Kai 96 993

there are a couple of RHD 993 GT2s runnning around in Hong Kong but have never seen one change hands.

Have you tried the 996 GT2? <img src="graemlins/wave.gif" border="0" alt="[byebye]" />

ZCAT3

Leslie - that is a beautiful car, you may want to hold onto it. My 87 Carrera was Marine Blue - very close to the color of your car. I sometimes think I should have kept that car and saved myself much money (although I certainly have enjoyed the experience of owning 2 different 993s and a 930). There is definitely something to the pure nature of a car like that. Although my 87 was much slower than my other 911s, the sensation of speed and pure adrenaline of that car was only surpassed by the 930 - note both my 930 and 993TT are fairly modified (the TT is over 500 HP). I am sure your family would enjoy a TT, but would it be worth the trade off for you.

By the way, when you drive your next TT watch the boost gauge. It should hit .8 bar pretty quick (around 3,000 - 3,500 RPM) and should hold it throughout the remainder of the gear. If this does not happen, the car is in "limp" mode for some reason and is not getting full power.

993RS

Just a reminder: a garage in my neighborhood is selling a '95 993RS (same color as Leslie's, about 20,000 miles).

red targa

Leslie,

What a nice dilemma to have! I can't even find a decent 6-speed 993 in Taiwan!

Well, maybe the best decision will be to keep the 993 RS and buy the 993 turbo.

I guess a lot guys on this forum have no idea how much a Porsche would cost in Singapore.

Where I live, it is double the US prices because of the import duties and other taxes. I know it costs even more in Singapore. So, Leslie, I know you must really love your Porsche.

BTW, have you ever taken it down to Sepang (did I spell that right) Racetrack in Malaysia?

Good luck with the silver turbo...

993RS

My car is heavier (3000 lb) than an original 993RS. A friend of mine has a 996TT and we drove out to Stuttgart about 5 weeks ago. Acceleration-wise, I can easily keep up with him, but above 140 mph, he begins to pull away.

leslie

Kai,

There is only 1 996 GT2 in Singapore and it just changed hands (6 mths old) for &gt;US$450k!! Which is some 4 times the price of my car! i.e. WAY out of budget. I was told by the dealer (coincidently, the first owner of my car) who sold the GT2 that it drove similar to the 993 RS but in a significantly magnified way!!

ZCAT3,

I am now 90% sure that I will keep the RS. You really hit the nail on the head about the trade off involved in swapping into anything else. At the back of my mind is the worry that if I ever want to buy another RS in Singapore, I wouldn't be able to cos there are so few here. (Incidently, Singapore regulations are such that you cannot register a car that is more than 3 years old from abroad and even then (for cars less than 3 years old) the tax structure is prohibitively high.)

Red Targa (John?),

I have taken the car to Sepang (The F1 Malaysian GP track) and had a blast there. On that day, there were 2 other 993 rs as well as 2 993 gt2s and 2 996 gt3s. I still think the 993 gt2 is the mother of all 911s. I was more interested in looking at the gt2s then spending too much time on the track. <img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" />
I am thinking of going back there in Sept for a 2 day course conducted by instructors from Porsche Germany. I think that will be an absolute hoot!

<img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" />

Kai 96 993

Leslie

The Porsche Center here is selling its red demo 996GT2 for ~US$244k. The car is in pretty good condition as they dont really let anyone test drive it. If you wanna test drive, either you have to be a very loyal porsche customer (ie have 3 to 4 porsches in the garage and ready to buy and race a Porsche Cup car) or you can be the passenger with a dedicated driver from them.

Although prices are slightly cheaper in HK than Sing, it is really hard to find a 6speed 968/964/993/996 or RS here. Before I bought mine 2 yrs ago, I actually spent over 9 months to look for a 6 speed C2 and couldn’t find one. 993RS are even rarer, have only seen one changed hand in the past 2 years. There is one in the market right now (club sport package with the bigger front and rear spoilers) asking ~US$83k, but from what I heard it has been in a couple of major racetrack accidents. Just a reference, for that price, you can get a 98/99 996C2.

I think if I want to upgrade, the easier choice would be my friend’s 996GT3.
<img src="graemlins/a_smil17.gif" border="0" alt="[blabla]" />

leslie

Kai,

The 996 GT3 would be a lovely car to get. 2 of the 4 993RS owners here went from the RS to the GT3 and they all enjoy the extra dimension that the GT3 brings to the table i.e. extra power, quicker lap times (aerodynamics and rear suspension improvements), better all round comfort levels but they also acknowledge the loss of intimacy and feedback and the overall lower levels of tactile purity of the RS. An additional bugbear they report about the GT3 is the heaviness of the clutch. But overall, I would say that the GT3 is the most natural progression for former RS owners. Unfortunately, prices here are still too high for my budget. (The 993 tt would cost approx 40% more than my RS while the 996 GT3 would cost 75% more)

I think that my best bet is still to stick with the RS until it does become a cult classic and then if I ever wish to get some other p-car, it is likely that price differentials would have narrowed and then the GT3 would be at the forefront of that list.

