996TT

[944Turbo]

The power is useful in A and B road overtaking - for fun I actually like a low powered car that is still entertaining - my brothers recently sold corolla ae86 was an excellent example, you can thrash it without too much risk to license, and there is something enjoyable about maxing a car continuosly, but when I am in a hurry to get somewhere the ability to pass several cars on the shortest straight is a great bonus - though again you have to be careful or you can end up into 3 figures when you pass the last one. A 996TT may be a better bet than a 944t in such situations - especially in the cold and wet.
Tony

 

[sawood12]

I can certainly empathise with peoples views that slower cars can be more fun to drive. My wife had a brand new Mini One for about 6 months before we got pregnant. It was a case of the Mini or the 944. However even though i'd never own a Mini myself (a bit girlie in the styling front) it was a real hoot to drive. Probably the most fun car i've ever driven. However I just love 911 turbo's and the thought that a 996 TT is almost within my grasp is very very tempting. I'm sure it will be just as much fun to drive as the Mini and my 944. Don't forget 996's are surprisingly small cars.

I'm just waiting to see what price they'll hit rock bottom at before I decide if i'll take the plunge. However with the wife now expecting our second and me booking up three ski holiday's this year with the lads and god knows what's going to happen as a result of this global economic disaster and if i'll even have a job in 12 months I think my chances of being in a position to take advantage of the low prices is pretty slim.

 

[wjk_glynn]

ORIGINAL: Lancerlot
As I seem to be the only poster on this thread that's actually driven one, let me help you.
...
If you can afford it, 997's better still, but if not, then 996tt is a top car and currently available at a budget price.
...

Good to hear.
Karl.

 

[wjk_glynn]

In this new world of falling supercar prices, the one that's catching my eye is the Maserati Gransport: http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/maserati-gran-sport

Probably the one big negative is clutchs often go after only 20K miles.

Karl.

 

[colin129]

ORIGINAL: sawood12

Also on a recent Ferrari 360 experence at Donington we shared the briefing with guys on the 996turbo experience. The track was damp and us in the Ferrari's were told to take it easy as rear wheel drive mid engined sports cars are twitchy in damp conditions. He turned to the 996 turbo guys and said that they could drive the car as hard as they liked regardless of the contitions as they are such an "astonishing car" (his actual words). I was so jelous.

Serves you right for defecting to the other side!

I was on driving experience last year and chose a 996 C2. I was gaining on a Lambo, but that was because my 'trainer' kept saying to me go faster and the guy in front was too scared!

 

[George Elliott]

I think PCGB will need a forum for "996tt ex 951 drivers" in the future.....

they are perhaps too quick, the 951 is a slower car, but in real world practise equal and more fun, with the added satisfaction of being a Q car.

As the 951 gets older, they will get harder to preserve as daily drivers, and something is needed to replace them. Perhaps the Autofarm Cayman Lwt in the "ae86 /mx5 spirit" will be the direction to take - but only 2 seats is a problem.

The ability to overtake safely is important, but you gotta manage that ability and sometimes curtail it.

I look at the 996tt partly because the various 951 tuning attempts has disappointed me. I had expected to see a 420hp daily driver 951, and if that had happened I would not look at anything else.

George

PS - I agree that the regular 996 could be made in China - it has nothing of Porsche engineering in its soft, wet sumped, wet lined, monkey metal engine. The only thing more useless is a Porsche Warranty[][][].
I am sad that Porsche have compromised the "956 durability" which existed in the 911 prior to 996.

 

[Lancerlot]

ORIGINAL: George Elliott

PS - I agree that the regular 996 could be made in China - it has nothing of Porsche engineering in its soft, wet sumped, wet lined, monkey metal engine. The only thing more useless is a Porsche Warranty[][][].
I am sad that Porsche have compromised the "956 durability" which existed in the 911 prior to 996.

Except, of course, we're discussing the 997 Turbo which is different animal (and engine) altogether! [&:]

 

[Fen]

Actually if you check the thread title we're discussing the 996 Turbo, and I think George acknowledged that is different mechanically from the mainstream NA models by saying "the regular 996..."

 

[Lancerlot]

ORIGINAL: Fen

Actually if you check the thread title we're discussing the 996 Turbo, and I think George acknowledged that is different mechanically from the mainstream NA models by saying "the regular 996..."

