[Bruce Wayne]

Indeed.. the 986 is *already* a classic.

i have a classic car collection that is ever changing depending on what moves me at the time, i've just sold off most of my classic porsches and switched out to some others, i felt i'd made well out of them and fancied a change..

It's often tough to determine what makes a classic. cars produced in small numbers ? sometimes.. but look at the maerati bi-turbo, compared with some cars that were the everyday run around and were junked en-masse !

It really seems to be iconic cars, they may not need to be limited number production, but limited remaining numbers.. so fords are fetching silly money even though they were produced in large numbers and were junked in large numbers as they got old, what remains is now in the classic market..

The 986 is now a calssic and the prices have stabilised for good examples.. so for me, what i look for is origionality.. as it came out of the factory, with no owner modifications... as per the build sheet, and i do change something out, like a throttle body, keep the origional one in a box to stay with the car..

Records too.. orgional service book, with reciepts and documented ownership.. this all goes to to the history of the vehicle. i buy replacement bolts for something, reciept goes in the file..

This is what classic car buyers look for.. origionality and records..

As the 986 has found it's way into owners what want the marque, have modified and personalised the vehicle, undertaken shoddy repairs and left the car worthless, origional, unmolested 986's with history files have now become few and far between.

As 911's with G50 gearboxes now move into big money and other Porsches have risen in value, getting an affordable classic that wont eat your lunch to buy and maintain gets harder, future classic owners start to look wider at the range, as they are now doing with 986's and so values start to rise.

Is the 986 a classic.. it's now there.. !