997.1 Turbo

“As a supercar you can use and take anywhere, one of these is the best place to put your money,” says Jamie Tyler of Paragon Porsche. “They’re a great mixture of new and ‘old’, and good news for the long term.” Porsche’s 997.1 is the last Turbo to utilise that famous Mezger engine (Gen2 cars switched to a DFI unit) and offers a far superior drive to the 996 before it – not to mention a huge leap forward in terms of interior quality. Paragon believe Gen1.5 cars are the most desirable, these models boasting a much-needed update to the PCM navigation software. With 480hp on tap, the 997.1 is still ferociously fast by today’s standards, and big power gains are achievable with relatively minor (and fully reversible) fettling.

“People need to reappraise the manual bias, though. For most people the better car [in terms of their lifestyle] is the Tiptronic – and it’s less worrying to buy,” says Jamie’s Paragon colleague, Jason. While there’s less to go wrong with a Tiptronic ‘box, we’ve found the system particularly archaic compared to today’s PDK systems, and the manual is rarer, too.

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WATCH out for Check the coolant pipes as the glue can fail. Price now £50,000+