Before we get to the 993, rules of the club. A car must have more than 100,000 miles to enter. But distance covered is not synonymous with risk (that's what Brave Pill is for) or bargain basement value (for that, as always, there is Shed of the Week). The High Mile Club is a little more exclusive. Here we celebrate the nobility that comes with great distance. Sometimes the cars will be worth a great deal, sometimes not. Sometimes they will have been cherished, sometimes not. But they will all have given us good reason to doff the cap, and respectfully lower the velvet rope.
That air-cooled Porsches cost lots of money is no longer news; it's been a fact since the introduction of the 991 generation in 2011, when purists were scared off by increased dimensions, electric power steering and direct injection. Probably before that. With increased demand comes, increased cost, and so the market has adjusted. Previously bargain basement 964s and 993s have duly gone from bargain basement 911s to bonafide classics.
We all thought a £50k 964 was a bit silly half a dozen years ago, right? There currently isn't a manual Carrera 2 coupe on PH for less than £59,995. A Carrera RS of that era will still set a buyer back £200k, and in the classifieds at the moment are a pair of Turbo S 993s with asking prices just £45 apart. At £315k...
Yet even within that context, seeing a 993 Carrera 4 for sale with both a six-figure asking price and a six-figure odometer reading warrants a second glance. Because even in crazy Porsche world, nobody is lusting after a mid-90s, four-wheel drive 911, in grey with the rear wiper. But, in case you hadn't guessed, this is just any old grey 993.
This is one of the official Porsche restored cars from 2018, where 20 models - 10 Boxsters as well as 911s and transaxle cars - were overhauled to show off what the Official Porsche Centres and their recommended repairers could do. They were exhibited at the Classic Motor Show two years ago, all painted in the 918 Spyder's 'Liquid Metal', to then be sold off after the event. And who wouldn't fancy a classic Porsche, freshly restored by the very people who look after them every day?
As far as the Boxsters were concerned, the reality was every bit as promising as you'd hope; we drove one of the refreshed 986s last year and it was a gem. Small, simple and engaging like a classic, but tight, precise and consistent like a vehicle far newer. Don't forget, either, that this wasn't just a respray and a polish: 'our' Boxster had had a new crank, new pistons, a new roof and new suspension, as well as a rebuild of the parts not replaced - you can expect a similar level of effort to have gone into this 993.
Which presents an interesting quandary. Because, obviously, a high-mile C4 is not normally this money; it's something less half, if this one is anything to go by. But consider the amount of work that's been done here at a Porsche Centre, where any kind of labour certainly does not come cheap. Add in to that this car's special status and rarity, the immaculate condition and the provenance and the asking price begins to make a little more sense.
Think of it this way, too: it's a 25-year-old 911 that will serve as the perfect reminder of the classic experience (because so much of it will be new or refreshed) while having covered enough miles to not fret about adding many more and harming the value. Another 10,000 miles on 106,000 is a far smaller percentage than it is on 6,000. Or even 60,000, come to think of it.
Alright, so the case is tough to make when you look at the stunning array of other 911s - air-cooled or otherwise - available for £100,000. On the other hand, it's unlikely (bordering on the impossible) that any of those will have had this level of Porsche TLC recently lavished upon them. Which is not to be sniffed at when dealing with a 911 rapidly approaching a quarter of a century old. Would a box-fresh 993 (or as box-fresh as one can be) take your £100k? Or would the temptation be to build up a cheapie to your own spec? Apparently quite a big market exists for modifying old 911s...
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