Rob Clarke

Bristol, UK

@rob911_ltl @ROB996LTL

Model 996.1 Carrera 4 Year 1999

Acquired February 2014

Having put over

1,000 miles on the 996 since its water pump failure, there doesn’t seem to be anything else wrong with the car. I have noticed a potential performance drop, but I am not sure if that’s due to me driving the 991.2 recently or if there is genuinely something wrong!

I have been corralling my thoughts from my Porsche Range Experience and concluded that even though my car has a mild Sport exhaust, taking it to the redline is not as audibly satisfying as the 991.2. Also, my car is evidently slow – it is almost pedestrian in comparison! The 991.2 was very responsive and quick.

My last observation, which may upset some purists, is the forced induction of the latest Porsche range is actually very good. It did not cross my mind during the session that I wasn’t driving a normally aspirated 911, so those technicians at Porsche have done a great job.

Back to my 996, I have to start thinking about mundane issues such as MOT, insurance and an annual service. First up is the MOT, which is booked in for next week. I have started a to-do list of things I will do to the car this year, chief of which is addressing some bodywork issues. I’m not contemplating a respray; since I use the car on a regular basis ‘A1’ bodywork will not stay that way for long, but I do want to do something about the stone chips and rust so they don’t get any worse. There are other items on my to-do list, but will hold off sharing those until I have done a bit more homework.