TOTAL 911 VERDICT

Much like the 964 RS was damned 30 years ago for offering less equipment, largely the same performance, a bone-shattering ride and all for £6,000 more than the 964 Carrera, the 996 GT2 received the same cold shower. Yet a decade later, even as they were dismissing the 996 GT2, those same critics were also singing the praises of the 964 RS that was finding its métier as the trackday 911. Opinions had clearly changed.

In 2007 when GT2 values were reaching their lowest, a feature in Total 911 explained that the model had inspired this negative reaction because the critics’ received idea of what it would be, turned out to be so different when they tried the car itself.

The GT2’S early reputation wasn’t helped by the wrong kind of buyer whose purchasing criterion (and usually not with their own money) was often based on the headline-catching 196mph top speed. The GT2 took almost 15 years to recover from this, but since then its values have stagnated.

Mark Sumpter puts the model in perspective: “I think the GT2 was ahead of its time, certainly in terms of tyre technology. Shod with the kinds of Michelins we use now, the GT2’S road holding is transformed.” And Mark adds that as modern 911s are increasingly taken over by electronic systems, this is the car for the purist: “The GT2 is entirely analogue. No electronics, just a slip-diff and a motorsport gearbox. It provides the intelligent driver with a challenge, but it’s also extremely usable.

And don’t forget, it lapped the Nürburgring 10 seconds quicker than the 996 GT3!”