John McM

[quote]Originally posted by leslie:
<strong>Firstly, this car is rare ( 1 of approx 100 right hand drive 993RS made) and I am quite happy to be 'burdened' with the responsibility of keeping it as stock as possible. </strong><hr></blockquote>

Hi Leslie,

My friend in NZ reckons the RHD 993RS cars are rarer than that. When he first bought his, he said it was one of 74; he now thinks it is one of 47!

I fall into the 'keep it original' camp as well.

Rocket

Big Mac....just to slightly correct you on numbers, there were only 47 RHD RS made of which 21 were the Clubsport version. However I am told by the Porsche RS Owners Register at PCGB that only 27 are still running.

Leslie...out of interest what is your chassis number. Mine is WPOzzz99zSS39009 RHD and was supposed to be the first RS off the production line in November 1994.

If you want to compare the RS with a turbo charged Porsche, have a look at the attached video I took at Brands Hatch GP Circuit last week. There is a lot of footage of various Porsches including a 964 turbo. You can see how the turbo closes me down on the straights.

I am afraid it is rather a large file (14mb) and runs for about 8 minutes.

Click <a href="http://www.btinternet.com/~sprockter/other/movies/bgp3.rm"" target="_blank">HERE</a>to download

Rocket

Edward

Leslie,

Oh, to be burdened with such dilemmas

Since you're asking for opinions, I'd would absolutely keep the RS. It's the real deal, for cryin' out loud: rare, desireable, and authentic(right?). The TT, while obviously a spectacular car I wouldn't mind adding to the stable, it doesn't have the gestalt appreciation that a true RS has, in spades may I add (drool,drool). In short, the TT is nice but an authentic RS is downright special! My thoughts, FWIW. Good luck deciding.

Edward

Rob O'Meara

I can't believe that none of you turbo guys have bitten on this one. You know who you are. I know you still read this list (it's always my first point of call). With just average family coupes sitting out in the garage you should have nothing better to do than surf the web.

By the way, I took a little jaunt to Amsterdam recently with my girlfriend. At the speeds I was travelling I would have crossed the (wider section) of Singapore in 9 minutes.

You're probably better off with an RS.

Tito

Rocket ,
That clip was highly entertaining and a joy to watch.
Thanks for posting it.
Tito.

993C4

Les,

'90% sure' ??? The crowd has spoken. Keep the RS!

Quit toying with the idea of changing to the TT. If only you knew how many envious people there are out there (me included). You even managed to find the perfect baby seat for junior.

Keep the RS!

leslie

Rocket and Big Mac,

I think the 47 number came from a number of reports on the RS recently in Evo and Car magazine. There is a little bit of inconsistency but I suspect that there was actually originally 47 RHD 993RS imported and registered in the UK. I was once contacted by a chap called Len Munro from Porsche Club South Africa who was trying to complete a worldwide register for 993RS and he supplied me with the following information:

RHD 993 RS numbers in Asia Pacific:

Australia 13 (12 remaining, 1 written off)
New Zealand 3 (Big Mac is this accurate?)
Singapore 4 (This I can vouch for, see the other 3 often)
HK 11
Philippines 2

There are also at least 4 more 993 RS in Malaysia which brings the total in Asia Pacific (Excluding Japan) to 37. I know that this is only 1 source of information but it does lend some credibility to the approx. estimate that there were about 1100 RS made of which approx 100 were RHD.

For what it is worth, Len's initial tally had a figure of:

RHD 116
LHD touring 898
LHD CS 214
Total 1123

Rocket,
If you like, send me an email and I will forward Len's e-mail contact so that you can get in touch. I think I will drop him a mail to see how he is progressing with the register. BTW, my chassis no. is WPOZZZ99zTS390436. How did you verify that your car was the first off the production line? Do you mean that it was the very first 993RS or the first RHD RS? Anyways, it is in beautiful condition <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Rob,
Agree with you that Singapore is indeed tiny. We are lucky in the sense that there is Malaysia just north of us were there is a fantastic network of highways and b-roads which are very lightly policed. Plenty of chances to stretch the legs of our Singapore P-cars there.

But as 993C4(Gerald) pointed out, the board has spoken and I will keep the RS
<img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" />

Incidently, for those who didn't know it, my decision to purchase the RS (and not any other 993) was to a large extent due to the persuation and balanced opinions of the board in the first place.