BUYING GUIDE
The turning point from air- to water-cooled 911 is fast becoming a classic in its own right. Here’s how to bag the best bargain
The 996 generation of Porsche’s 911 sports car hit the market surrounded by a lot of discourse. Beneath the new styling and a departure from the perfectly round headlamps was something that really got chins wagging. Under the bonnet, still firmly at the rear of the car, lay a new engine.
Gone was the air-and oil-cooled M64 flat-six and in its place was a water-cooled unit. Driven by a need for efficiency and lower emissions, Porsche stepped away from the 911’s traditional style of engine in a bid to keep its sports car viable in a fast-changing market.
Porsche was struggling to stay afloat and had a lot riding on its new generation of 911 and its smaller stablemate, the 986 Boxster. The two shared a lot of development work in a bid to keep costs down, with the front suspension, interior elements and the engine all being shared (though the engine was enlarged for the 911). Even the frontal styling was shared, both featuring ‘fried egg’-style headlamps, but this was later revised on the 911 to help distinguish the two at the request of concerned customers who didn’t want their 911s to be mistaken for the cheaper option. Nonetheless, the penny pinching and shared work saved 30 per cent of the car’s development cost and this, coupled with the barnstorming sales of the baby Boxster, allowed Porsche to weather the storm and so the 911 continued onwards into the new millennium.
Spec and trim differed hugely, from the base two-wheel-drive early 3.4s, right the way through to the 195mph GT2, a barely road-tamed version of the racing model built to homologate the car.
From engaging sports car to hair-raising track star, the 996’s range was undeniable and rekindled a passion for the car within the buying public.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Cracked cylinder heads are rare but cylinder liners can crack, leading to water and oil mixing. This will likely lead to bore scoring, which manifests itself as a ticking at low revs with blue smoke trailing from the exhaust. An engine rebuild will likely be needed. The 3.4-litre engines are more prone to cracked heads than the 3.6. The oil separator can fail and the engine can ingest oil, resulting in blue smoke. It’s cheap to replace but fiddly. Don’t mistake this blue smoke for the typical flat-six trait of the odd puff of oil smoke if the car has been sitting for a while.
The internet would have you believe that the 996’s intermediate shaft (IMS) bearing is a ticking time-bomb but a quick check of the oil and filter bow
