Not to beat a dead horse , but I once had the opportunity to chase a 348 GT around the track. I believe its pilot was having difficulties mastering the gearbox. Does it lack syncros? For track work, it seemed a bit of a handful for other than accomplished drivers.

Speedwise, the aforementioned difficulty prevented the 348 from launching out of the corners with any pace, so the chase was short lived as I rocketed my trusty p-car past the prancing horse. Also, the fumes it emitted made the need for distance all the more pressing.

0.02

 

I kind of like the Modial cabriolet. Kicked the idea around of getting a later mordel with the bigger engine. This would be a fun car with kids and the top down. Regarding the 348, I have also heard get either the older or newer. Could you not, however, get a older Tersterossa for the same price range. The 512 is sweet and that engine is awesome sounding.

 

I guess I could find one around my budget... to tell you the truth, I am spoiled with the reliability from the Porsche... to the point where it is hard for me to look elsewhere... I drove a Testarossa about 6 months ago... beautiful car to look at, but it did nothing to me in terms of road feel and engine noise (would be a nice center piece in the living room - a work of art)... my 964 really sounded good even after the drive in the Ferrari, and no scary repair bills every 7k miles... I have to be realistic with this... If I could I would own a Ferrari but the money is not there... and I am scare s*less to work in a Ferrari where in the Porsche I already feel comfortable working them and if I make a mistake I do not have to sell my child to cover for the mistake.

It must be one of those stages where I get tired of looking/using my cars and just need to drive other makes to renew my emotion/passion/whatever....

Going to the Porsche dealer today to day dream... the have a 2004 Black GT3 for sale and a 1994 Turbo S (both out of my budget but heck... I want to see those beauties)...

 

Over the years I've noticed a number of P-car owners also own or have owned the Toyota Supra MKIV ('94-98) TT, and never quite understood their enthusiasm for it, until last year when I bought a 94 TT targa with 18 K miles and began to make some fairly simple basic performance upgrades (bpu).
Wow! More smiles than ever when the two turbos sequentially spool. If you want a very reliable, completely different than your 964 P-car, and more power than one should send to only two rear wheels, consider a mint condition MKIV TT targa ($25-30 K). Say what you want about Toyotas. The MKIV is different. Stock it is fun, but with the bpu it readily provides 380 rwhp and a whole lot of reliability.

In the interest of full disclosure, there are four drivers in our house, so the car list below is incomplete, and should include a 2002 Explorer for the obvious reasons and '90 Volvo 940 turbo wagon that my 23 year old daughter will not part with (170 K miles).

 

Don't want to hijack this thread but have to reply to the interesting comments.

There are those who love to regurgitate what they read and heard from other as pure heresay, meanwhile there are those who know the ****.

I've OWNED the NSX, 348, 964, 993, Lotus Esprit, so I speak from personal ownership experience. And I've driven the 328, 355, 360, 456, 550, 512TR, 512M, 996, Diablo. Bottom line my opinions are first hand.

To say the 348 is the worst Ferrari only tells me you have never driven one. Go drive one and then come back with an opinion. Try pushing a 348 to 9/10ths and you'll be pleasantly suprise at how high the limits are.

 

60k is a sweet price point.

I saw the new C6 at the LA autoshow this year, and it does look sweet. It's just such a visceral departure from the German brands, it would be hard to deal with. Plus, it's a major mid-life car - I'd have trouble overcoming the stereotype, no matter how fast it is.

For my 60k, I would pick one of two cars:

E46 M3 - This is major speed, with a good back seat to boot. Very fast, bumpy ride (familiar to any 964 owner), and an awesome 3rd gear punch.

2002+ 996 Coupe or Targa - For 60k, you can get the 320hp 3.6 motor, very very fast. The headlight treatment of the 2002+ is sweet, and the cars look soooo good in person.

I'd come down on the 2002 Targa, that's my planned purchase over the summer.

Rick
'94 C2 Cab

 

Having not had the good fortune of driving a 993 or a 996, and believing all that I read in the magazine reviews I thought the 993 was more fun than the 996? Perhaps I need to visit the other web forums to catch up on this point.

