997.2 Porsche 911 Carrera 2
Discussion
Since I was a little boy, I've always wanted a Porsche 911.
I've been lucky enough to own some great cars, although it's taken me some time to be in a position where I could man maths my way into having a great daily driver along with a 911 to use for occasional summer commuting and weekend car for the better ~6 months of the year. To see my ownership journey to this point (and as a well needed reminder to myself to update it with this new addition!
), my car history thread is here.
To read about the background, thought process and steps which led to my new purchase, click the spoiler. If you want to jump straight to the good part then just skip the spoiler, read the TL;DR and look at the spec/pictures.
To start with, it was always a 911 Turbo that I wanted and in particular a 993 Turbo. You got a 993 Turbo in a Need For Speed computer game I had where you had to out run the cops and it also featured on one of the Clarkson videos which I rewatched countless times. To this day, it would be one of the very first cars I'd try to source should my numbers come up on the Euromillions.
Fast forward a few more years, after being behind the wheel for a while and having read countless internet and magazines reviews which said the RWD models are more fun/engaging than 4WD models in the 911 range; I switched my 'realistic dream car' target from a 911 Turbo with 4WD to a RWD flavoured 911 instead.
Initially and probably because I was such a big fan of the 993 shape, I didn't like the 996 generation. However after >25 years, I think both .1 and .2 versions of a 996 have matured very nicely. So much so that I included them within my initial search criteria and had my head turned towards a lovely 996.2 C4S with great factory spec and an extensive paper trail, showing it had been lavished with around ~40k of maintenance/upgrades over it's life. But one my best friends reminded me that it had always been a 997 which I had talked about buying when the subject of 911s ever came up.
So I realised that, as lovely as it was, the C4S wasn't exactly where I wanted to be. At the end of the day I've waited >30 years to get behind the wheel of a 911, so it made sense to wait until something appeared which gave me exactly what (or as close as possible with a used car) I've waited so many years to own.
I scanned the classifieds on the usual locations, messaging the odd owner here and there for cars which took my interest but these interactions didn't typically go much further than the first email or two for a variety of reasons.
Unfortunately one evening, I was looking through the classifieds when my hand unexpectedly slipped and before I realised what was happening the number in the 'Max Price' field had been increased. Aside from the understandable shock at what had just happened, I was ok and after I had steadied myself by finishing mycup of tea beer... I was faced with some new adverts which I'd never seen before.
These adverts included the car below, which was at an independent specialist in Englandshire (I am in NE Scotland) so unfortunately I couldn't just pop round for a look at the car. The seller took his time to go through all the questions which I sent him, along with sending me photos/scans of the service history and videos of the car inside and out.
I saw the previous owners telephone number on one of the scanned invoices, so I sent a text apologising for making contact out of the blue but asking if he would mind answering a few questions about the car. To his credit and very graciously he replied with all the answers I had been looking for as well as mentioning some work/upgrades which hadn't been mentioned in the advert. Result!
Now lets join those who skipped the spoiler and get to the details...
TL:DR - I found one and bought it.
It feels fantastic! I have never looked out the window at a car more and I've never had that excited feeling to such a degree when I think about a new car.. it still doesn't feel real.
The car drives really well with no creaks/rattles, the steering/gearshift are all very direct and despite being the baby 911, it goes really well too. The engine pulls well up to around 4500rpm, then it continues to pulls harder and harder up to the redline. I know it's early days and I'm firmly in the honeymoon period but it has impressed me so far. It also ticks boxes that my daily drive RS4 doesn't tick with little to no overlap of abilities, which is exactly what I was wanting.
General Info/Factory Spec:
2011 (997.2)
911 Carrera 2
Carrara White
Black Leather
6-spd Manual
Comprehensive History Folder
Original Dealer Handover Presentation Box
(Slicktop - no sunroof and no rear wiper)
Multifunction Steering Wheel
Heated Seats
Extended Leather (Possibly standard?)
Alcantara Headlining (Possibly standard?)
Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM)
Rear Park Assist
19" Turbo 2 Wheels
Original Umbrella & Glovebox Pen
Modifications:
Alcantara Steering Wheel
Alcantara Gearknob & Gaiter
Alcantara Handbrake
Kenwood Double Din Head Unit (DAB enabled, CarPlay, Bluetooth, etc)
Aftermarket X-Pipe Exhaust
IPD Plenum
Uprated Engine Mounts
Eibach Lowering Springs
Front Eibach Adjustable Coffin Arms (New tuning fork arms at the front and new coffin/tuning fork arms at the rear too)
Braided Brake Hoses
Brembo HP2000 Pads All Round
Geometry by Centre Gravity
Pictures:
IMG_0985 by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
There is only one area for concern at present...
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
That's how the bumper sits when coming in/out of my driveway, there is the very lightest of scrape if I approach from the wrong side. So I'll have a look underneath it because from the picture it looks like there maybe one undertray/trim piece on the drivers side which could be hanging a couple of mm lower than the rest and would be just enough to catch.
I'm going to stick it in to a well regarded local specialist to check it over and make sure all is well. I'm really picky with oil so (despite being serviced before collection) I will probably ask the specialist to carry out an oil change at the same time as the inspection so I know exactly what is in there. But apart from that I just intend to enjoy it as much as I can when the roads aren't caked in road salt... although that assumes that I'm able to peel myself off the ceiling before going out in it.
I've been lucky enough to own some great cars, although it's taken me some time to be in a position where I could man maths my way into having a great daily driver along with a 911 to use for occasional summer commuting and weekend car for the better ~6 months of the year. To see my ownership journey to this point (and as a well needed reminder to myself to update it with this new addition!
), my car history thread is here.To read about the background, thought process and steps which led to my new purchase, click the spoiler. If you want to jump straight to the good part then just skip the spoiler, read the TL;DR and look at the spec/pictures.
To start with, it was always a 911 Turbo that I wanted and in particular a 993 Turbo. You got a 993 Turbo in a Need For Speed computer game I had where you had to out run the cops and it also featured on one of the Clarkson videos which I rewatched countless times. To this day, it would be one of the very first cars I'd try to source should my numbers come up on the Euromillions.
Fast forward a few more years, after being behind the wheel for a while and having read countless internet and magazines reviews which said the RWD models are more fun/engaging than 4WD models in the 911 range; I switched my 'realistic dream car' target from a 911 Turbo with 4WD to a RWD flavoured 911 instead.
Initially and probably because I was such a big fan of the 993 shape, I didn't like the 996 generation. However after >25 years, I think both .1 and .2 versions of a 996 have matured very nicely. So much so that I included them within my initial search criteria and had my head turned towards a lovely 996.2 C4S with great factory spec and an extensive paper trail, showing it had been lavished with around ~40k of maintenance/upgrades over it's life. But one my best friends reminded me that it had always been a 997 which I had talked about buying when the subject of 911s ever came up.
So I realised that, as lovely as it was, the C4S wasn't exactly where I wanted to be. At the end of the day I've waited >30 years to get behind the wheel of a 911, so it made sense to wait until something appeared which gave me exactly what (or as close as possible with a used car) I've waited so many years to own.
I scanned the classifieds on the usual locations, messaging the odd owner here and there for cars which took my interest but these interactions didn't typically go much further than the first email or two for a variety of reasons.
Unfortunately one evening, I was looking through the classifieds when my hand unexpectedly slipped and before I realised what was happening the number in the 'Max Price' field had been increased. Aside from the understandable shock at what had just happened, I was ok and after I had steadied myself by finishing my
These adverts included the car below, which was at an independent specialist in Englandshire (I am in NE Scotland) so unfortunately I couldn't just pop round for a look at the car. The seller took his time to go through all the questions which I sent him, along with sending me photos/scans of the service history and videos of the car inside and out.
I saw the previous owners telephone number on one of the scanned invoices, so I sent a text apologising for making contact out of the blue but asking if he would mind answering a few questions about the car. To his credit and very graciously he replied with all the answers I had been looking for as well as mentioning some work/upgrades which hadn't been mentioned in the advert. Result!
Now lets join those who skipped the spoiler and get to the details...
TL:DR - I found one and bought it.
It feels fantastic! I have never looked out the window at a car more and I've never had that excited feeling to such a degree when I think about a new car.. it still doesn't feel real.
