911 Buyers remorse

[Chuck W.]

While owning the Boxster I have also owned a 993 cab and a 993 turbo. The cab was a tiptronic and was bought to be a daily driver after a promotion took away my company car.... go figure. For daily Los Angeles traffic the 993 cab with the tip was fantastic. I would drive it in manual mode 99 per cent of the time. I bought it with 58,000 miles and sold it at 90,000 miles and it was problem free. The top was down unless it was raining. Once I got another company car I sold it and bought the 993 turbo. Of the two cars I liked the cab better with the exception of the tiptronic. The turbo was wild and a beast but for a nice drive the Boxster won out. Then add on the top down driving modern convinces and comfort and the Boxster was a better drive. As far as the "wow" factor, the 993 had it. As far as Porsche heritage, the 993 had it. When I rode motorcycles my last bike was a Harley. Kind of the same thing. The Hondas and Kawasakis I owned were better bikes but the Harley had the wow and heritage thing gong.

Bottom line, they are all great cars with very different personalities.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Chuck W.

While owning the Boxster I have also owned a 993 cab and a 993 turbo. The cab was a tiptronic and was bought to be a daily driver after a promotion took away my company car.... go figure. For daily Los Angeles traffic the 993 cab with the tip was fantastic. I would drive it in manual mode 99 per cent of the time. I bought it with 58,000 miles and sold it at 90,000 miles and it was problem free. The top was down unless it was raining. Once I got another company car I sold it and bought the 993 turbo. Of the two cars I liked the cab better with the exception of the tiptronic. The turbo was wild and a beast but for a nice drive the Boxster won out. Then add on the top down driving modern convinces and comfort and the Boxster was a better drive. As far as the "wow" factor, the 993 had it. As far as Porsche heritage, the 993 had it. When I rode motorcycles my last bike was a Harley. Kind of the same thing. The Hondas and Kawasakis I owned were better bikes but the Harley had the wow and heritage thing gong.

Bottom line, they are all great cars with very different personalities.

That takes the cake for coolest company cars. Hands down.

As far as heritage, I may be in the minority but I think the Boxster has equal or more heritage than any 911. Calling it a "Boxster" at launch was just a marketing gimmick to get press for a nearly bankrupt company hanging on by a thread by proclaiming an "all new concept". But the reality was that there was nothing new here conceptually, just an updated purpose built roadster with a boxer engine in the middle. The RS '60 model being a very obvious inspiration for the '93 986 studio design. The Boxster is simply a modern day 550/718, re-interpreted to shock the company back into solvency at a time when, embarrasignly for Porsche, the U.S. economy was firing on all clylinders like no Bull market before yet they couldn't sell rear-engine cars.

Both 550 and 718 were giant-killing LeMans winners before even the idea of an updated 356 had entered Butzi's brain in '59, much less worked all those perilous handling issues that kept them from catching up with the midengine Porsches on racing cabability. Which to the engineer's credit they did remarkably well. But Porsche were obviously intent on manufacturing a new legend when one was already in their stable, one that collectors are now willing to fork over $3 million and higher for if you've been following auctions for the mid-engine cars. It might be a while before any limited production rear-engine Porsche hauls in that kind of coin. And technically, the 356 and 911 were both sold in the same year if I'm not mistaken which means the 911 heritage really begins in '64 so they were pretty late to the game as far as Porsche history. It seems to me that people who grew up driving in the 70's and 80's see Porsche prestiege as only a rear-engine story when the actual history is quiet different.

[RaisedOnPorsches]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

But Porsche were obviously intent on manufacturing a new legend when one was already in their stable, one that collectors are now willing to fork over $3 million and higher for if you've been following auctions for the mid-engine cars. It might be a while before any limited production rear-engine Porsche hauls in that kind of coin.

Keep an eye on the four-cam 356 Carreras. Those are rear-engine Porsches with stratospheric auction values. There is a good article about them in the latest Panorama magazine too.

I do agree that the 986 is based upon a heritage of mid-engine design that started with the 550/718s, and this heritage isn't often recognized or appreciated much by the modern audience. That said it took some major departures from that heritage through water-cooled engines and entry-level furnishings with mass production in mind.

The 911 heritage isn't simply about a rear-engine configuration, it is also about the design and evolution of the flat-6 engine design. Design that was ultimately adopted in the mid-engine 986 design.

In some ways it is a bit silly to call out one design lineage and say it is better than the other, because in reality Porsches' designers and engineers took inspiration from all of the company's previous designs and experiences to inform the design of their newer models. It just starts to get difficult to recognize this design evolution when the factory creates a major departure like the 928 or the Macan for that matter.

I am sure Perfectlap and I agree that we both wish the 986 was released truer to original '93 concept and not plasticized for mass-production. Unfortunately, there is almost always a big departure between what is presented in the concept car and what comes out of the production line.

Back to OP:

Chuck W. stated "Bottom line, they are all great cars with very different personalities."

As someone who is just going through this transition from 986 to 993, I completely agree. There are parts of the 986 driving experience that I prefer, and there are parts of the 993 driving experience that I prefer. The 986 feels more nimble and has more modern comforts and cockpit design. The 993 feels more powerful and raw.

It really comes down to a matter of personal preferences and not what others think. Both are incredibly fun to drive and isn't that what keeps bringing us back?

[Slate 01]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

That takes the cake for coolest company cars. Hands down.

As far as heritage, I may be in the minority but I think the Boxster has equal or more heritage than any 911. Calling it a "Boxster" at launch was just a marketing gimmick to get press for a nearly bankrupt company hanging on by a thread by proclaiming an "all new concept". But the reality was that there was nothing new here conceptually, just an updated purpose built roadster with a boxer engine in the middle. The RS '60 model being a very obvious inspiration for the '93 986 studio design. The Boxster is simply a modern day 550/718, re-interpreted to shock the company back into solvency at a time when, embarrasignly for Porsche, the U.S. economy was firing on all clylinders like no Bull market before yet they couldn't sell rear-engine cars.

Both 550 and 718 were giant-killing LeMans winners before even the idea of an updated 356 had entered Butzi's brain in '59, much less worked all those perilous handling issues that kept them from catching up with the midengine Porsches on racing cabability. Which to the engineer's credit they did remarkably well. But Porsche were obviously intent on manufacturing a new legend when one was already in their stable, one that collectors are now willing to fork over $3 million and higher for if you've been following auctions for the mid-engine cars. It might be a while before any limited production rear-engine Porsche hauls in that kind of coin. And technically, the 356 and 911 were both sold in the same year if I'm not mistaken which means the 911 heritage really begins in '64 so they were pretty late to the game as far as Porsche history. It seems to me that people who grew up driving in the 70's and 80's see Porsche prestiege as only a rear-engine story when the actual history is quiet different.

Good info, thanks for sharing. I like stuff like that.