I've been looking for an excellent 993 targa for some time and been interested and impressed at the value one can find in early 996's.

Given that a Boxter S has been suggested by several folks in this thread, and the price is 35-45 K, would one recommend the 993 over the Boxter S? Just sweet dreaming here folks....

 

I agree that there are no negatives to the current generation M3. They are supremely able and it mainly boils down to personal preferences.

Regarding the stock 996 they are fine but somehow it just doesn't seem worth the extra money over a 964. It's not that special of a car, very common in California these days. For the same money you can get a 993 TT, now that is a special car worth talking about.

 

Needless to say the 993 is the last chance to experience the air cool motor and wonderful valvetrain symphony.....you won't get it in the 996 or Boxster S. All you hear in the watercool motor is a deep rumble, not much different from a M3. There are too many 996 in the marketplace which is why their prices have drop into the 30's. I would take a 993 over a Boxster S anyday. Personally do not like the new style interior and gauges, too plasticky and production line-ish styling.

 

One more point, the 996 and Boxster S are wonderful powered and handling car, similiar to a M3, there downside are that they are too perfect to the point of being generic, they lack the quirky flaws for us traditionalist to hang our hat on.

But then there are those who appreciate those qualities.....

 

There are a lot more choices in the $60K range. Why not look for a mid miles 993TT? Your 964 is not at all like the 993TT. If you find one that has been properly maintained and modded (PSS9's or suspension upgrade is a must), it will be bulletproof.

Good luck.

 

I had a 1997 993c2s and have also driven TT several times (when taking the C2S for service the dealer would let me take TT's that he had from trade-ins. A 993 is a definite option, not that big of a departure from the 964, which is a good thing.

In terms of a 996, I still think porsche cheated us with the 996 and that disposable engine. (I love the looks of the C4S but can't get over the frigging tranny and engine). I drove, when new, a 99-996 and recently a 2002 996. Worlds apart. The 2002 felt better than the earlier model. Still in the back of my mind was the thought of an engine that has no history and the potential for problems and a tranny you can't touch. So a 996 is not an option unless it is a gt3 or a TT... both out of my budget (maybe if I sell that property... tempted...)...

asianbond,
I would like to hear your experience with the Esprit...

 

Don't have much experience with the Esprit yet, but with my brief test drive it impressed me more than I expected. Boost came on pretty quickly and pull kind strongly. I'm not a big turbo fan but it was quite impressive, somehow I think it will drive similiar to the new Mitsubishi Evo 8's, it has the similiar 2.2 liter size engine with a big turbo.

The car went straight to my mechanice for a complete engine out overhaul of suspension (shocks, springs, bushings), brakes, clutch, cambelt, etc......
I only bought the lotus because it was a very attractive price and wanted to try out the legenday handling, also bear in mind that it is quite a light car at 1300kg. Truthfully, since you are used to the Porsche's reliabilty, stay the hell away from the Lotus, I expect it to be a maintenance nightmare. They may be fun to drive but there's more to the ownership exprience than that.

Since you are not looking for an everyday car it is hard to replace a fine running 964 for your designated sports car. Given the choice I will choose a manual 964 over a 993, my reasoning is that the 993 is a bit too refined, the rear suspension is a tremendous improvement over the 964, yet it no longer has the raw feel of a well setup 964. I am currently looking for a manual 964 to put on a crash diet and installed all the tight suspension goodies. I think that will be a real driver's car.

If you want something that will shock you senseless, try a manual first generation Audi S4, that is the most underated sleeper in the world. Go test drive one and let me know what you think. Nothing beats a well engineered twin turbo V6 drivetrain with a 6 speed, not even the M3's because they are not as silky smooth. It is a deceptively fast car.

Kinda suck to have the money but nothing interesting to get....like I said initially, go test drive a proper 348 with the right sport exhaust and you'll know what I mean.

 

errr... the new Lotus Elise is coming to US this year. so maybe you can swing that one up! There'sa coupla Lotus Super 7s that humiliates the best of miatas in our local autoX. The elise with the Yamaha (190hp) should be very fun. 0-60 in 4.8 ticks.

 

Yamaha? The US version will be coming with a 190-hp Toyota power plant but aren't all these cars sold already?