Joel Newman
London, UK
Model 996 Turbo Year 2003
Acquired April 2014
Last month Total
911 ran a feature on Hexagon Classics, a London-based specialist and classic car dealer with a penchant for lowmileage Porsche of all guises, and a huge stock of 997.2 cars, which is what piqued my interest.
As it happens, I live just a few miles from Hexagon Classics’ base in Highgate. I thought it wouldn’t do any harm popping in to check out not
only the amazing classic cars that are hilariously out of my price range, but their slightly more achievable stock of 911s too. Realistically I would have to sell the Turbo and add quite a few notes to the equation to afford pretty much any car from Hexagon, no doubt because all their cars are immaculate and, in many cases, have barely blown the lid off. My favourite 997 of theirs was the awesome Sport Classic. Their example, number 85 of 250 (featured on this cover!), had just 22 miles on the clock. It was however up for £250,000, which is significantly out of my price range even if I sell my flat, my girlfriend and possibly a kidney too.
What I did achieve, other than a lot of drooling and taking a lot of photos on my phone, was test driving a manual 997.2, which was up for around £20k more than I think my Turbo would sell for on the private market. I’ve got to say, the Pdk-equipped Guards red example I drove, with just 14,700 miles on the clock (yes you did read that right), felt fast and tight, and I loved the linear power delivery and exhaust note (which is just better sounding than my Turbo). It felt
a little more nimble compared to my TT but – here’s the kicker – I don’t know if it was better… it certainly wasn’t £20k better in my opinion at least. It was nice to experience a newer Porsche, and
PDK does bring something to the party, especially in London traffic but, when all is said and done and you are pushing on, PDK is not as involving as a manual setup. Simple as that.
Even with an interior that takes a mighty step forward, a 911 should be about the drive and about the thrill. A Turbo offers that sensational power you want to experience again and again. Maybe I am so used to my car’s quirks and foibles that I no longer see or experience them as someone new to the car would, but I did leave thinking how lucky I am to have bought my Turbo at the right time. £20K is all I paid around three years ago, and that surely was one time I did make the right call. A big thank you to Hexagon for their time and knowledge, and no doubt I will be back. However, the next time I hope to add to my collection, rather than replacing a dear friend.