The appeal of unloved Porsches

IT CAN’T ONLY BE ME who’s suddenly noticing Porsche 996s. Spot one on the road and it’s not just a recent Porsche: you specifically clock it as a 996, something a little older and out of the ordinary, and then start wondering about a few possibilities. Such as, hmm, should I buy one? Is this the last affordable 911?

Good questions both, which we want to answer in our feature beginning on page 60. But I’ll let you in on a little clue, here. While I can see two 996s in our cover image – the first time they’ve featured there – there are another two outside the Octane office, one belonging to David Lillywhite, the other to Adam Towler, deputy editor of our sister magazine Evo. And you can read more about David’s in Octane Cars, from page 164.

I’m a Porsche fan, though I’ve never taken the plunge with a 911. Instead, I opted for a 944; I’ve owned it for five years, and love the brawn of its engine, the balance of its handling, and the feeling of toughness you’d expect of a marque that forged its reputation at Le Mans. There have always been jibes that its engine is in the wrong place and that, being water-cooled, it’s not a proper Porsche. Well, it’s no 911. But as for the 996, water-cooling never stopped that car being a proper 911.

It’s a question of evolution. When air-cooled 993 gave way to water-cooled 996, much more than many realised was carried over from one version to the next. Relationships in the suspension and floorpan (not to mention the positioning of the engine…) survived the transition, despite the new car sharing architecture with the first-generation Boxster. Sacrilege? No, pure survival instinct. Without it, Porsche probably wouldn’t be with us today.

And that first 996 was simply a starting point for a whole new dynasty of 911s, complete with more extreme Turbo, GT3, GT2 and RS evolutions, many of which are already highly collectable. The entry-level cars will only follow suit, so make your move quickly.

Octane is evolving too, as David Lillywhite makes his move for a new challenge. I’m taking a turn at the wheel for a while, ready to hand the keys to our new editor in a couple of issues’ time.

Enjoy the magazine.