Excellent pictures!

This past week I viewed a black 997 S with my black 993 Carrera parked right next to it. Dismayingly, I thought the 993 looked old with it's comparitively squared front-end and high forehead (..extremely upright windshield). Additionally, I thought the 997's *** looked better too as it's much cleaner compared to the 993's not-flush rear window (..sunk in) and protruding rear wing.

The 997 is a much more polished, modern looking car in every way, in the same vein as the 993 is to the 964.

BTW, I do not like 996's except for the C4S.

 

Lagavulin,

I agree with you. The 997 is a very clean design. Flush glass and attention to detail make the 997 a beautifully flowing piece.

The reason our cars look old in comparison is because they are old. Time marches on. 993s still look great in a more classic way. I enjoy the way my C4S looks with its raw aggressiveness. It also drives well but I don't kid myself that the driving position, seats, shifter, chassis flex and several other areas are superior in the 997, especially for street use. As I mentioned in another post, I would love to have a 997 for the use to which I put my car but its superiority comes at a great price that is out of my range.

The beauty of Porsche is its history -- generations of fine sports car (until recently nothing but fine sports cars) that will be revered forever. I'm glad to participate in that -- and with the club and Rennlist and all the great people -- with my car from one of the highest-regarded generations of Porsche automobiles.

 

Excellent point as it reminds me to keep things in their proper perspective.

After viewing the 997, I went and got a haircut. Finished, I walked out the door and saw my 993 parked in 'left field' all by itself; I immediately smiled as I usually do, thinking to myself how good that car looks.

In the future, I won't be parking it next to any 997's though...!

 

You can be happy knowing that as good as the 997 is, next year they'll make a better one. But they willl never make a better 993.

 

The rear slope of the 997 does not look right to me. The angle of the slope is too steep and kinda reminds me of the VW bettle. Nice modern Porsche but still more in common with 996 than 993 to my eye.

 

John,

You have expressed my opinion exactly: the only thing that anyone can say about any motor vehicle that will be produced by Porsche in the future is that it won't have an air-cooled motor!

 

I agree totally with 993RS's observations. I saw both 997s today at Boardwalk. I did not drive one. I just looked. They were doing test drives, however...

If I needed to buy a new Porsche, there would be no hesitation. I was there to help a Rennlister with a PPI on a 993 TT so I had mine and his to compare to the 997S. I don't think there will ever be anything that looks better than the 993... Just my 2 cents...

 

I have yet to see the 997 in person, hope to swing by a dealer some time. As for our 993s, I don't know how many times non-Porsche people are surprised to find out that my 993 is a '96. The shape that it's in can account for some of that, maybe 10%, but the rest is due to the timeless design of our beauties.

 

I just find it a shame that the 993 line was so relatively short-lived. Wish it would have lasted a couple more years, like the 996 line...

 

Hmmm.
993=1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998= 5 years.
996=1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004= 6 years.

Not much of a diff. Typical product market cycle.

EDIT for 997 comment:

Went and saw it at Pacific Porsche. The S is beautiful. Then some clown pulls up in a Speed Yellow 993TT. Ruined it for me. There is no way I'd get the 997 after seeing that damn TT next to it!

 

I prefer the 993's looks to the 997's, though I think the 997 looks very good. It's more modern, sure, than the 993, but that doesn't make it better-looking. A 360 Modena is more modern-looking than a 246 Dino, but I think the Dino is easily the better-looking car (and I think the 360 looks great). A 575 Maranello is beautiful, and more modern-looking than a 250 GTO, 275 GTB, or 365 Daytona, but is the 575 better-looking? Not to my eyes.

Lagavulin, I want your avatar!

 

My 2c.
Saw a silver (darkish) stock car with 18" black crested 5 spoke wheels at the local dealer. No sticker was on the car in the showroom (probably sold, who knows). It finally had hips again. It looked ok, but the color made it sort of boring...really sort of killed the car for me - making it look BMW 6ish almost. The steering wheel was ok. What killed it for me was the number of buttons...the thing looked like a video game on wheels. The missing factor was the mechanical nature of the car seemed lessened. That was worse in the 996, but is still in the 997.

What I have really come to like about my 993 is the raw nature of it. It just feels like I am getting into a roadworthy, barely legal racing car. And it drive like a BOOH. The new car is probably faster, smoother, but more remote. It is a GT car, basically. A great one, but still a 996-type GT car. The face is MUCH better. The tail is so so, I like the C4S 996 (aka 993) tail much better.

The seats looked well done and the stiching was handsome. The chrono on the dash would drive me nuts....just sort of stuck there with no flow. The designer of that was not 1st rate imho. Sadly, I read you really want the feature for performance reasons...so they screwed the driver purchasers a little on this one. Maybe they'll change that policy.....

My issues with it:
Water coiled RMS issues that are still there: it is the base engine and not the GT-1 based unit, right? Size...it looked a little fat. Build quality...the panels were a little off on the unit I saw...hood/fender was not parallel to my eye and left did not equal right in the gap. Maybe just one car, but that was the only car on the floor.

Price: ~90k is a lot of dollars. 75k would have been nice....as purchased in typical set-up.

Features: I want AWD. I want a body kit with a big back spoiler. I want reliability....

Used if awd and aero'd, and S engined, maybe. If reliable after a few years....if RMS is gone.

It is a move in the right direction. My 993 is probably something to keep for good. It is a classic. The 996 and 997 are unlikely to become classics in the same sense, but the 997 at least has a chance.