Friday 18th November 2011

PH Carpool: Porsche Carrera 2 (993)

Carpool's temporary 911 fixation reaches the 993 and one very enthusiastic owner

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Name: John Tighe
Car: Porsche 911 Carrera 2 (993)
Owned since: I've only had it about five months so we're still in the honeymoon period!
Previously owned: Various dull things before I started working my way through Germany's finest. I've had an E36 328i, an E46 330i and the last car was an E55 AMG when I was living in Bahrain. With fuel 16p a litre it'd have been rude not to own a big V8!

Porsche ownership fulfils a lifetime dream

Why I bought it:
Having a 911 was a childhood dream. I remember very clearly the Autocar front page with the 993 Turbo and that image stayed with me forever. I studied car design and that tends to make you very picky about cars but I think the 993 is nigh on perfect. The rear haunches and the window-line are spot on. I'd love a Turbo but they go for silly money now and I could barely afford this.

What I wish I'd known:
Well, so far it's been relatively painless but I put that down to luck and buying it from a good expert called Mr911 - Clive was excellent. My advice to other potential buyers would be to see plenty, be picky about condition but not about spec. For example mine doesn't have air con, which may have put some off but then every other one I tested the air con didn't work anyway.

Things I love:
It HAS to be the noise! It sounds great, and it's hard to stop yourself taking it higher and higher up the rev band and just grabbing one more gear before the noise subsides, slightly! The last owner had a sports exhaust fitted for about £2.5K, which seems steep but after testing several other 993s, 997 C2s and a Cayman S it really made the difference. They all sounded great but they were all too quiet!

John's design background drew him to the 993

Things I hate:
On wet cold days it suddenly starts to feel its age. Also the cabin was definitely designed before ergonomics, or even common sense, were standard. Other than that though I just hate not being able to drive it more, and the dull traffic/speed camera laden roads!

Costs:
£4.53 so far for an alternator belt, kindly fitted by a very friendly AA man. Thanks Benny! I'm sure that bill will rise rapidly and have kind of 'mentally budgeted' around £2,000 a year. It could really do with some new rubber before winter sets in. It slides about a little too readily in the wet as I found out on a rainy drive to Wales and back recently - a few slightly scary moments!

Where I've been:
So far its been limited to weekends away, festivals and a few biking trips - luckily I have friends with vans to carry my bike! Next summer should bring some European trips, the Alps, track days ... and the Autobahn!

A GT3 is the only thing he'd choose instead

What next?
Well, I saved very hard to get it whilst working abroad and just hope I can keep hold of it! I'm very keen to do a Porsche driving day, or some beginner track days to learn how to fully enjoy the limits! When I bought it I had planned to get it tuned up but despite being 16 years old it feels really strong so I'll hold off on that for now. I always loved the Sports Classic alloys too, so I might put some of them on it. I have a long term goal of getting a 997 GT3, which I doubt I'll ever achieve and half of me thinks I'd be better off buying a cheaper trackday tool which I could lose control of at lower speeds. Anyway these are all details, my immediate plans are to drive it as much as I can, on some great roads, and enjoy the noise!

 

[K5tealth]

Still think this is a lovely looking car. Drove one on a Silverstone supercar day, along with a 355 - much nicer to drive than the Ferrari.

Would love a nice C4S!