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Porsche 996 Turbo Buying Guide

996 Turbo Buying Guide

“The Porsche 996 is the company’s internal name for the version of the Porsche 911 model manufactured and sold between 1998 and 2005. It has since been replaced by the Type 997. Both body styles were used in 2005, depending on model. At its debut, it featured the most significant changes to the Carrera model since its 1963 introduction. The most important among these is the fully water-cooled engine, replacing the previously air-cooled engines, used exclusively by the Carrera models….” more from Wiki

Porsche 996 Turbo

see also:
911 Specs
Porsche Dealers
Porsche Tuners
Porsche Insurance Specialists
Porsche Performance Suspension
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Eastern Europe – Serres 2010

996 Turbo Buying Guide

The 911 Turbo is legendary, giving the driver real supercar performance but in a compact and practical package. It’s early models were also infamous for their unforgiving handling. But the 996 version that launched in 2000 was a different beast. With four-wheel drive, a water-cooled engine, a smooth new body and a much nicer cabin, it was a thoroughly sophisticated, all-weather, all-road supercar for daily driving. And though the 996 went out of production in 2005, in real terms, it’s still as quick as any other car on the road. It’s also an appealing second-hand buy, provided you’re aware of the potential pitfalls.
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996 Turbo Buying Guide

Compared with the previous 993 model, the 996 represented a virtual clean sheet of paper. Looks wise, it moved Porsche on in many significant yet subtle ways: the body lines were smoothed, the windscreen was raked at a shallower angle, the cabin was bigger and the dashboard finally had some resemblance of ergonomics, though some preferred the classic Porsche look. The body structure of the 996 managed to be be 45 per cent stiffer yet lighter than the older model. And the early 911 handling quirks were further sorted out. Unless you were determined to drive like an idiot, the 996 Turbo was as stable as any 190mph car. In short, it was the first of the modern era of Porsche 911 supercars.

The 996 generation was a particular milestone in being the first water-cooled 911, water cooling allowed an engine redesign that included four valves per cylinder, which achieved higher power outputs and at the same time much better fuel economy. One thing to not though is that although the 996 Turbo is water-cooled it’s not the same engine that’s in other 996s. The turbo engine is an ancestor of the old air-cooled units and is directly related not only to the 996 GT3 but also the GT1 racing engine (3.2 litres and 600bhp!). The other 996 engines were a completely different design and had gasket problems that could lead to catastrophic failures, but not so the Turbo. This engine is very strong and can be tuned up to well over 500bhp if the fancy takes you.

As standard the 996 Turbo has 420bhp at 6000rpm. In 2002 you could order from main dealers the X50 upgrade, which increased the output up to 450bhp with bigger turbos, intercoolers, ECU program and a reinforced gearbox. The 2002 model, sometimes known as the mk2, also saw body revisions which increased stiffness, improving handling and crash safety.

In 2003 the cabrio launched, its reinforced B-pillars and other modifications increasing the weight by 70kg though it still posted near identical performance figures. The final hurrah was the 2005 Turbo S model, which had the X50 set-up as standard and also had ceramic composite brakes (PCCB) which work best when hot, making it ideal for trackdays although they are super expensive to replace. The six-speed manual is the normal solid Porsche gearbox but many Turbos were sold with the Tiptronic semi-auto. Fuel economy is good for such a fast car – 20+ mpg on a gentle run is not unheard of, but most owners average around 20mpg.

That’s the 996 Turbo, the everyday supercar, now here’s how to find a good one.

996 Turbo buying guide as seen in EVO Magazine – to read the full article click here

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This page was last modified May 24, 2019 @ 4:53 pm

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