Description
Porsche 996 C2 manual cabriolet
Registered July 2001 (which makes it one of the last first gen 996 3. 4L models)
I have owned this car for ten years (since 2015); the previous owner kept it for seven years. So, it has had just two owners since 2008. This is not your average short ownership, no history car. I have a file of 24 years of paperwork and MoTs back to 2007 (just two missing), handbooks, keys etc. It is entirely original apart from approved Porsche upgrades.
I bought it at 66, 000 miles and it now has 92, 386 miles, so typically about 2, 750 miles per year most of which has been on European holidays. I’ve never left it unused for more than two weeks at any time throughout the year and it sits permanently on its Porsche (via cigarette lighter) trickle charger. The 996 has always been garaged, serviced and maintained correctly, in my case with a local specialist who has an absolute attention to detail. He describes it as one of the most together 996s he’s driven. Thanks to him, it is one car that I have barely ever tinkered with.
The guy I bought it from, a surgeon, lavished it with the Porsche Sport suspension kit and a new hood with the glass upgrade. He kept it on an extended Porsche dealer warranty until 2012.
In 2019, the crank sensor failed, so we decided to take the engine out and replace the RMS and IMS (they had both been done once before in a pre 2008 ownership), install a new clutch, air/ oil separator, new aircon pipes, new rads and condensers, etc. etc. Since then, we’ve done the usual coil packs and plugs, polished the headlights, new tyres, suspension arms, refurbished the wheels etc. Most recently, we’ve had repairs to the sports exhaust (Hayward & Scott), serviced the exhaust actuators, had a brake fluid service, replaced all sparkplugs and sparkplug tubes due to a leak from one tube seal. Its last service was in April 2024 at 89, 315 miles and it is due just a simple oil/ filter change if you like to change it annually (I always use Mobil 1).
Audio is c/ o the perfect contemporary fit Becker Cascade system with SatNav, telephone, CD, iPod link which all works. Usually, I just enjoy the Porsche soundtrack.
If I was keeping the car longer:
1) I’d probably have the front panel repainted, but it’s good enough. There are minor, fine marks elsewhere but nothing that detracts overall.
2) Interior: the marks on the centre console and the ‘dimples’ in the rear leather were there when we acquired it (golf club wielding owners I believe and the seat belt catches rubbing) and so were the friction marks on the hood (which come from keeping the hood lowered for lengthy periods as my predecessor did with his winter-long hardtop) and I’ve succeeded in avoiding car park door-bangers!
3) The third brake light on the raised spoiler is intermittent due to corroded contacts on the back of the light (I have dismantled this once before and sorted the problem, but care is needed as they are notoriously fragile parts). The other (lowered position) third brake light is of course perfect.
Essential specification:
3. 4L
300hp naturally aspirated, RWD, no PSM
Manual gearbox
Porsche options:
18” turbo look wheels
Metallic Black
Grey Leather
Porsche sport suspension pack M033
Porsche switchable exhaust the details below
Porsche sport tailpipes
Porsche tinted top windscreen
Porsche 551 C1B wind deflector
Aftermarket:
Glass rear screen 997 upgrade with new hood in 2014/ 15 (BAS Hoods, Newport)
Becker Cascade Pro Navigation System
iPod link
MoT history in my ownership
2015 – 65, 869
2016 – 69, 107
2017 – 71, 622
2018 – 73, 877
2019 – 75, 338
2020 – 77, 998
2021 – 83, 339
2022 – 85, 722
2023 – 88, 937
2024 – 91, 730With a 996 cabriolet, you get two cars for the price of one: the soundtrack is just so much better, and with hood up or down it looks wonderful (especially in all black) and the chassis is more than stiff enough. Back in 2015, what attracted me to this car was its colour combination, Porsche switchable exhaust (which you can really appreciate on the cabrio – up or down) glass-in-hood upgrade and Porsche Sports suspension pack. Of course, the sports suspension lowers the car slightly and gives it (especially the cabrio) a better-looking stance. Although pretty unnecessary on poor UK roads, the handling advantages come alive on smooth French mountain or Riviera roads. The car has been utterly reliable. It has been to the Swiss Alps, Italian Lakes, French Riviera and Spanish Picos amongst other journeys without missing a beat. It’s a car where I never take a toolkit with me – just some Mobil 1. Rarely have I added oil between services.
It’s only up for sale because I’ve ‘acquired’ a 991 targa. The targa has 100 more horsepower, is more comfortable, but it’s a very modern car in comparison. The 996 is not, yet it is supremely smooth and useable. The 3. 4L is the most free-revving of these engines, effortless at low and high revs, without thrashing away, and it is utterly dynamic, the better for no PSM. The clutch and gearbox are easy and the chassis, despite the sports suspension, is really very quiet with no clonks or creaks (I wish I could say the same about my other cars). In my opinion, it is better to drive than any air-cooled Porsche. It is a perfect mix of old and new school DNA.