Sorry slip of the figure! [8|]

 

[DavidL]

I have been interested by the replies and glad that my thoughts have been echoed several times.
The "joy" of driving, as opposed to simply going fast, was brought home to me today. Travelling between Burford and Stow in t'other halfs Scooby at a steady 70 we seemed to be making very gentle progress. I could have gone much quicker but there was no need and it was quite a pleasant trip.
Now in my Caterham the road surface on this and most A roads would have mean't a much more involved drive to even have kept up with the scooby whilst hopping from bump to bump. Also being more exposed and lower down the impression of speed would be much greater so imagine would have felt like a much more spirited drive.
All and any of this would have mean't that I still would have been overtaken by the diesel Mondeo estate being pedalled at comfortably into 3 figures regardless of my sensory feeling about the way I was driving.
I feel it is quite appropriate to replace the scooby with any of our cars for the sake of comparison.
Ergo having fun is not directly related to how fast you are going.

 

[sawood12]

There is one assumption being made here and that is that the 996TT is not fun to drive at slow speeds. I'd bet it's just as much of a hoot to drive as any other Porsche. I don't drive my 944T anywhere near its limits on public roads but still get huge fun from it. And its not as if I or many other peope drive everywhere sideways as well so most of us achieve fun driving our 944's without breaching the grip levels. If there is one thing that Porsche have achieved in pretty much every one of their models is providing the driver with all the sensory information he or she needs so you can feel what the car is doing which for me is a major part of the enjoyment of driving compared wtih the numbness modern cars with similar or better performance.

The only potential threat from a 996TT is that because it is such an accomplished car you will be able to access more of it's performance potential than in a 944 and there will always be that temptation to increase speeds.

It seems the poor old 996 does get a bashing and people (most of whom have never driven one) are more than willing to jump on the bandwagen, but they are extremely capable and fast cars. Like most here probably I like watching repeats of TG on Dave and seeing re-runs of 996 tests and track tests they are priased. Even JC, though he still likes to knock Porsches always admits that the cars are stunning to drive.

 

[Fen]

I agree with that concept though I would say that I think any car that is designed to be safe at 170mph is going to struggle with being entirely involving at 70mph, so I strongly suspect that the 996TT will be less fun to drive at the speeds a 944T is enjoyable at than the 944T. It's all about feeling fast in my eyes and more modern cars feel less fast because they have less NVH, so when you throw in the brakes, suspension, 4wd and electronic driver aids to make it safe at far higher speeds (and something that reaches 170+ is far faster than something that scrapes 160 all-out) then I simply can't see how it can be as involving as an older and slower car at the speeds the older and slower car travels.

I have driven a normal 996 in all variants, and while the Carrera 2 manual was better than the C4 and tiptronic versions (and all the 986 Boxsters) it was still less enjoyable than the drive home in the 944T afterwards.

 

[333pg333]

ORIGINAL: George Elliott

I think PCGB will need a forum for "996tt ex 951 drivers" in the future.....

they are perhaps too quick, the 951 is a slower car, but in real world practise equal and more fun, with the added satisfaction of being a Q car.

As the 951 gets older, they will get harder to preserve as daily drivers, and something is needed to replace them. Perhaps the Autofarm Cayman Lwt in the "ae86 /mx5 spirit" will be the direction to take - but only 2 seats is a problem.

The ability to overtake safely is important, but you gotta manage that ability and sometimes curtail it.

I look at the 996tt partly because the various 951 tuning attempts has disappointed me. I had expected to see a 420hp daily driver 951, and if that had happened I would not look at anything else.

George

PS - I agree that the regular 996 could be made in China - it has nothing of Porsche engineering in its soft, wet sumped, wet lined, monkey metal engine. The only thing more useless is a Porsche Warranty[][][].
I am sad that Porsche have compromised the "956 durability" which existed in the 911 prior to 996.

George, you can have a 420hp dd out of a 951 but not really by adding chips and exhaust. You have to spend some decent money to get past say 350hp but still well within reach if you're looking at buying a 996tt. Even 350hp is pretty quick and that's not too hard to obtain. That will get you about as quick as a 996tt too although they do have all the electronic wizardry to help them in the handling dept. Especially nice in the wet I would imagine.

