cas951

That 993 sure is beauty.

drcollie

After 12 years of track driving, I blew the engine up in that red '96 993 at VIR at Oak Tree. It had only 14K miles on the car. Totally destroyed the engine, too (aka The Money Shift). All the junkyard engines had 60K or higher miles on them, and i just couldn't put a rat engine into a pristine car.

I called around, Brumos Porsche said they had a brand new short block in-stock, the only one in the country. I bought it over the phone for $ 10,000 on my Visa card and had it shipped up from Florida. Engine arrives and it has only one spark plug hole per cylinder....hmmmm.....993 engines all have dual plugs, what did they send me? Turns out they shipped me a 993 TURBO engine, worth $ 30,000. After briefly considering keeping it and turning my C4S into a 993 Turbo (would need two turbos, new manifolds, exhaust, Motronics, wiring harness and doG only knows what else), I called them up and told them of their mistake. They were so happy to get that Turbo Short Block shipped back to them, they said they would have Porsche build a fresh one in Germany for my car since there were none in the USA, and for the original $ 10K.

Three months later the engine arrived, and of course they built it to Euro specs, not with US Emissions on the heads, so that was a bit of a problem, but my mechanic for the job (RPM Motorsports in Newington VA) did a workaround on it. They actually were so excited to see a brand new, factory Porsche 993 engine that they asked my permission if they could take it apart all the way. i told them "Sure, have fun!" and they did. Good thing, too, because they found a small bit of steel wool in one of the cylinders that would have ruined that jug.

$ 14,500 and 6 months to put it back in order. And that's why I like to drive rat cars at the track.....

drcollie

Kicking up an old thread....

I just traded my Design Edition 2 into Aston Martin of Washington DC if anyone is looking for one. Just over 14K miles on it and pristine.....at least it was last week when they got it in trade for a Vantage!

Any of you that own the Design Edition 2's and didn't get the watch that came with each car, I just put mine up for sale on EBAY here if you are interested:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181018860246...84.m1555.l2649

-Duane C

VGM911

+1

chrisk1200

Hi Duane, so you traded it for an Aston Martin. Please post a photo and tell me how you like it. I still have my Design Edition 2. It has 5800 miles on it. I still have my 2007 Carrera S as well and it has 10,300 miles on it.

cas951

Chris,
You've barely driven both cars. I still have mine too and enjoying it. Currently at 10k but most of it was from Porsche Escape in Flagstaff and Parade in SLC. Combined was over 5k miles.

In the 2-3 years of ownership I have not seen another PDE2 yet. The car does attract a lot of attention and a lot of thumbs up as I drive by.

Lately i've seen two PDE2 for sale. One was in Alabama and one from Texas which is currently on eBay.

drcollie

I did. I actually was going to the Porsche store to try out a new 991 Carrera, as I was going to buy one of those. Across the street in Tysons Corner VA sits Aston Martin of Washington DC. Since I had lots of time, and it was a nice day out, I stopped in. They sure are pretty.....the Sales Manager comes over and I tell him that I can't afford an Aston Martin. He says 'Have you ever driven one?' I had to admit that I had not. So he says "Lets go have some fun" and he grabs the keys to a used Vantage and off we go. Well, needless to say I was smitten. The car is a hoot to drive and had gobs of torque. Makes great V8 noises, too. We came back to the dealer and he said 'drop me off and go take it out for bit', and that really hooked me - the 45 minute solo test drive.

Went across the street to the snots at the Porsche store, who seemed hard done by to give me a short test drive in a new 991. Took it out and it was nice, but not thrilling like the Aston Martin. Very much like my Boxster S, but more refined and a little more GT-ish. I liked it but wasn't thrilled.

So then I went into Aston Martin mode and all my car pals said 'It will always be in the shop". Well, turns out they didn't know what they were speaking of, these cars are rock solid. Within a month they took in a 2007 Vantage Coupe (manual) with only 4,680 miles on it, the owner traded it in on new 2012 Vantage S. I was able to get it for $ 74K, which was less than a new 991 and the car is virtually brand new. So I've having a blast with it and REALLY enjoying the hand made nature of the car. The paint, the leather, the metal fitments are far above what Porsche puts on their cars. Already did a DE event with it last Thursday (I instructed with the Aston Club) and got to drive a bunch of DB9's, other Vantages, and a DBS. Great, wonderful cars - try a drive in one and I think you'll be impressed.

Oh, and if you do, manual trans is the only way to go. Their single clutch SMG is way obsolete and clunky, but the slick shifting 6-speed manual is the finest gearbox I've driven other than a Honda S2000.

Marine Blue

I absolutely love the current generation Aston Martin's. Anything made over the past 8 years to be more specific. You found a beauty in a great color combo.

I agree that the hand made nature of Aston's and the attention to detail is like nothing else except maybe Rolls Royce and Maybach's. They are truly stunning to look at. I too have heard that they are higher maintenance cars but when you consider the price you paid it shouldn't be a big deal to pay a $2k/year for maintenance. It's worth it if you can afford it!

Enjoy in good health.

chrisk1200

Duane that is a cool car. I had heard the stick is the only way to go with those cars. Your car is really nice. I am not that fond of the 991 either and am always shopping for something else. Contrats and good luck with the Aston.

drcollie

If you ever make it to Washington DC, stop in at Aston Martin in Tyson's Corner (there will also be a McLaren dealership opening about 1 mile away!) as they are very generous with test drives. I think if you're a car guy, you'll find these a lot of fun to drive. They are very much different from a Porsche, and I'm pretty loyal to the P-Car brand having had (3) 911's and (1) Boxster S. They will let you take out most anything on the lot, even the $ 300K new DBS'es.

To really appreciate an Aston though, you have to be into the Art of the Car. The fine, handmade nature of the components and interior with REAL leather. The hand-sanded paint job that has no orange peel. The door jamb thresholds of aluminum held on with stainless hex head screws instead of plastic snaps, the rear view mirror that is mounted with solid aluminum rather that glue to the windshield. The metal aluminum grille instead of a plastic one that is painted silver. That sort of thing.

-Duane