996.1 v 996.2 Carrera
In the used market, a 996 has long been the entry-level 911 Carrera. Its star is now rising among enthusiasts, so with values fairly even between Gen1 and Gen2, which is the better model to go for?
The 996 is in vogue right now, but which is the better generation to go for? Gen1 or Gen2?
One hundred and forty three thousand, five hundred and eighty. The number of times you’ve heard about IMS issues with the 996? Unlikely, even if sometimes it seems otherwise. Pity the 996, for its place in history will always be clouded by one technical issue. It’s not the first 911 to suffer serious mechanical maladies either, but it’s unquestionably the one that’s had to suffer the consequences of its failings in perpetuity. Perhaps a victim of an increasingly connected world, where information (and misinformation) was more easily spread, or its circumstance, where it had the difficult task of replacing a much-loved run of air-cooled cars. Throw in the fact it shared its looks with its cheaper Boxster relation, and history was always going to be hard on the 996.
History is wrong, or at least it’s not completely accurate. That big number is significant, because it’s the number of 996s that Porsche sold across the Gen1 and Gen2 models – that’s thanks to a quick bit of calculator work at the back of the mag. That’s just the Carreras too, be it 2, 4 or 4S, with the Turbos, Turbo S, GT3S, GT2S and GT3 RSS not accounted for here (and adding 28,250 cars if you must know). That’s a lot of 911s, a huge number, in a car that first started trundling down Porsche’s production line in 1997, as a 1998 model.
The 996 pre-dates the Cayenne too, the car that everyone refers to as some sort of Porsche saviour. Saying that does the 996 a huge disservice, as the Cayenne went on sale in 2003, and by late 2001 the 996 was already in its second generation. I’ll say it here: while there’s undoubtedly truth in the fact that the Cayenne was transformational to Porsche’s long-term survival as a business, it’s simply not true that the SUV is the 911’s saviour. The 996 (and let’s be fair here, the 986 Boxster with which it shared a lot) saved Porsche as a builder of sports cars. Indeed, the 996 and Boxster’s sales had a big enough effect on Porsche’s bottom line that it had announced the building of the Carrera GT supercar even before the first Cayenne was sold. Think on that next time you’re fawning over Porsche’s celebrated analogue V10 hypercar.
If that doesn’t have you seeing the 996 in a new light then there’s no helping you. Nor will the fact that the first water-cooled, clean-sheet design 911 was lighter, faster, more efficient, more spacious, refined and capable than the car it replaced. Significantly so. However revered the 993 was (and is), when it was new it was still old, or at least it was wedded to the ancient concept of an air-cooled engine. Porsche explored water-cooling for the 993, because the aircooled engine cost Porsche a fortune to build, not least because all its ancillaries needed to be specific to it. The 996’s water cooling allowed the 911 to be a better car, use common components, and for the
911 to continue to this day, passing ever tougher emissions and economy regulations, while also introducing a whole new audience to Porsche’s iconic sports car.
“The 996 (and let’s be fair here, the 986 Boxster with which it shared a lot) saved Porsche as a builder of sports cars”
I’ve never really needed convincing, in truth. The 996 has always been a significant 911 to me, not least because my first 911 drive was in an early 996 Carrera off the UK press fleet back in 2000. That drive’s still tattooed on my synapses. I’ll jump in one at any opportunity, even if it’s a reminder that one day I really ought to buy one. Which one, though? Carrera. 2. Manual. Coupe. Always. Gen1 or Gen2 is the more difficult question to answer.
Visually, here and now, I’m swayed towards the Gen2. It’s not that I don’t like the ‘hegglights’ and combined ‘gingercators’ of the Gen1 car, it’s just I prefer the later style headlights which, in combination with the more sculptural intakes on the front bumper, make for a more resolved look. That’s true down the flanks and at the rear, and the visual tweaks that define the Gen2 cars as more appealing overall. That’s opinion, though, and speaking to a friend a couple of days after (not 996 Gen1 drum-banging Editor Sibley, I might add) he stated he much prefers the look of the Gen1, hegglights and all. Styling is always subjective, but what is undeniable is that the 996, in both generations, nodded right back to the earliest 911s, its flat flanks and slim hips particularly evocative of original 911s, before flared arches burst into the
911’s design language.
They both look compact; there’s a lightness to the 996’s shape, and that’s no better exhibited when sitting on the slim, five-spoked, 18-inch Carrera alloy wheels that the Gen2 car is wearing here. The Cup 3s do the Gen1 car no favours in that respect, but that’s easily resolved. Both look sensational in profile, the 996’s most successful line being that of its modernised 911 roofline and haunches. The flusher glass fitment, the tight shutlines and moderate detailing bring modernity to the familiar 911 shape, with its obvious, necessary, rear bias. I’ll say it here: it’s a pretty car, the 996, having gone through the lengthy fallow to transitional period that seems to be applicable to every 911 generation – only here, because it was so different, so removed from what came before it, it’s perhaps taken longer to get your head around that fact.
The interior hasn’t aged quite so well, particularly that of the Gen1 car. Even the most ardent of Gen1 fans will struggle to defend the interior’s honour with too much conviction. The look itself isn’t so bad, indeed, there’s a clarity and functionality that’s hugely appealing, but instead it’s the feel. Many of the materials used betray that the 996 was a 911 that was built to a budget, a necessarily strict one at the time admittedly, but one that’s left a legacy. There are scratchy surfaces at touch points that are unbecoming in a car wearing the Porsche badge, and even more so one with Carrera on its engine cover.
