Introducing MK1 996 GT3 (from 964)
Discussion
I don’t often post on the forum but I do like reading about others’ experiences of cars so I have been meaning to introduce my car for a while. I actually bought it a year ago, but first a bit of previous cars.
A few years ago I got that itch for a 964. You know, the one where you incessantly scour the classifieds, read articles and generally convince yourself that until you have one you simply can’t think of anything else. During this time I pulled into a car wash in Oxfordshire and sitting there was beautiful 964 coupe in Guards Red. I got chatting to the owner who had just finished a resto on it and he had gone to town including an engine rebuild, suspension refresh, fresh paint and a Southbound interior. After about 5 minutes he offered me a ride in it, which I jumped at. And then 5 minutes into the ride, he pulled over and offered me a drive. I couldn’t believe it, a perfect stranger chucking me the keys to his box fresh 964. That brief drive told me everything I needed to know.
A few weeks later an ad came up for a great looking GR 964 C4, very similar to the one I had recently driven. Advert pic.
I was on the phone instantly, Peter Morgan inspection booked and a week later it was on my driveway. Having owned Golf GTIs, Mini Cooper S Works, Civic Type R and E36 M3, I was blown away by the Porsche. It had all the common suspension and exhaust mods which most people are familiar with and some nice RS styling touches. It felt so planted, had a great level of engagement, sounded fantastic and I looked forward to every drive. It was my only car at the time and covered 12k miles in 2 years come rain, snow or sunshine, including a winter trip to the Swiss Alps. I loved this car.
Then in 2014, with fatherhood approaching, circumstances dictated that I bought something practical, like a B5 RS4, and the Porsche was destined for second car duties. This opened up the door to trade the 964 for an earlier 911 which I had always hankered after, I was thinking something Magnus Walker style. But with pre ’73 cars out of budget, I decided I wanted a Carrera 3.0, preferably in Continental Orange but that required more patience than I had. In the meantime, a great looking Light Green Metallic SC appeared in the classifieds and I couldn’t resist.
Initial ownership was not without issue. Oil leaking onto the exhaust causing smoke to come into the cabin via heating system on my very first drive in it. A little odd on a freshly rebuilt engine but anyway.
In the meantime, I couldn’t bring myself to sell the 964: a little man maths had left me with 3 cars, only one of which was doing meaningful mileage. At this point I hatched a new plan to sell both and try to get something altogether more special. Cue GT3 search.
For me, it had to be a 996 MK1. To my eyes it is already a classic, and the fact that it is a little suppler than the MK2 for road use would suit me well. Unfortunately at this point in the UK there were simply no cars for sale and those that did appear, also disappeared just as quickly. In the search for a car I got in touch with a few owners, including All2ofme on here, owner at the time of a lovely SY MK1, who suggested I meet him up at Fearnsport and take his car out for a spin. (Yet another friendly Porsche owner throwing me the keys to his car, and who coincidentally is a friend of the generous 964 owner who had done similarly!) A trip up to Fearnsport one spring afternoon in 2014 and a brief drive once again told me everything I needed to know. The search was on. While at Fearnsport I also met Matt the proprietor and Slippydiff who were both extremely generous with their advice and help in my search.
With nothing for sale in the UK and prices rapidly getting out of range, I started looking at cars in Europe where everything was cheaper and more plentiful. By my reckoning, I could get a perfect spec, low mile, proper colour LHD MK1 in Germany for the price a something altogether less special (to my eyes) and with a load of miles in the UK. My search found on this car.
Not a totally inspiring photograph I agree, but the spec was perfect: Zanzibar Red, Clubsport, extended leather, carbon buckets and 25k km. Many emails with the seller convinced me that it was a genuinely mint car, original paint etc. Not cheap at the time, but good ones never are I told myself. Next step, Matt from Fearnsport was kind enough to fly out to Germany to inspect it and confirmed it was a lovely car that was genuinely unmolested. The detail of his inspection I did not realise was possible: he really is passionate about these cars.
Now time to sell the other cars. The 964 sold well and quickly to nice gentleman in Yorkshire. It emerged the SC was not quite what I had been told (cue nervous times) but it went back to the dealer where it came from. Job done, time to ship the GT3 to the UK, hopefully in time for some miles before winter.
