turbo4 me

This is a load of crap-

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/201...e-911-996-3-4/

CincyScott

It's a little sensationalized, but there's a lot of truth to it. Whether Porsche-philes like us want to admit it or not, the 986/996 car saved Porsche from bankruptcy. Will it go down as the best Porsche ever made? No, but it certainly kept them in the game when they were destined for irrelevance.

As much as I like my car, I do think they will almost always be viewed as a Porsche step-child by the purists.

rmc1148

I have been in the car hobby for over forty years and can remember when 60s Camaros were throw aways and can remember my 1969 Mustang 428cj mach 1 being nothing to anyone but me lol. Some day the first year water cooled 911s will be desirable especially the tt as they are mostly modded and ran into the ground, I know people laugh at this but wait and see.

leftlane

Purists....whatever. Who cares what they think? Who are they anyway?

ltc

I agree with the author's assessments.
The beginning of the Weideking Era, the beginning of the end for an independent Porsche.

He then followed this up with the Cayenne....the P!g was necessary in order to keep Porsche independent.

Dr. W. cashed out, Porsche is no longer independent and Cayennes outsell Carreras and Boxsters (the hairdresser's Porsche), responsible for the cancellation of the 968, which Harm Lagaay called "the most beautiful Porsche I ever designed".

But hey, it was fun while it lasted.

turbo4 me

But they are still in business and many would argue that they would not be if their premier product was still an air cooled rear engine flat six. This author makes the 996 sound like an Edsel, which is just not accurate. The over built 993 sets the bar pretty damned high and I don't question the fact that the 996's build quality was not on par with the 993, but calling it the the #1 Deadly Sin? That is hyperbole, a provocative statement.

And I owned 3 of those air-cooled cars, I wish I still had my 993. It was slow compared to my 996tt, but a classic.

NoGaBiker

And don't anyone forget (and I bet most of you didn't know it) I suspect a lot of that "solid-as-a-bank-vault" 993 hyperbole is just that -- a fond remembrance of things past that isn't necessarily accurate.

I have a book by Adrian Streather (I think it's called simply Porsche 996) that is the Bible of all things 996; half history book, half workshop manual. On one of the history pages is a photo I've never seen elsewhere, taken in Stuttgart Werks I (I think -- is that the assembly building?) in 1998. Three Porsche sportscars are coming down the line sequentially: a 993, a 996 and a 986. All being assembled on the same line, by the same workers. I know that doesn't "prove" anything, but the idea that 993s were built in quaint workshops by bearded leather-aproned Black Forest watchmakers is a little anachronistic.