996 C2 or C4

After cherishing my 1985 944 Turbo for the last 10 years it's now time to move on up with the "big boys"!! My budget will stretch to an under 10 year old 996 but from experience, what do you recommend, a C2 or C4?? I know that Top Gear's "Hamster" Hammond owns and prefers a C2 but I would like a general opinion.

C2 has bigger boot, bit more economical, bit cheaper to run. The cars didn't seem any different to drive/handle. Bought C2 in the end

I've only ever driven a 993 3.6 Turbo, a 996 C4S & I currently drive a C4. In my humble opinion, I love the security that the 4wd gives me, I haven't lost it yet, the sphincter muscles start twitching long before the rear does! You lose a little space in the front but i still get 3-4 decent sizes tesco bags in there from shopping or a fair sized wheelie suitcase. So I'd stick with the C4 for the sure footed ride, I'm sure C2 owners will add their comments now!!

C2 for me all day long, more fun.

I've had a C4 and now I have a C2 and the only real differences I have experienced is the bigger boot space on the C2 and lack of PSM. I would say that it all depends on your confidence level of driving the car, personally I prefer a rear wheel drive car as it suits my driving style and like to get the back end out and hold it there, not something easy to do when the front wheels are trying to pull you back in line. The 4wd does come into play in the winter though if you use it as a daily driver, so there is that little bit of reassurance. The only other thing that crossed my mind is the fact that the C4 has the additional drivetrain that could give problems eventually, but hey its a Porsche, what could possibly go wrong???..................

I've had my 996 C2 for four years now. It's great fun. A lot of people tend to prefer the look of the C4S - especially in the 996 guise. What a lot of people don't realise is that the C4S is slightly slower (0 to 60), is heavier on tyres, less economical, sometimes more to insure (due to its desirability) and has a smaller boot. All of these things are very marginal but on the whole I'd say that the C2 is the "purest" version of the classic 911 (IMHO). - Look out! Here come the air-cooled gang to lynch me!! :lol: Adrian.

C2 - simples.

I had a 996 C4, before moving to a 997 C2S, so whilst it's not a true test to compare the 4wd 996 with the rwd 997, I can give you my experience. The 4wd does feel more planted on the road, whilst the rwd does become a little 'light' at the front end when pushed hard. In terms of handling, I think unless you're tracking the car, I don't think you'll really notice the added drive to front wheels - especially if only using it for normal daily driving. The only other difference is that the boot is much smaller on the C4 due to the 4wd set-up. I think the best approach will be to test drive both variants, and decide for yourself.

Always a little wary of RWD, all very well that you can hang the tail out and drift on a track, but sadly oil, water, ice, leaves, cold tires and basically the unforeseen tends to result in greater effects the more powerful the RWD car. Add the historically romantic (and useful in drag racing), but ultimately when the laws of physics are considered, non-ideal engine positioning, and I am afraid I go for the C4. I have previously managed to get a couple of C2 sideways on the (cold) dry and they were fully PSM'd 997s. However, touch wood, never lost a Turbo or C4. Somehow, I want my idea of a "Hedge Fund" to remain the perceived reason for global economic crashes, not the funds needed to fix wayward C2 crashes. On the positive side, particularly in regard to pre-facelift 996.1, the car benefits from slightly more weight over front wheels (just compare C2 with full and empty tank for nuances), which brings a preferable steering response in my opinion (bear in mind, normal driving in C4 only sees 5% torque to front wheels, so it is not a "hot hatch" torque steer scenario putting down roughly 15 lbft through that width of tire). You get PSM as standard, which you can switch off, so in itself it is not a hindrance for tracking etc. On the tires point, ok do you loose the ability to "light up the rear tires", but the AWD means, if anything the tires are worn out slower. Again comparing early cars, C4s all had eGas drive-by-wire which allows easy cruise control upgrade if nothing else (also more advanced engine management). With regard the boot space. Firstly, it's a sports car not a Volvo estate, secondly, erm, rear boot, two rear seats and folding seat backs, so in a straight competition with Ferrari 360 the Porker wins the B&Q and dog transport challenge hands down! Seriously, though, the C2 has it's inflated spare wheel and toolkit vertical, so actual front to back dimensions are almost identical. The C4 has it's tool kit and deflated spare wheel in the boot well. Ok so you loose out on height, but the average squashy bag, or washing bucket (!) is alot shorter (the C2 boot is actually quite deep). So the headroom would be wasted any way, unless you planned to squash one and half bags in it. Finally, again more significantly on the prefacelift 996.1, the C4 has the same torsionally strengthened front chassis and body structure as the GT3. Ok, technically the GT3 stole the structure from the C4, but either way Porsche saw fit to use it on the GT3. As mentioned, the true test it to drive both. If you can't tell the difference (or you prefer the C4), buy the C4. Because the day you NEED to tell the difference, it may be too late. PS - as for reliability, Porsche has used AWD on road cars since mid80s. The sytem was Subaru designed for 993 and further developed for 996 etc. Now, I haven't heard any horror stories on C4, but perhaps they have just been hiding behind the blizzard of RMS, IMS and general engine failures!