This whole process had taken 4 months and I had to wait another 4 weeks for UK reg docs. Here’s an agonising pic I was sent during the wait.
Finally, it was on the road in October 2014. And what a car. I love Zanzibar Red, it goes from maroon all the way through to orange depending on the light. The car was immaculate; genuinely like climbing into a new car, not a scuff on the kick plates, no wear on the seats, and that lovely new car smell ever present. The first drive in a new car is always so memorable. In the GT3, it starts with the driving position, which is spot on, perfect pedals for h’n’t, super comfortable buckets, steering wheel in nice and close. Once on the move, the engine dominates. Everyone talks about these engines, but they really are mesmerising: from the chunter at low revs, through 3k where things start to come together, then up to 5k where the whole car hums and onto 7.5k where it is just frenetic. I’m sure later GT3 iterations take this to a new level, but coming from my previous Porsches, the Mezger is a big step up. On that first drive home from Fearnsport, I just couldn’t believe it.
Coming from the 964 C4 (I hardly drove the SC), the GT3, to my mind at least, delivers the more classic rear engined 911 experience. The 964 felt altogether more forgiving, while with the GT3 I sense, perhaps subconsciously, that it will bite back. It is a wholly more intense and all-encompassing event. It bobs, weaves, ducks and dives continuously and takes engagement to a whole different level. The steering is quite light versus the 964, possibly due in part to the fact that the 964 had wider than standard front wheels, but there is much more detail to it. I find it rewarding to drive like no other car I have owned, the feeling of getting it right out of a corner when the car hooks up is just awesome.
The LHD thing took a little getting used to, and I’m not sure I would want to daily drive in LHD but as a weekend car, dare I say it, it makes it feel even more special.
One year on, it is still such an exciting car. Despite the low mileage, it is used regularly, but I will confess that I do not intend to track it (Matt told me that I’d bought the wrong car if this was my ambition). I feel lucky to have found an original car in my perfect spec and look forward to many years getting to know the car better and better. Everyone always says it but this one is a keeper.
A few more pics post a pre winter detail (thanks to Adam at Revolution Detailing).
A few years ago I got that itch for a 964. You know, the one where you incessantly scour the classifieds, read articles and generally convince yourself that until you have one you simply can’t think of anything else. During this time I pulled into a car wash in Oxfordshire and sitting there was beautiful 964 coupe in Guards Red. I got chatting to the owner who had just finished a resto on it and he had gone to town including an engine rebuild, suspension refresh, fresh paint and a Southbound interior. After about 5 minutes he offered me a ride in it, which I jumped at. And then 5 minutes into the ride, he pulled over and offered me a drive. I couldn’t believe it, a perfect stranger chucking me the keys to his box fresh 964. That brief drive told me everything I needed to know.
A few weeks later an ad came up for a great looking GR 964 C4, very similar to the one I had recently driven. Advert pic.
I was on the phone instantly, Peter Morgan inspection booked and a week later it was on my driveway. Having owned Golf GTIs, Mini Cooper S Works, Civic Type R and E36 M3, I was blown away by the Porsche. It had all the common suspension and exhaust mods which most people are familiar with and some nice RS styling touches. It felt so planted, had a great level of engagement, sounded fantastic and I looked forward to every drive. It was my only car at the time and covered 12k miles in 2 years come rain, snow or sunshine, including a winter trip to the Swiss Alps. I loved this car.
Then in 2014, with fatherhood approaching, circumstances dictated that I bought something practical, like a B5 RS4, and the Porsche was destined for second car duties. This opened up the door to trade the 964 for an earlier 911 which I had always hankered after, I was thinking something Magnus Walker style. But with pre ’73 cars out of budget, I decided I wanted a Carrera 3.0, preferably in Continental Orange but that required more patience than I had. In the meantime, a great looking Light Green Metallic SC appeared in the classifieds and I couldn’t resist.
Initial ownership was not without issue. Oil leaking onto the exhaust causing smoke to come into the cabin via heating system on my very first drive in it. A little odd on a freshly rebuilt engine but anyway.
