One is a relationship investment, and the other is a transaction.

 

Married guys don't need any more "relationship investment", they need more "transactions". LOL

 

Dammit, made me laugh.

 

Look! It's the Antiques Roadshow!

 

Well I know one 993 that isn't getting any cheaper...the one I used to own. I tracked down the owner to see what was happening. He's been turning down obscene offers for the car. Of course this one does have some interesting history...and its a 95 in Riviera Blue.

 

Ok, I'll bite ... what is the story behind the 95 Riv Blu?

 

If you recall the Road & Track intro of the 993 it featured a Riviera Blue 993 on the cover. That was a Euro model a year before the car came to the USA. When Porsche intro'd the car at the 95 Porsche Parade they used a US version in the same color. It was driven by the head of PNA at the Parade. That car was then given to the Porsche press department which used it all over the country for newpapers and magazines to test and give driving impressions of the model. It appeared in two issues of R&T and at the SEMA show, and at other auto shows around the US. In that first year of service it put on 35k miles.

Porsche then offered it to their dealers as what is known as a Brass Key or Brass Hat...meaning PNA was offering it to them at a serious discount.

Technically PNA was the first owner and the car was technically a used car. It was advertised in the LA times in a little small box. The new ones were going for about $70k and this one was being offered at 50k because of the miles.

I had sold my RS America about a year before and I just had to go see what Riviera Blue was and when I saw it in the show room I fell to my knees and bowed. Nobody made an offer on the car. I had just come out of a disasterous financial situation and really wasn't able to buy it...but at the same time I had to have it. A week later I drove it home.

The negotiations on the car put me in contact with people at PNA...and that is where I learned that particular car's story. They gave me a full list of where the car was shown, what publications, etc. Through PNA I was able to get back issues from R&T with the car. I was also given a copy of the PNA LA Auto Show video introing the model, sales brochures etc.

All of this material is now with the current owner.

I did make one change to the car. I bought it with the 16" Carrera Cup rims and I later changed to the 17s...which a I later regreted because I thought the 16s proved to be a better street wheel/tire combination.

This all may mean nothing to you but I found it special and made sure the new owner had all this information.

 

Did the Euro models have a S model in '95 or did someone put that emblem on? I thought S's were only made in '97 & '98, no?

 

You are correct. The S on this car is the work of the current owner.

 

Great color and great story, John.

 

Thanks. Here's some blatant self promotion.



So my new book is now available on Kindle at Amazon. Sometimes true and sometimes fiction. Sex, murder, Hollywood real life stories, going to the
movies with your grandmother, a Christmas truce in World War One, a marriage examined under the microscope of cancer, the search for the mystery of the great hole...two books in one or one life split in two. Look for special promotional prices May 25th through June 1...or buy it now and be ahead of the curve.

 

John, cool story on the first US 993... here is another plug for your book

The 993 pricing exuberance has now officially jumped the shark ... $249 for a 96 Targa
http://www.ebay.com/itm/171789574125?item=171789574125&lgeo=1&vectorid=229466&rmvSB=true

 

Or at least one of the first in the US. But the close ties to PNA do give a nice glow. The current owner is deeply in love with it...he's kept it since I sold it in '98.

Why do some white 993s look actually good and others just look so flat and dull. maybe the lighting or something because it is the same in person...some just jump out and say "look at me" and others
could be parking meter cars.

As for the $249k Targa...and with those low miles I'd consider it a liability. Unless the next buyer is just going to continue the tradition of parking it and giving tours in his garage. I'm looking at two white ones now...the price gets me excited but the color doesn't. Spent a couple of hours today helping my brother-in-law put the hood back on his 356 B Roadster. Fresh paint...everything is getting fitted and aligned. If he gets the $180k he expects I am trying to get him to put $30k on a 996 and put the rest in the bank.

 

It's PCNA, not PNA, BTW.

 

Yes, that's true. I suggest "TNA" if you're in need of a three-letter acronym.