Air-cooled flat six, water-cooled flat six, water-cooled turbocharged flat six: standard


You heard right. The most criticized, bashed, and ridiculed, 911 ever produced may soon be rising in brownie points amongst Porsche purists. But more so, it may soon be rising in value.

From it’s mopey “fried egg-like” headlights, to the “meh” rounded 90’s interior and everything in between, this was not a favored generation of the 911. The notoriously pointless cupholders found in every German production car to date were the least of it’s worries. The car was dubbed “bland” in appearance by many, which puzzles me because every 911 produced since 1963 looks exactly the same. I’ll give it this, it surely looked the era. But is that really a bad thing about a car in it’s day?


To make matters worse, the 996 shared a multitude of components with the sub-911 Boxter. The entire front end and dash for starters; A big no-no in the Porsche purist pamphlet. This happened with the 914 as well. For some reason, only certain cars can wear the Porsche badge, like a fraternity: bid or no bid.

Though Porsche’s 2002 model year facelift satisfied some consumers, the damage was already done. People who were already dismayed by the water-cooled transition were constantly bickering over the intermediate shaft bearing failure (IMS) on the M96 motor (which only 4% of over 113,00o units produced faced). The failure ruins the engine completely. Granted the engine design could have been better, due to the crankcase design, engine oil could not reach the bearing to lubricate it.




Then there was grievance on Porsche for the designer responsible for the 996, Pinky Lai. Lai was the first Chinese automotive designer, and was responsible for the complete 996 model line. Pretty cool first gig, huh? Had the boys in Stuttgart lost their minds?

No. Knowingly or not, they were paving the way forward for future 911 generations. But to others, it looked like a Porsche that was put in the microwave.


I owned a 996 C2 and I adored it. First off the flat 6, I don’t care if it’s water-cooled, it can be soft-serve Haagen Dazs Ice Cream cooled. That thing sounded amazing at high RPM’s. Another was the Mercedes-Benz transmission (yes, I had a TipTronic). It was spot on for driving in New York City and Philadelphia traffic, and in manual mode it managed to bring out the inner child in me on the highway. It looked cool, sounded cool, stood out, and was just awesome all around.

So why are we even talking about the 996 again?

Oh, well remember in 1998 when air-cooled production was replaced by water-cooled engines? That’s kind of what’s going on here. Except, it’s not the cooling that’s changing. It’s the way the air is drawn into the engine that is changing.


Bye-bye naturally aspirated flat six’s. Porsche has decided, due to fuel economy/emission standards and regulations, to turbocharge the entire 911 lineup. That’s right, if you haven’t heard so already, every trim in the 911 model lineup will house a turbocharged flat 6. Wait does that make the new 911 Turbo the 911 Turbo Turbo? or Turbo x2? I think the boys in Stuttgart have gone mad this time around.

Unfortunately, with growing global warming and climate change concerns, automotive enthusiasts must suffer the consequences. I mean the consequences of hybrid this, eco-turbo that, and electric drive blah blah blah’s. Those consequences.


So getting to the point.

Air-cooled 911 values skyrocketed when Porsche discontinued production. Still today, a base 993 C2 can go for $50,000 whereas a base 996 C2 in similar condition would go for $10,000.


Now what I’m saying is since there will no longer be any naturally aspirated flat sixes, in 5-10 years the 996 is bound to appreciate in value, exactly like the air-cooled 911’s did. As will the 997’s and 991’s all in time. The demand will be so high for naturally aspirated 911’s, the values will skyrocket. Today, owning a 996 is certainly an investment.

The 996 was never a bad Porsche. It was a new era of the 911, an era that came to an end in 2015. We like roots and originality, who wouldn’t like a 964 in their garage over a 996: it’s part of where it all began. And when everything is solar powered, iPad controlled and Google driven, you can be sure I would have a beaten up 996 in my driveway over a lithium ion battery on wheels.


Brace yourselves. History is bound to repeat itself once more.

Cyrus Eslami is a gearhead by birth who never drives the same car twice. He is the Founder and Owner of Nemesis Motorsports, an automotive brokerage business focusing on niche classic and exotic cars, consignments, and European Import Services. Follow him on Twitter @officialeslami and on Instagram @indigenous_539