In the meantime, I couldn’t bring myself to sell the 964: a little man maths had left me with 3 cars, only one of which was doing meaningful mileage. At this point I hatched a new plan to sell both and try to get something altogether more special. Cue GT3 search.
For me, it had to be a 996 MK1. To my eyes it is already a classic, and the fact that it is a little suppler than the MK2 for road use would suit me well. Unfortunately at this point in the UK there were simply no cars for sale and those that did appear, also disappeared just as quickly. In the search for a car I got in touch with a few owners, including All2ofme on here, owner at the time of a lovely SY MK1, who suggested I meet him up at Fearnsport and take his car out for a spin. (Yet another friendly Porsche owner throwing me the keys to his car, and who coincidentally is a friend of the generous 964 owner who had done similarly!) A trip up to Fearnsport one spring afternoon in 2014 and a brief drive once again told me everything I needed to know. The search was on. While at Fearnsport I also met Matt the proprietor and Slippydiff who were both extremely generous with their advice and help in my search.
With nothing for sale in the UK and prices rapidly getting out of range, I started looking at cars in Europe where everything was cheaper and more plentiful. By my reckoning, I could get a perfect spec, low mile, proper colour LHD MK1 in Germany for the price a something altogether less special (to my eyes) and with a load of miles in the UK. My search found on this car.
Not a totally inspiring photograph I agree, but the spec was perfect: Zanzibar Red, Clubsport, extended leather, carbon buckets and 25k km. Many emails with the seller convinced me that it was a genuinely mint car, original paint etc. Not cheap at the time, but good ones never are I told myself. Next step, Matt from Fearnsport was kind enough to fly out to Germany to inspect it and confirmed it was a lovely car that was genuinely unmolested. The detail of his inspection I did not realise was possible: he really is passionate about these cars.
Now time to sell the other cars. The 964 sold well and quickly to nice gentleman in Yorkshire. It emerged the SC was not quite what I had been told (cue nervous times) but it went back to the dealer where it came from. Job done, time to ship the GT3 to the UK, hopefully in time for some miles before winter.
This whole process had taken 4 months and I had to wait another 4 weeks for UK reg docs. Here’s an agonising pic I was sent during the wait.
Finally, it was on the road in October 2014. And what a car. I love Zanzibar Red, it goes from maroon all the way through to orange depending on the light. The car was immaculate; genuinely like climbing into a new car, not a scuff on the kick plates, no wear on the seats, and that lovely new car smell ever present. The first drive in a new car is always so memorable. In the GT3, it starts with the driving position, which is spot on, perfect pedals for h’n’t, super comfortable buckets, steering wheel in nice and close. Once on the move, the engine dominates. Everyone talks about these engines, but they really are mesmerising: from the chunter at low revs, through 3k where things start to come together, then up to 5k where the whole car hums and onto 7.5k where it is just frenetic. I’m sure later GT3 iterations take this to a new level, but coming from my previous Porsches, the Mezger is a big step up. On that first drive home from Fearnsport, I just couldn’t believe it.
Coming from the 964 C4 (I hardly drove the SC), the GT3, to my mind at least, delivers the more classic rear engined 911 experience. The 964 felt altogether more forgiving, while with the GT3 I sense, perhaps subconsciously, that it will bite back. It is a wholly more intense and all-encompassing event. It bobs, weaves, ducks and dives continuously and takes engagement to a whole different level. The steering is quite light versus the 964, possibly due in part to the fact that the 964 had wider than standard front wheels, but there is much more detail to it. I find it rewarding to drive like no other car I have owned, the feeling of getting it right out of a corner when the car hooks up is just awesome.
The LHD thing took a little getting used to, and I’m not sure I would want to daily drive in LHD but as a weekend car, dare I say it, it makes it feel even more special.
One year on, it is still such an exciting car. Despite the low mileage, it is used regularly, but I will confess that I do not intend to track it (Matt told me that I’d bought the wrong car if this was my ambition). I feel lucky to have found an original car in my perfect spec and look forward to many years getting to know the car better and better. Everyone always says it but this one is a keeper.
A few more pics post a pre winter detail (thanks to Adam at Revolution Detailing).
thanks for sharing, hope you have long, enjoyable ownership. 
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