Well obviously the 996 TT and the 986 are two totally different cars, but I have driven in a 986 TT and its funny to watch a 996 TT get a little upset when a 986 TT runs circles around its parent
FYI the price of a 986 TT will be significantly less then a 996 TT in most cases.
Guess it depends what you want...
I have opted to go the 986 route and upgrade with the parts i want instead of going with a stock 996.