911 Wail Tale

What are your thoughts on professionally raced Cup cars vs. non-professionally raced Cup cars? If you were to buy one, what would you rather have and why? Does the pro-raced car have more value/resale value, or is it just perceived value?

Adam

DrJupeman

I prefer the cups with history (e.g., professionally raced). The history makes them special.

JimmiLew

I second that. Just know that they they have been well cared for as well as well beat on! The teams usually clean them up nicely before parting ways with them. I kinda like that my car was driven by a Bergmeiser at most major race tracks in Europe!

JL

DrJupeman

Exactly, that's special vs. "this is my race car, built by the factory as a race car but never raced... until me".

mklaskin

Agreed, but I feel like my driving soils the history of my car(s)...Street cars included.

APKhaos

The pro team cars may be ridden hard on the track, but they get meticulous maintenance between races.
- Things like replacing all monoballs and stressed suspension/drivetrain parts very frequently to aid reliability are beyond the scope of what most club racers would even consider.
- Most teams have extensive records on what was done, both regular maintenance/parts replacement and damage repair. You shoudl expect to get this stuff with the car, or at least get a chance to review it.

A good pro-raced car would be my choice every time.

Phokaioglaukos

Where would one look for such a professionally raced car these days? Aren't they all going to be 997s now, and does a club racer really want that transmission? As I heard it from a racer here in the UK, Porsche says the 997 cup car is a sprint car designed for 20 minute races. If you need a durable car or a car for endurance races, Porsche will sell you a RSR which has a completely different transmission (and a much more expensive one).

Phokaioglaukos

Where would one look for such a professionally raced car these days? Aren't they all going to be 997s now, and does a club racer really want that transmission? As I heard it from a racer here in the UK, Porsche says the 997 cup car is a sprint car designed for 20 minute races. If you need a durable car or a car for endurance races, Porsche will sell you a RSR which has a completely different transmission (and a much more expensive one).

ltc

If you want a durable Cup car, I would look at the 964 Cup.

Glen

I don't think it matters to me. It's all about the purchase price IMHO .whichever is cheaper gets you more seat time, and that is ultimately what makes you faster. As far as the 997 gearbox, I've found them tobe extremely reliable, seems it's all about blips on the downshifts if you want them to last , they are also very simple inside and easy to rebuild. Parts are expensive but it's not like parts are cheap for a g50 style box anyway either...

Geoffrey

Don't confuse a professionally raced car like Flying Lizards with a car that raced in a professional series by a lesser known / funded team. I've seen some really poorly repaired and bent cars come from professional series. Teams like the FL are better funded and repair or replace the tub much better. Also things like factory plastic panels, factory nuts and bolts are important. I've seen some cars repaired with drywall screws. So, while yes, I'd rather have a car with history than one without, I would not want one that was poorly put back together.

dwe8922

My experience when shopping for mine was most of the pro cars were beat to death, and generally pretty rough once you got past the paint job. One was even from one of the really big names. I went into it thinking that they would be the best cars b/c of funding, but it seemed they were just put back together well enough to sell once they were done with it.

analogmike

I think the condition of the car is most important. The ultimate might be a car like Wolf Henzler's 2004 supercup, he won about every race from the pole so it was in perfect shape. And of course Farnbacher made sure it was in perfect mechanical shape to win. It immediately sold for 150K Euros at the end of he season, resold this years for 100K Euros (I wish the echange rate did not go south!).

The second best, or best if you just want a virgin, is a car that was never professionally raced, just club raced lightly. Or a brand new car, like I got in late '07, but it's rare to get that chance. There are a few non-professionally raced 996 and 997 cups, and a bunch of 964 cups that had their race series cancelled.

Good luck!

M758

Well I can't afford either..

Still if I could...

If my plan is just to race the snot out of the car... Then any cup car will do. History be damned, just make sure the car has been maintained well and repaired properly when needed.

If my plan is occasional raceing and more a perservation then some history is always nice and well known pro having driven the car in well known race is really cool.

Astroman

This is exactly what I would think. Haven't about 90% of professionally raced cars been crashed??

Seems a "special" car with heritage is better for a collector... not a racer.