The car drives really well with no creaks/rattles, the steering/gearshift are all very direct and despite being the baby 911, it goes really well too. The engine pulls well up to around 4500rpm, then it continues to pulls harder and harder up to the redline. I know it's early days and I'm firmly in the honeymoon period but it has impressed me so far. It also ticks boxes that my daily drive RS4 doesn't tick with little to no overlap of abilities, which is exactly what I was wanting.
General Info/Factory Spec:
2011 (997.2)
911 Carrera 2
Carrara White
Black Leather
6-spd Manual
Comprehensive History Folder
Original Dealer Handover Presentation Box
(Slicktop - no sunroof and no rear wiper)
Multifunction Steering Wheel
Heated Seats
Extended Leather (Possibly standard?)
Alcantara Headlining (Possibly standard?)
Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM)
Rear Park Assist
19" Turbo 2 Wheels
Original Umbrella & Glovebox Pen
Modifications:
Alcantara Steering Wheel
Alcantara Gearknob & Gaiter
Alcantara Handbrake
Kenwood Double Din Head Unit (DAB enabled, CarPlay, Bluetooth, etc)
Aftermarket X-Pipe Exhaust
IPD Plenum
Uprated Engine Mounts
Eibach Lowering Springs
Front Eibach Adjustable Coffin Arms (New tuning fork arms at the front and new coffin/tuning fork arms at the rear too)
Braided Brake Hoses
Brembo HP2000 Pads All Round
Geometry by Centre Gravity
Pictures:
IMG_0985 by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrThere is only one area for concern at present...
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrThat's how the bumper sits when coming in/out of my driveway, there is the very lightest of scrape if I approach from the wrong side. So I'll have a look underneath it because from the picture it looks like there maybe one undertray/trim piece on the drivers side which could be hanging a couple of mm lower than the rest and would be just enough to catch.
I'm going to stick it in to a well regarded local specialist to check it over and make sure all is well. I'm really picky with oil so (despite being serviced before collection) I will probably ask the specialist to carry out an oil change at the same time as the inspection so I know exactly what is in there. But apart from that I just intend to enjoy it as much as I can when the roads aren't caked in road salt... although that assumes that I'm able to peel myself off the ceiling before going out in it.
Congratulations OP, that's a lovely car. I had a manual 997.2 GTS about 11 years ago which I'll always regret selling!
Re the undertray at the front, you're right to be wary. Before getting mine I took a friend's 997.1 Carrera S out for a drive, decided to give it a blast down the M56 late one summer's evening - at an unprintable speed a scraping sound suddenly started and when I came off the motorway and took a look, there was an undertray hanging down and scraping along the road!
Re the undertray at the front, you're right to be wary. Before getting mine I took a friend's 997.1 Carrera S out for a drive, decided to give it a blast down the M56 late one summer's evening - at an unprintable speed a scraping sound suddenly started and when I came off the motorway and took a look, there was an undertray hanging down and scraping along the road!
Fabulous. I have always been a big fan of 911s - the 997 is the last model that interests me and your's looks fantastic in white. The 997s are still compact enough for my liking but sufficiently 'modern' elsewhere. My dream (poster car) was for a 930 Turbo but prices mean that ship has sunk, though some kind of 930 is still on the dream list. Failing that the 997 will be my port of call.
I have a Cayman 987 (half a 911) now which my partner loves - to the point that she snaffles the PCGB mag before I get to it and highlights the events she wants to go on... So it looks like I will need to have a Porsche forever more and that 911 box might get ticked one day!
I have a Cayman 987 (half a 911) now which my partner loves - to the point that she snaffles the PCGB mag before I get to it and highlights the events she wants to go on... So it looks like I will need to have a Porsche forever more and that 911 box might get ticked one day!
Thanks for all the comments.. I'm absolutely loving it and it's certainly a big difference from the Transporter.
I've got booked it in for a full inspection by a local specialist for peace of mind. They serviced the car the last couple of times, so it'll be familiar to them and hopefully comes back with a clean bill of health or at least a manageable list of items needing attention.