 

[Lancerlot]

996 TT is a brilliant car at all levels and at all speeds.
If you can find a decent one within your budget, buy it. You won't look back! []
Regards,
Clive

 

[Hilux]

Even 350hp is pretty quick and that's not too hard to obtain. That will get you about as quick as a 996tt too although they do have all the electronic wizardry to help them in the handling dept. Especially nice in the wet I would imagine.

Its all down to power/weight ratio. The 996 T must be some 300kg heavier for a start?

 

[garyw]

Great thread this one..[]

ORIGINAL: Hilux
Its all down to power/weight ratio. The 996 T must be some 300kg heavier for a start?

Okay so there's the weight, now how about the power?

I've had a couple of 996 Turbos and have to agree that they are currently an absolute bargain at the moment [8D]
If you can afford it, then the level of comfort and control it offers is way above the cost.

As far as the comments regarding the fun, thats all down to personal opinion in most respects.
I've driven both my 996TTs hard on UK roads without breaking the speed limits, how you get to the speed limit is half of the fun mind you []

Whilst you've chased the 996TT around the track, thats not its natural home- slightly to heavy if were to be honest []
The Turbo can take you through winding roads at a pace that does give you excitement and fun in a different league, a different league and way to the 944 does I'm sure.
But to believe the rumours of the car being sterile without excess speed when you haven't tried the car is a bit of a wild remark.

and Yes, I've driven the same roads in my current car, still having fun under the speed limit. [8D]

I'm not sure how much further costs will go down, the supply is getting slower as people get them for the bargains they are..

garyw

 

[Hilux]

I`d love to drive one in anger as the 944 is a consumately quicker car than the C2`s 4`s etc but I`ve a penchant for small lightweight track queens so dont really rag the 944T anymore.........its cheaper when you bin/stack them too [8|][8|][]

I might do a coupla track days again in the 944T this year but to be honest I dont really use it (unlike other track cars I`ve built) however I`m buying/building up a parts bin and currently prepping and shaking down a stripped down Mk 1 Golf (to be fitted with a 200bhp plus ish Audi 1.8T lump later this year)

 

[sawood12]

Well I guess it is horses for courses. I can't really afford the time or money to build a dedicated track car and spend alot of time on-track with it. Also I don't know if I can be bothered trailering a car to the venue. I primarily get a buzz from driving the car I normally drive every day to the track, hacking it round the track (hopefully at speeds that wont embarrass me too much) and drive the car back. I sort of get a buzz from the fact the car is tough enough to be driven too and from the track and a day on the track. I have no interest in tempramental cars, not that Hilux's Golf will be tempremental, but things like Elises etc. So for me my 944T and no doubt a 996TT will fit the bill.

Who know's, if this credit crunch lasts as long as the media is leading us believe then i'm sure the supply of 996TT's wont dry up, and if they get into the low £20K mark I think i'll be very very tempted. Just think, prices could start to rise again once this whole economic fiasco is up so it might just turn out to be an investment! Get a good year 2000 manual car to avoid the new tax rules and you've got a true bone fide supercar that is relatively cheap to run (from tax and insurance point of view at least) for as much money as a brand new Mondeo.

Ideally i'd love to keep the 944T as well as i'm sure it will privide a completely different buzz to the 996TT, but unfortunately I doubt that'll be possible.

 

[333pg333]

ORIGINAL: Hilux

Even 350hp is pretty quick and that's not too hard to obtain. That will get you about as quick as a 996tt too although they do have all the electronic wizardry to help them in the handling dept. Especially nice in the wet I would imagine.

Its all down to power/weight ratio. The 996 T must be some 300kg heavier for a start?

Paul, our cars are 1350kgs standard so while they're not heavy, they're also not light. The 996tt is listed at 1549, so 200kgs difference. Of course power to weight ratio is the defining factor here. The 996tt would be a wonderful car and I'd be happy if someone chose to bestow one upon me. I'd still like to see what some of the few really quick 951s in the UK could do up against the 996tt. I wonder if 'Lil Diver might be able to expound upon this?[]

 

[TTM]

ORIGINAL: Hilux
I`m buying/building up a parts bin and currently prepping and shaking down a stripped down Mk 1 Golf (to be fitted with a 200bhp plus ish Audi 1.8T lump later this year)

The world is small ... Friend of a friend fitted such an engine into his much modified Mk2 Golf, it currently puts out about 280 bhp and terrorises many on the track. Looking forward to following your progress if ever you plan to share it.