Time hasn’t done the Gen1 car any favours, either. Those materials that did have a metal painted finish now look a bit tatty from use, and there are some interesting oversights too, with no glovebox a glaring one. The seat, pedal, gearstick and steering wheel positioning is excellent though, which admittedly does allow you to forgive the interior a lot of its material shortcomings.
The Gen2 car addressed most of these too, adding a glovebox, and upped the quality while still doing little to change the actual design – because, fundamentally, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. Indeed, in either generation there’s something uniquely appealing about sitting in the 996: it’s very much a car that falls into the category of
being modern without being overtly technological, the period for both cars being before screens, configurable drive buttons or electronic driver aids came to dominate not just the look of car interiors, but also how they drive.
If it seems like I’ve been leaning heavily in regard to the Gen2 car here then you’d be right. It’s Paul Stephens’ own car (see the sidebar on page 17), and I said to him when I returned it that if he ever wants to sell it, I want first refusal. I’m not being unfair to the Gen1 here either, because I’d happily own it too. And that’s down to the engine. Introduced with a 3,387cc water-cooled flat six, the all-new engine develops 296bhp (300PS) at 6,800rpm and 350Nm (258lb. ft) of torque at 4,600rpm, the lack of cooling fins in the heads meaning Porsche could adopt a four-valve head. This not only helped it generate its power, but to do so efficiently, allowing Porsche to get the 911 through ever stricter global emissions requirements. This very early 996 must be among the very first right-hand drive and the only year the Carrera 2 was produced with a physical throttle cable, the Carrera 4 and later Carrera 2s reverting to an electronically controlled throttle.
The M96/01 3.4-litre engine, rightly, has its fans. Peak power arrives at 6,800rpm, and it’s a gloriously, enthusiastically revvy engine that’s refined and smooth, with a very linear power delivery. It’s at its best above 3,500rpm when the torque makes more of its presence felt, reaching its peak output at 4,500rpm before slowly falling off as the engine chases its maximum power. It’s a great engine which, were it not for the IMS issues it subsequently became known for suffering with, might gain reverence rather than revulsion among the more vociferous corners of the Porsche community.
In the Gen1 car it finds its perfect platform to entertain, the gearshift that works it being a delight. The all-new engine required an all-new gearbox and the G96/00 is a cable-operated six-speeder housed in a one-piece casing, built by ZF. Lighter than the G50 transmissions from the air-cooled cars, the shift quality is crisp and light, that aided by a perfectly weighted clutch. Add the accelerator’s immediate response and the 3.4-litre enthusiasm and the powertrain is hugely engaging. There’s the chassis to exploit it too, the steering fantastically weighted and faithful in its response and accuracy, with the nose still retaining a characteristic 911 float and slight initial understeer that can be easily corrected by using the weight of the engine in the back. It’s a joy to do so, the 996’s chassis so nicely balanced and communicative it’s a very easy car to drive quickly, there being an efficiency to the way it covers ground at speed that’s on a different level to the air-cooled cars that proceeded it.
That Gen2’s still nagging at me though. Sitting in it, with its more delicate steering wheel, the higher quality materials – helped, no end here, being finished in black – I’m conflicted. Outwardly, the front is just more resolved in its look, to me, that aided by the slight, 5mm increase in the front track – that tiny amount making a big difference to how the 996 sits, the MO30 Sport suspension this example sits on only furthering that. The now 3.6-litre engine, with Variocam Plus, sees the power rise to 315bhp (320PS) at 6,800rpm and 370Nm (273lb.ft) at 4,250rpm. The power is not delivered in such a linear fashion as the 3.4-litre before it, though Variocam delivers a flatter and fatter torque curve that sees near maximum torque delivered right from 4,000rpm and being available until it starts to drop off from 6,000rpm. That mightier mid-range is transformational in how the 3.6-litre Gen2 feels over its revvier relation – there’s less demand for higher revs, using its more ample torque rather than chasing power, which makes it an easier engine to live with, though no less enjoyable to rev.
Sampled here with a more vocal Dansk aftermarket exhaust it’s got aural joy at higher revs too, with the chassis feeling that little bit more resolute, which is down to a combination of both that MO30 spec Sport suspension, and the larger contact patch from the inch wider front and rear tyres. Those wheels, although 18 inches, are light, which is evident in the fine control it exhibits on British country roads, being precise, with absolutely masses of feel and connection. A well-sorted 996 is a real treat, and this car’s an absolute cracker. Yet, it’s the 3.4 I jump in to drive back, just to reaffirm my initial thoughts. Yes, I prefer the looks of the Gen2, and the quality lift inside is notable, but the earlier car’s engine is wonderfully enthusiastic in its nature, leaving me to conclude that if – when – I go and buy a 996, I’d be buying on spec and condition, not generation. We reckon that’s exactly what you should do, too.
Thanks
The stellar examples in our feature were supplied by the Suffolk-based independent Porsche specialist, Paul Stephens. For more information on current stock and the PS Autoart programme, visit paul-stephens.com or call +44 (0) 1440 714884.