I've got a 996 C4S and and an 37,000 mile 928 S4 and just drove my first 993 today. A buddy has a 1998 C2 Cab with 26k miles and said take it for a fun run.

Nice car, fun car, great air cooled sound with top down but holy crap my 996 would eat it for lunch. It felt "rubbery" and wallowed compared to the 996 C4S.

Don't get me wrong I'd love to have it and I'm sure I'd adjust but don't get the the whole 993 mystique other than it was the pinnacle of the original 911. Like it for that nostalgic reason being a Porsche fan but the 996 is light years ahead in turns of a great driving car.

Let the public flogging begin........

 

Had a 993 and have to agree suspension is night and day, at least stock.

 

On top of that I think the 996 is just a better looking car. I know many disagree with this but that's my honest opinion.

 

In '99 I decided I was going to buy another Porsche 911, I'd had an SC before and 2 914's. I drove several 993s, coupes, cabs and a C4S. I nearly bought an awesome white C4 993 with 20XXX miles but made the mistake of driving a 996 Aero. It was so much better in every respect I waited a couple of years and went with the 996. No regrets!

 

I agree, what is the mystique of the 993 Is it because it is the last of the air cooled I've driven one and I like the feel of my 996 much better and also the look of my 996. Porsche people are funny. NO question they are holding their value. I've had a couple of 928s and those are fantastic cars and yet if you recall, they were demonized during the entire time they were in the showrooms next to the 911s. I guess it is just one of life's mysteries

 

There was a thread a while back about which was a better daily driver: a 993 or a 996. Having owned both, I said the 996 was far and away a better DD. And I bought mine because it is faster and handles better as a DE car. Plus unless my motor grenades, it is cheaper to own and operate. In other words, I don’t think there is a measurable where the 993 beats the 996.

That said, there is a visceral connection to the 993 that is lacking in the 996. The smells, the sounds, the general quirkiness of these hand built cars is, IMHO, either immediately appreciated or totally missed.

As for visual appeal, that is totally a personal thing. And personally, I think the 996 is borderline fugly.

When I satisfy the track bug, I will go back to a 993 immediately. But right now I love my 996.

 

Personally, I like the 964 best of the air cooled cars.

If the 996 were air cooled I don't think there would be so much "hate" towards them and the 993 would be just another 911. I think the purists just like to have something to complain about.

Also, I agree that the 996 is a better daily driver car. Creature comforts, heat and AC that works, a little larger, more power and (generally speaking) more reliable. That's just me though.

 

Had a '96 Arena Red 993. Beautiful car.

The 996 is a better driving car. More torque. I get better fuel mileage. The steering wheel is actually in the center of the seat rather than offset (which irritated me every time it drove it). I never got as much leg room I wanted from the 993. I got it because it was the last air cooled Porsche....but have been happier with the 996. Would replace the 996 with an 80's or older before I'd get a 993 again.

 

Only advantage I see is that some late model 993 have appreciated in value, something a 996, or any newer water cooled P-car, never will.

 

The stock 993 can be hugely improved upon (relative to a stock 996 say) with the right modifications (starting with suspension) such that the result is truly transformational. A tide in a stock cab is not a good barometer. I had two 996's - one not so good (99) and one that was great (late 01). Unfortunately it takes a lot (I have GT3+ $$) in my 993 to get it there but properly configured these cars deliver a truly visceral experience like no other (subjective of course). Also the US 993's are not geared right (I fixed that and more) but again in the right config and properly tuned the 996 seems tame by comparison : ) Any local 996 owners that would like a ride for a real comparison I'm always happy to oblige.

 

I'm really surprised that the 993 didn't feel unique.

From the second the door slams to the feeling of being in a airplane cockpit. 993 feel quite different from an ordinary road car.

993s are about "the feeling and the sound" not really the performance. (Other then the Turbos). I would confidently say that 90% of us would do faster lap times in a Subaru STi then in our Porsches, but it's not always about the numbers.

Every re-design of the 911 is better and faster in every way. Porsche always boast that the new 911 is always "everything we know up to now" <------something like that

 

Please explain more fully this quote of yours...I had two 996's - one not so good (99) and one that was great (late 01).

Thanks.. whats was the differance???

 

I purchased a new 996 as soon as it came out. My car was an 07/98 build. It spend a great deal of time in the shop for various issues, electrical glitches, RMS twice, rattles, etc. for the most part I understood these as teething issues for a revolutionary new design (1st water cooled 911 after all). Then at 15k miles the motor detonated and that was it. Given all the other issues I had with the car PCNA was proactive to replace it outright with a brand new 2001. In fact they said if I was willing to wait for a few months I could have the refreshed 2002. My dealer at the time (Barrier Porsche) in Bellevue, WA had a still in plastic Slate Grey on natural charcoal full leather interior (amongst other desirable options) with an $87k sticker I just had to have. It had way more options than my 99 so I had to pony up $5k but it was still a very good deal all around. They even let me move over the factory PSE, aluminum dial gauge cluster, handbrake, gear lever, BBS LM's and integrated K40 I had on the old car. The 2001 was night and day the better car. The build quality was way up, it was just so much tighter and stronger all around. It was a great and tremendously capable car. That said though I could not shake the air cooled bug. The 99 was my 1st Porsche and just felt I missed out on the air cooled experience which to me represented to a great extent the founding principles the company was built upon. The water cooled cars were always going to be around, not so for the air cooled technology. Just before moving to Chicago I sold the 2001 (with 23k on the clock) bought a gorgeous Venetian Blue 87 coupe (had to have a G50). LOVED it. Realized immediatley this car was built by engineers not marketing. Not nearly as capable as the 996 but that didn't matter. You didn't need to wind it up to the same extent you did the new car to really experience driving pleasure in a unique way. I then moved to San Diego and sold the 87 to another Rennlister who flew to Chicago sight unseen jumped in and drove it all the way to Anchoridge! Ho's 1st Porsche also. I just had to have a 993 and could think of nothing else. I spent 6 months looking and finally found my rig. Bone stock 97 C2 Grand Prix White on black 30k miles CA car women owned. That was 8 years ago. I have more than what I paid for the car and then some in it again (most recently $15k for a bad *** Rothsport short ratio gearbox and 996 GT3 Cup LSD). Ridiculous I know...but then again that car is going in the ground with me. By no means to a knock the newer cars as I said I loved mine but it just didn't move me or have the soul my 993 does. To each their own, it is all subjective.

 

I had a 1978 911 for 13 years before I moved up to a I had a 2002 996 which I loved. I had to sell it a year later though when I moved out of country.

Another year later I returned and immediately set out to buy another Porsche.

I drove one 993 - all minty and everything - and was very underwhelmed. I found a great MkII 96 and I'm not looking back.

I found the 993 wallowy and anemic compared to my 996.

It was pretty though....no doubt about hat.

 

I grew up on 924's, then a few 944's, then a few 944 Turbo's... so water cooled was how I rolled, I dont get the appeal of the older 993, not since the 997 came along and the lines were more traditional.