Mike1982

I will be buying a 997.1 Carrera S soon and wanted to know the difference you guys thought about compared to my 951 with the listed upgrades listed below. Looking to sell my car now and buy the 997 here in about 2 months.

KeninBlaine

I've never driven a 951, but given its age, I'd say you'll be blown away by the handling and finesse of the 997. I assume you will drive some soon before you buy one. You are the only one who will be able to assess the difference to you.

Good luck in your quest.

axhoaxho

I had a '07 997.1S and a '87 951.

They are very different... The 951 is a turbo small(er)-displacement I-4 front engine car, and the 997.1S is NA big(ger)-displacement H-6 rear engine. Totally different driving characteristics.

These two cars are somewhere twenty years apart in Porsche technology, when park-and-drive side-by-side it is easy to observe that the 997.1S is more refine in every way. Yet, the 951 still has some old-school rawless charm, a solid close sound of the driver door can immediately tell.

If both in stock form the 997.1S is definitely faster overall, yet with modification it is an apple to orange comparison.

Regards,

Mspeedster

Never driven any of the 924/944/951/968 variants. But I have to believe the 997.1 is in a totally different league and is much better in every single aspect one can imagine.

Having said that, I have no disrespect for those cars. Personal preference is always king when it comes to one's decision making.

As an example, here's a video of Derek Bell driving the classic 911 2.7 RS vs. the 997 GT2. He shows up in his own personal classic 924 Carrera GTS (kind of the 924's version of the 997 GT3 RS I suppose.) Derek states it's the car he wanted as a factory driver and the only one he's kept all these years.

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?...layer_embedded

Edgy01

It's is doubtful that anyone other than you would know how your 944 Turbo runs--it's so customized that only you and any of those friends of yours who you let drive it will know.

They are totally different cars. Different balance, handling, and n/a versus turbocharged.

The simpler thing is for you to go drive a Carrera S (.1) and then come back here and tell us what you think.

(And why do 944 Turbo owners continue to use that obscure "951" designation? No 944 Turbo ever came with that designation on the back of it--akin to 924 Turbo owners using "931" for some reason).

Mike1982

I figured there would be more people that use to have a 944 turbo and now a 997 so at least I could get a feed back in the differences. The car show was a couple days ago in Cleveland so I went up there to and to my surprise they had a 997 Carrera S (but it was a cabrio not coupe). The fit/finish is just top notch and all the controls seemed very nice. Can't wait to get behind the wheel of one here soon.

Edgy01

You'll find here that many of the 997 crowd are new to Porsche. While I lived during the days of the 924, 944, 944 Turbo and 968, I never chose to buy one--stuck to 911s. When you consider that the last 944 Turbo came out back in the mid nineties or so--that's about 15 years, minimum, ago. Thus, few herein were in the Porsche market back then. Within the "Carrera" community are mostly those who have been stricken with 911 fever all their lives and finally have gotten around to buying one--or moving from another one (996, 993, 964) to the 997.

stevepow

Red 944 - a classic. I have definitely lusted for one in the past.

ELUSIVE

Why do 2005-2010 911 owners continue to use that obscure "997" designation? No 2005-2010 911 ever came with that designation on the back of it either.

Edgy01

If you're serious with that question you don't know Porsches. If you have a "Carrera" it can be everything from a 356, to a 1974/5 911 Carrera, to a 1984-89 Carrera 3.2, to a 993, 996, to a 997. Are we going to start referring to Cayennes, Panameras, and Carrera GTs by their internal numbers? No. Standard convention says to use their marketing name, as there is little confusion between the decades like with a "911" or a "Carrera."

But then, you're not serious!

cviles

I haven't driven a 951, but I have driven a friend's 944 a few times before it became a serious track car. With its front mid-engine layout, the car handled a lot like my Boxster. Nimble, tossable, and fun but with the NA 4 banger it was way own on power compared to the Boxster. A stock 951 seemed to be an even match for my 987S the few times I saw them at Road Atlanta.

So, going to a 997 the first thing you'll notice is all that weight out the back. The car feels a little weird until you get used to it and you will sometimes notice a bit of bobbing up front. I switch back and forth enough that either car feels natural and normal now. But weight transfer is really important in 911s and you will modify your driving style. Power wise, I'm not sure how much your motor is making with upgrades but I'm sure you notice you're driving a turbocharged car. The turbo whoosh obviously goes away; expect a more linear power curve.

Also, the 997 is a modern car with modern conveniences and safety features. ABS, PSM, PASM, etc. There's no way to quantify these to you other than advising you to spend some time driving a 997. If you have the time and resources, you can go to PSDS and flog someone else's cars around a track before you commit yourself.

stv951

Hello,

I am the owner of a 951S (one of the last ones 1991MY, factory owned till 1998 !!!) My car has 65k miles its immaculate and has very similar mods (Vitesse stg 3 + M030 968 CS bigger 72 injectors etc)
It is a stunning amazing car with lots of torque and a PITA for most 997s in local track days.
I now own a 997 C2 325 PS which is my daily driver. Its certainly a differnt beast in every way (well its not really a beast, but its a matter of speaking), with razor sharp throttle response (sport chrono button) and nice handling. My 997 is currently stock apart from some Cargraphic lowering springs that I installed last week. It is quite a fast car, but it is slower than my 951S. I find the 951S better balanced and I believe it was one of the best Porsches ever made. I absolutely love the power delivery of the vitesse kit and the torque is amazing.
On the other hand the 997 is years ahead technology wise, and these two are not comparable. I have owned many 911s (911T, 911SC, 911 3,2, 965 highly modded, 993C2, 996 C2, 996C4/C4S, various 996TTs/TTS, 997S, 997C4S 997TT 650PS) and I am a 911 religious freak !!! I absolutely loved them all, apart from the Tiptronics that I had which were not my type of cars.
Get your self a nice 997 and you will have a great car, but completely different from our 951s.
My 951S is definitely a keeper (together with an immaculate 931, and a hillclimb/track 924S I
just bought) whereas my 997 is not. It will soon go for another 911. Consider also the basic 997. It has in my view a better responsive engine than the 3.8 and it is not that slower as many think. Its a great engine.
Let me know if you need any more information

PS. As someone said above, the way the door shuts on my 951 is much better than the frameless 996/997s

Mike1982

Good info stv951! I went to the car show last week and noticed how nice the 997 is compared to a +20 year old car! We are finally starting to get nice weather around here and can't wait to sell my current car so I can get into a 997!