From my limited experience (I've only driven a C4 a few times), I'd go for a C2. I've had my C2 for a couple of years now and never felt like I needed 4WD. Mind you, I've had a couple of TVRs so I'm used to "managing" the back end when needed! I also have other options if it's snowing so can't comment on that. I do think the C4S is slightly "prettier" though so I had the same dilema when I bought my C2. The dealer I bought mine from sealed it for me. He said the C4 drives like a C2 with 2 fat guys in the back Hope this helps!

I've always liked to drive my cars without all the aids and gizmos, so the C2 was the obvious choice. only had the backend out once and that was at brands track day. TB

I think it would be more helpful if we had some objective comments. Did the salesman have a C2 to sell by any chance? In any case, I am not sure I would take a saleman's word over actually experiencing it for myself. There must be a reason for the C4s existance and there must be a market otherwise Porsche wouldn't have offered it for the last four generations (964, 993, 996, 997). The C4 adds 55 kg (not two fat guys or even one) and it is added in the drive line, front differential and driveshafts and the additional structural rigidity of the front chassis/shell (so if anything the weight is over the front to middle of the car, not the back). For comparison, your fuel tank is 64 litres capacity or almost 64kg! Finally, if you want a more balanced drive (weightwise) get the C4: the extra mechanicals improves the front / rear weight distribution from 38/62 to 40/60

I think the 996 C4S is a 911/996 bargain right now and will hold it's value well vs other 996's. It also looks fantastic in black or atlas.......and if I wanted a 996 I'd buy a good C4S(coupe or cab) in a heartbeat.

I can't help concluding that the fact that there's talk of the difference in road holding, etc between these two cars is simply a product of the sort of 'information' that we're regularly subjected to to by such shows as Top Gear and Fifth Gear. We constantly see images of these cars being absolutely thrashed 'round a closed airport where the driver has the skills, space and complete lack of regard for the clutch, tyres, etc. on the car - as he doesn't have to replace them. I've had my 996 C2 for long enough to know that in the real world you'd have to go into a corner at a really ridiculous speed to get the car to lose the back end. You can't even do this on a track as; a) most of them aren't wide enough and; b) there'll probably be someone right behind you ready to rear-end you if you get it wrong! Day to day, the only noticeable difference between a C2 and a C4S will be the bodywork and slight difference in running costs. Personally, I would just let Audi play with their four wheel drive systems! They're better at it and it doesn't suit Porsche anyway - especially 911's. :worship:

"Day to day, the only noticeable difference between a C2 and a C4S will be the bodywork and slight difference in running costs. Personally, I would just let Audi play with their four wheel drive systems! They're better at it and it doesn't suit Porsche anyway - especially 911's. " Do try/roadtest a 997 C4S and you will be shocked at just how good it is for 95% of the driving conditions you are likely to encounter vs the prev 911 4WD NA cars. :thumb: :thumb: