996 C2 Coupe

Not everyone is seduced by the wider rump and Turbo-aping looks of the 996 C4S, and Ray Northway of Northway Porsche warns that all that Turbo gear underneath makes for higher running costs.

His solution? A standard 996 Carrera Coupe with a manual transmission. “A late 996 manual Carrera 2 is perhaps the safest bet, you’ll get a nice one for £20k, I think they’re the best-value cars,” he says. He’s not alone here either, with Karl Meyer admitting that the 996 is having its day. “I’ve not heard a negative comment about 996s in the past 12 months and, quite the opposite, they’ve become cool.”

We concur, indeed, the 996.1 coming up in our conversation with Singer’s Maz Fawaz when getting side-tracked during our DLS discussion for last issue. “I had one but I couldn’t stand it when it came out. And now there’s something to it,” the charismatic CEO says.

Meyer adds: “For the last few years they’ve changed hands at unbelievably low money, but people have been spending money on them; they’re absolutely a classic 911 now, but still affordable. I’ve fallen in love with them all over again.” Finding really good ones is tricky, admits Paragon’s Jamie Tyler, but they’re out there, and there’s much more momentum for them. All this means prices seem to be rising as demand grows, so if you’re interested, get buying.