Background
RELISTED DUE TO WINNER FAILING TO ADHERE TO THE AUCTION TERMS. THIS IS A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF THE MARQUE, AND STARTS AND RUNS NICELY.
After the somewhat less than enthusiastically received 996, 2004’s 997 variant provided redemption for both the German carmaker and hardcore 911 fans.
The base model Carrera was a great introduction to the range, but the Carrera S with a larger engine, more power, and a sports suspension and exhaust, marked a new marketing strategy for Porsche, one based on trying to move buyers up from the base model whenever possible.
There was, you might remember, a little unpleasantness around the tendency of the first generation of 997s to score the bores of their engines. IMS bearing failure was still a problem too, as was the engine’s dislike of being over-revved. It was a good start – and a much better car than the 996 it replaced – but more work was needed.
This work was completed in 2007, with the introduction of the second generation 997. The engine was now as bomb-proof as any that Porsche had ever built (which is to say that it is very reliable indeed…) and the car was now available with the company’s brilliant PDK twin-clutch gearbox.
The retuned four-wheel-drive system now featured torque vectoring, which helped turn-in and meant that enthusiastic drivers who needed all-weather mobility were no longer being punished by a somewhat inert and unresponsive chassis.
Performance was strong across the range, with the turbo-charged model capable of hitting 100km/h in around three seconds when fitted with four-wheel-drive and the PDK gearbox.
The second generation 997 effectively marked the point at which even a skilled driver’s inputs were less efficient and slower than those the car could conjure up when left to its own devices.
