fact that like for like 997s are selling for less than 996 4Ss shows that perhaps others agree.

But hey each to their own, that's what makes a market...
 
none of the water cooled will be classics, why do people think that a 996 looks so different from a 997, the difference is minute.

the classic status died with the 993, last of the air, but as importantly in my book the last of the handmade, don't get me wrong, the water are desirable, ive had one, but compared to the original designs from the 60s,70,80s and 90s they don't come anywhere near.


of course, I could be wrong, just my view.
 
When the 996 was introduced I disliked the design especially the "poached/fried egg" headlights ......... but over the years my stance has somewhat softened ........ I think I could actually live with the design now ........ :)
 
Well - there is the obvious point that the 996 is (and will remain for a long while at least) the cheapest 911 available. However, I reckon that the early 996.1 (traditionally the least favoured) actually will gain classic status eventually. It looks and feels significantly smaller than the bloated and conspicuously stretched presence of the 991 for example, and is also the last analogue 911 (the 996.1 C2 has no traction or stability control, has a cable throttle, no fancy electronic damper control, etc...).

It has also fallen to a price so low that despite quite a high production - cars being parted and scrapped (and indeed being ran slowly into the ground on a shoestring budget) will bring the pool of good cars down to a much smaller size.
 
Good points Disco.

Funny how times change. I remember the widebody 993s being roundly trashed by the motoring press for being 'tarts handbags' with a hard ride. Before that, everyone hated 964s with their big bumpers, dodgy DMFs and leaky engines.

The average 911 enthusiast probably still thinks the earth is flat.
 
nigel99 said:
Am I missing something when looking at these cars? What are the real design points?

Following on from the 993 design, to quote a few (improvements):

Complete new body shell
Water cooled
30mm wider and 173mm longer
Structural stiffness of bodyshell up by 45% in torsion, and 50% in flexure
Drag coefficient was down to 0.3 from 0.33
New variocam system
6-speed transmission
Proper dashboard with centre console
Centrally mounted pedals in the footwell
Climate Control
Fully integrated headlight units

:)
 
The main benefit of the design from Porsche's perspective was to enable them to build cars for less than they sold them for.

Financials were truly, truly dire for Porsche when they were designing the 996... the engineers had to beg to be given budget for a motorised rear spoiler. Its a remarkable achievement they came up with such a clean-sheet design.
 
I think the question is actually what do you mean by 'classic car'? The mega expensive old cars are of a value not just because of rarity but also because of some other X factor. Most old cars are just classics because of age. All Porsche fall into the latter category, perhaps with the exception of the Speedster where as a Ferrari 250 GTO would fall into the former definition.

So unless there is some other definition the 996 will become a classic car just like all 911s, due to age.
 
"Is the 996 the ugly sister?"

If you are saying that the 964 is Pippa to the 996 being Kate - then I can live with that. :thumb:
 
Some say 986 & 996 saved Porsche. Without my car you wouldn't have your car, be thankful :)

As someone said above the 996 has a better looking butt. T8 has previously said at a Kent breakfast meet, comparing the bumper lines of the 996 & 997 he prefers the rear of the 996, just a shame his 997 turbo will always be in front of my 996 C4S.
 
nigel99 said:
With no intention of upsetting any 996 owners, I just can't see this ever becoming a classic car.

The 993, 997 and 991 are things of beauty but the 996? I think the main issue is the headlight design which makes the thing just look dated, unfortunately I feel the same for the 986 boxster.

Am I missing something when looking at these cars? What are the real design points?

BURN THE HEATHEN....!!!

:floor: :floor: :floor:


I love my 996 and think it is beautiful.

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.


Osh
 

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