Porsche

Love seeing anything featuring the 997.2 series.

7 years ago I needed a “new” car to replaced a blown engine seal Mazda RX8. I test drove some pre owned manual 911’s and I asked the Porsche dealer if any models allowed the rear window to pop up. He ignorantly (or just plain lying) said no, but later I googled “911 hatchback” and found the Targa series.

Since I can have only 1 car I really needed the added versatility of a hatch back for Costco runs and film shoots, etc. I had been driving manuals here in NYC for over a decade, but with traffic getting worse, I decided the PDK was a good compromise, but that meant going for a 997.2 at a much higher budget than I had planned.

It took 6 months of an extensive nationwide search to find the right low milage (11k) Targa 4s with leather, cooled seats and Pasm (for a softer ride on city streets and ability to firm up suspension when desired)

Recently I had some paint work done and decided to have the entire car wrapped in Paint protection film, since PPF helped keep my RX8 bumpers in good shape. I plan to keep the car a long time, especially driving in an urban environment.

Here’s a short video of my Targa being wrapped.
https://vimeo.com/397358202

The installer did a custom wrap and used a film I was unfamiliar with, Stek.  In researching, it appears to be even higher quality than the 3M and Xpel.  I find it a bit hard to believe people would drive around such expensive vehicles, “naked” without PPF.  

Every 911 is an exceptional automobile. Every once in a while however Porsche hits an absolute home run. Their first one was the 911SC. While all the subsequent 911 variants are faster, none had that perfect balance of actual measured performance with perceived performance feel. The 993 is a much faster car. It is also heavier and as a result has to be driven a whole lot faster and yet still not give you the feeling you get driving a good SC.

The next one to nail it was the 997. The best of the 997 coming towards the end, the 997.2 GTS and C4S.

The 997 was I think the first 911 to use PASM. The first one I drove had PASM and it was incredible! I will never forget accelerating around a curve. Normally the faster you go the more you need to steer to maintain the same line due to tire squirm and suspension changes. With PASM it was exhilirating to feel the car accelerate as if on rails with virtually no additional steering input! Marvelous!

The 997 was also when Porsche finally got awd down. Before this their awd always gave the feeling of something mechanical going on. Not that it didn’t work incredibly well. The Turbo I drove was impressive. It was just the feeling of clutches and stuff working that was a bit off-putting. The 997.2 C4S however was darn near perfect!

I drove one back to back with a 997 GTS and was surprised to find the C4S had just as good steering feel and car balance as the GTS! Frankly, in terms of balance and handling, the ability to push hard and not feel like pushing hard, the 997.2 C4S was quite a bit better than the GTS!

Your Targa is basically a C4S. Heavier, not as much body stiffness, but a far cry from the "flexible flyer" of air-cooled Targa days. It was a lot of work to find, there are never a lot of Targas around. So give yourself a big pat on the back for finding yours. Not only is it a great car, but now going nowhere but up in value. As I’m sure you already know!

Wow, a Porsche and audio thread. I'd be happy to throw in two experiences.

The first was a 1986 Carrera that I'd had for almost eight years. It had a lousy head unit and already had aftermarket Sony speakers. A simple swap to a new Pioneer head unit allowed the occasional CD and made it to the "good enough" threshold. Most of the time was spent listening to the motor, anyway. Occasionally one might like to hear Crystal Method, High Roller at unhealthy volume, and use the motor as accompaniment.

Next would be a 2004 Anniversary, with the unjustifiably maligned headlights of that generation. It had a Bose with subwoofer, and a nav system as part of its original package options. It did not satisfy. Kenwood happened to make a 996 double DIN model, so why not?. That plus a five channel Alpine amp in the place of the failing multi disc changer, again with no speaker swaps, and now we've reached well into the 21st century. Nav, backing camera, and volume with clarity and control. Sometimes the windows are up, the rpms are down, and the music now more than just good enough.

Enjoy!

The 04 996 was a nice car. They should be gaining value now too. 

I was just at a local PCA Wash 'n Shine event on Tuesday night at a nice local winery and we had a huge turnout. Bigger than I can ever remember for this event, and it wasn't even in a good Spring month where we can get lots of daylight - couldn't see the cars after about 7:45. (We had to do it later in the year because of Covid). I've been in the club for 18 years and I am amazed at how many newbies keep showing up. That's what is causing the prices to rise. Simple supply and demand..... 

And by the way, they are ALL going up (except for maybe new ones purchased in the last 3-4 years that aren't special cars like GT4s, Boxster Spyders, GT3s, etc).