I've also got a couple of things I want to change on the car, the first being a private registration. I know some on here aren't into them (vanity plates, etc etc..) but I like having a private registration on my cars; and there's a little story behind this one. I actually bought it to use on an absurdly cheap VW ID.Buzz lease deal which I managed to get a build slot on. I thought that 'GFZ' worked well on an electric 'Buzz' car and tied in with the '83 GF' plate I've got on my daily driver. Anyway, after I'd bought the plate at the DVLA auction, the deal on the Buzz turned out to be so absurdly cheap that VW pulled the plug on the deal. Which was great news for me having already bought a plate for it... definitely a lesson learnt there!
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
So now I'm going to stick the registration on the 911 instead and it makes me smile because, despite what it was originally bought for, it's now going to be used on about as anti-eco, anti-electric a vehicle as you can get.
I've got booked it in for a full inspection by a local specialist for peace of mind. They serviced the car the last couple of times, so it'll be familiar to them and hopefully comes back with a clean bill of health or at least a manageable list of items needing attention.
I've also got a couple of things I want to change on the car, the first being a private registration. I know some on here aren't into them (vanity plates, etc etc..) but I like having a private registration on my cars; and there's a little story behind this one. I actually bought it to use on an absurdly cheap VW ID.Buzz lease deal which I managed to get a build slot on. I thought that 'GFZ' worked well on an electric 'Buzz' car and tied in with the '83 GF' plate I've got on my daily driver. Anyway, after I'd bought the plate at the DVLA auction, the deal on the Buzz turned out to be so absurdly cheap that VW pulled the plug on the deal. Which was great news for me having already bought a plate for it... definitely a lesson learnt there!
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrSo now I'm going to stick the registration on the 911 instead and it makes me smile because, despite what it was originally bought for, it's now going to be used on about as anti-eco, anti-electric a vehicle as you can get.
Johnny50 said:
You're such a tart with these plates boy! haha.
911 looks lovely, congrats Grant! Suits the white too, very underrated colour on the 911. My neighbour has a white 992 with gold wheels and looks great.
Hope you're doing well...
Johnny
Haha you're not wrong.. nothing changes! 911 looks lovely, congrats Grant! Suits the white too, very underrated colour on the 911. My neighbour has a white 992 with gold wheels and looks great.
Hope you're doing well...
Johnny
Thanks, I'm really liking the white and still pinch myself when I open the garage and see a 911 sitting there.
I'm good thanks, hope you and family are well. Are you still into the two wheeled stuff or have you switched back to four wheels?
RS Grant said:
Haha you're not wrong.. nothing changes!
Thanks, I'm really liking the white and still pinch myself when I open the garage and see a 911 sitting there.
I'm good thanks, hope you and family are well. Are you still into the two wheeled stuff or have you switched back to four wheels?
All good here, still two wheels. M140 is gone and so is the BMW S1000 but hopefully get back into it in the spring. Still have the wee Polo GTi but i only drive maybe once a week these days! Thanks, I'm really liking the white and still pinch myself when I open the garage and see a 911 sitting there.
I'm good thanks, hope you and family are well. Are you still into the two wheeled stuff or have you switched back to four wheels?
Did you sell the V6 STI Wagon you had??
Johnny50 said:
All good here, still two wheels. M140 is gone and so is the BMW S1000 but hopefully get back into it in the spring. Still have the wee Polo GTi but i only drive maybe once a week these days!
Did you sell the V6 STI Wagon you had??
Yeah the Impreza went in a deal for the E90 M3.. which went in a deal for the Transporter van.. which went in a deal for the 911. Did you sell the V6 STI Wagon you had??
Even though the Polo isn't driven regularly, it would be a shame not to do a couple of mods to it surely?
zorba_the_greek said:
Lovely spec.
Think i would personally de badge it
Thank you. Think i would personally de badge it
I think it needs something on the rear, the 911 isn't offensive and I think the only thing I'd replace it with would be a 'Carrera' badge. I'm not a fan of the spaced out P O R S C H E lettering from newer cars that I've seen some people use.
I was talking to the company who are going to detail/ceramic coat the car for me next month and I'm going to remove the rear black arch guard and replace it with a clear PPF piece. I don't mind the '911 Carrera' decal on the front doors, so that can stay for the next wee while at least.
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