986 2.5L vs 996 3.4L Comparison

[Perfectlap]

A two seat roadster or 2 seat coupe outselling a big comfy, plush, iconic Carrea?
I don't see that ever happening in the future. In fact at one point I was convinced VW would pull the plug on the Boxster if they took over.

The Boxster might have been the bigger initial hit, but the 996 as car was still a history-making success for Porsche. The Boxster simply brought a bunch of first time Porsche buyers out of the woodwork who never had any interest in air-cooled 911. Two different types of buyers for the most part, the initial Boxster fever cooled eventually. Meanwhile the 996 sold more than 30K units in the U.S. in 2002 alone, and were generally over the 25K mark annually. Now compare that to barely 2,600 993 Carreras sold in the U.S. in 1998! During a booming U.S. economy to boot! No wonder 993 are so valueable now they're like Ty Cob baseball cards...a rarity. 200K total 996's has been its ultimate undoing as far as resale. Ditto for the 986.

And it took a little while for the usual Porsche 911 buyer to warm up to a water-cooled Carrera, I don't think it was so much that they prefferd the Boxster, but even with that Porsche still sold 10X's as many 996's in 1999 than that last year of 993 production.
p.s.
The fact that we are saying that a 320 HP 981 Boxster at those prices is a relative bargain tells you what havoc a near zero interest rate policy has wrought on pricing of luxury items. Not to mention corporate profits and stock market all time highs. Porsche, Ferrari, Bentley, Merc know the deep-pockets have gotten deeper and their customers have no qualms with nose bleed pricing accelerating at absured levels. But to say that these sub $100K Porsches are good value isn't really based on their performance or expectations based on proven reliability. Look at the new Stingray Corvette at $50K, it will beat nearly every Carrera, including the new 991 S and the old GT3 and 997 Turbo. You can't even buy a used Cayman R or Boxster Spyder for that pocket change.

[pothole]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

Meanwhile the 996 sold more than 30K units in the U.S. in 2002 alone, and were generally over the 25K mark annually. Now compare that to barely 2,600 993 Carreras sold in the U.S. in 1998! During a booming U.S. economy to boot! No wonder 993 are so valueable now they're like Ty Cob baseball cards...a rarity. 200K total 996's has been its ultimate undoing as far as resale. Ditto for the 986.

Nope, those are global sales figures. The total worldwide sales of any water cooled 911 in a single year have never exceed 3x,000 and have been ticking along at 2x,000 for several years now.

[Homeboy981]

I tried to purchase a 996…waded it up with a block!

Actually the goons at the car lot had put Armour All on the tires AND on the tread part too! It was the scariest 30 seconds of my life. It put me off wanting a 911 after that.

I could have fought it but the insurance paid and I went on to a 986. Knew a wanted a Porsche, since I was a pup…but did not want to get "eaten alive" by a 996!

Steering with the rear tires is nothing new to me, dirt bikes, sport bikes, shifter carts - all steer with the rear….IMHO the 911 model is TOO DEPENDENT on steering from the rear - what happens when you do not have traction there? You wad the car up!

Fortunately, no one was hurt in my making that decision.

[southernstar]

Pothole is correct - the sales numbers in post 10 are global, not for the USA. Did the 996 sell many more cars than the 993 it replaced? Yes as by the mid 90's sales of the 993 were hurt by ergonomics, HVAC etc. that had become positively archaic. However, if the original 996 had created the 'buzz' that the 986 did upon its introduction, one would have expected greater sales than the Boxster in the 1999 and 2000 model years. However, it was not until the upgrades in the 2002 MY that sales of the 996 finally surpassed the Boxster.

Was this because the 911 fraterntiy had finally accepted a water-cooled engine? I doubt it - as has already been pointed out, sales of the last air-cooled 911's had already hit rock bottom. Why then the sudden increase in sales of the 996 in the 2002 MY? While the 986 and 996 were developed jointly, the fact that the sheet metal and interior from the doors forward was indentical on both cars clearly hurt sales for the 996. Rather than seeing the 986 as having borrowed from the more expensive 996, since the 986 was introduced two years before the 996, the natural impression was that the 'new' 911 was an overpriced car that borrowed heavily from the significantly cheaper Boxster.

The 2002 MY front revision finally ensured that from every angle, the 996 could not be confused for its less-expensive brother. Lets face it, status is a significant factor for many of the purchasers of 911 Porsches and in that connection, the 911should be readily distinguishable from the 'lower-priced spread'.

Perfectlap, I still believe that the new 981 (so long as one is careful with options) is priced quite reasonably for what it delivers. For those looking to buy a roadster, I am not sure where you would be able to find a new Stingray convertible for $50,000. Even if you could, I (and I suspect many others) would still prefer the Boxster as:

1. To me, the new Stingray with its wedgy shape and Camaro tailights already looks dated. The new 981, however, is a well-balanced, modern design with elements drawn from various mid-engined 'supercars'.
2. Similarly, to my eye the dashboard faciia and steering wheel in the Stingray are overstyled and frankly, tacky. The interior of the 981 Boxster, on the other hand, is both ergonomically sound and understatedly elegant.
3. In an era of dwindling resources and over-reliance on oil from the middle-east (not to mention what most believe is the need to reduce greenhouse gases), the Boxster is dramatically more fuel-efficient. Some of us want to enjoy performance cars while still being seen as 'green', or at least respectful of the environment.
4. The fiberglass body on the Stingray is bound, over time, to develop the creaks and groans that have befallen evey Corvette (and every other car) constructed in the same way. This detracts from driving enjoyment.
5. Mid-engined placement is not merely a styling gimmick - all pure racing cars have used this layout for decades because it is superior than front (or rear) engine placement for vehicle dynamics including turn-in, braking and balance.
6. The ride and cruising comfort in the Boxster is also superior to the Stingray.

Porsches have always cost more than Corvettes and their performance in terms of acceleration, and often braking distances and skidpad numbers, have often been inferior. IMO nothing has changed - one (the Corvette) is a very blunt intstrument, whereas the other (the Boxster) is more like a surgical instrument.
Choose whichever weapon you prefer, but remain thankful that we still have the choice.

Brad

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by pothole

The total worldwide sales of any water cooled 911 in a single year have never exceed 3x,000

From the book "996 The Essential Companion"

1998: 9248
1999: 28,040
2000: 20,979
2001: 27,275
2002: 33,013
2003: 29,536
2004: 23,145
2005: 4012

p.s.
Southernstar, if you look at the above, production for Boxster copy cat Carrera in 1999 was only signicantly lower than the face-lifted 996 for 1 of the 3 full years (excluding 2005) it was produced.

I'd put the drop in 2000 down to the stock market crash and short-lived recession it produced.
By 2002 the credit markets were face deep in the punch bowl of a nearly zero interest rate policy and the mass securitization of all of these loans that followed immediately after aka... the credit bubble.