Defending the 996

The big argument in the Porsche world (web forums and print magazines) is about whether the 996 is a better car than its predecessor, the 993. The 996 was a ground-up re-design of the 911 concept, with a newly designed modern water-cooled engine replacing the old air-cooled unit of the 993. The interior was updated to that of a modern car, replacing the 993's interior that was little changed from the original 911s in the 60s and 70s. The handling was tuned further so that even in inexperienced hands, the 996 was a fairly benign car - or as benign as a vehicle can be with quarter of a tonne of engine hanging out behind the back wheels, anyway. The new 996 was faster, quieter, more efficient, more exploitable and more modern than the car it replaced.

Ask any Porsche purist, though, and they are will give you a litany of reasons why the 996 will always be inferior to the 993. The 996 shape was considered a step backwards from that of the 993, flatter and less curvy. The famous round headlights were replaced by units with integrated side-lights and indicators, to create the disparagingly named "fried-egg" lights. That name was earned by the early indicator lenses being orange, and not being very elegant at all. The famous air-cooled noise and character has been lost. The new car's build quality has been criticsed for being built down to a price, and not up to the standard of the 993. There have been issues with the so-called "RMS" issue, which is a leaking oil seal. And last, but probably most importantly, the 996 shared many of its panels and components with the Boxster.

The big problem with this is not who is right or wrong, because 993 vs. 996 is just another version of the "mine's better than yours" wars. These wars take place in the press and on the web between different factions, and can be about anything you can think of. Usually it's a quasi-religious subject, with the loyal customers of two competing brands, marques, or products
locking horns and refusing to listen to reason. For two groups of Porsche owners to be doing it is slightly unusual, more so that it's two sub-groups of one model, the 911.

No, the problem is that 996 owners like me can start to get an inferiority complex. Personally I have no interest in the 993, I don't prefer the shape and the idea of running a ten year old car fills me with dread. But the gnawing feeling that you don't quite have the prettiest 911 available is a difficult one to shake. For me that can only lead in one direction: the 997. For me the 997 takes all of the best parts of the 996, and tweaks the styling just enough to create something truly gorgeous. Beautiful. Sexy. But is it worth a £40,000 premium over a 996? Well, that's the question...