Which is your favourite 'do it all' 911? - Page 2 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

Off the back of a couple recent discussions on people using 997s as their every day cars, I am interested in getting your opinions on which is your favourite 911 that does everything. I suspect for lots of people their 911 is a special weekend, touring or track car. But equally for lots the whole appeal is that they are an everyday commuter, school run, supermarket and fun car in one. So if you only had one car and it had to be a 911 which would it be? Brand new Carrera? An older Turbo? 997 GTS? Something air-cooled? Manual / PDK? Does a new-ish 991.2 Carrera T best embody the 'do it all' 911 ethos? Or are you full on and it'd be a GT3 regardless.

For me it is the 997 RS as it has a radio. Otherwise I’d be tempted to put the 996 forward - although no power steering takes commitment in the city, but it has rear seats for my dog to make up for that. They only miss 4wd for going snowboarding in winter Pics for good measure - because every thread is better with pics

I’ve used 997.2 GTS manual and 991.2 Carrera T PDK as daily’s and fun cars. Both filled the role perfectly, apart from the absolutely moronic centre lock wheels on the GTS. So for me I’d give it to the Carrera T. More than enough power for a daily. Modern enough with CarPlay, etc, and an entertaining chassis that makes every journey fun.

Has to be the 996 c2 for me still small enough to nip through gaps in traffic and great power to weight, very comfy to drive long distances as it just munches the miles away, great on the track too 9/10 for me.

I’ve always thought that, whatever the model - 3.2, 964, 993, 996, 997, 991, 992 - a nice Coupe, RWD, Manual, with a few essential options, best represents the ‘classic’ 911 theme. It was exactly this simplicity that made the 911 special and successful in the first place

Koln-RS said: I’ve always thought that, whatever the model - 3.2, 964, 993, 996, 997, 991, 992 - a nice Coupe, RWD, Manual, with a few essential options, best represents the ‘classic’ 911 theme. It was exactly this simplicity that made the 911 special and successful in the first place Indeed. It's just a shame they've long since generally abandoned that adage ...

I'll go the other way for a "do it all" 911...I'm very happy with my 997.2 C4S. Modern enough not to be a ball ache day to day, but still with a bit of a raw edge. 4WD means all year round use is easier, even in snow etc. PDK means you can be lazy or involved. Sport Chrono means the involvement can be sharpened up a lot when in the mood. I also think it's one of those aesthetic sweet spots in 911 history. I am of course biased...but then it's the car I searched out having looked at all the options, so I would be

Got to be the humble 993 carrera for me. Aside from daily-driver role (not 993 forte), this is the perfect 911 for trackdays, errands with young kid/s in the back, local countryside drives with massive engagement at sensible(ish) speeds, longer GT drives e.g. up to Lake District from the south east (standard seats so comfortable), and finally the odd track day here and there as long suspension has been refreshed. Doing double track day at Spa in September, can't wait!

997.1 Turbo (manual) Fast, comfy, extremely well built, always well spec'd and feels very modern to drive. They're do it all because they can cover anything you throw at it in any weather. Still not sure why I sold mine last year, and the hunt for another one is not bearing fruit right now - too many people wanting silly money (imo).

I always thought my first 911, a 996 3.4 with factory sports option pack was all I ever really needed in a 911 and was just a great package, been tempted to buy another one a few times now. More than fast enough for the road, comfortable enough on a long run and a real blast on a windy road. Never tracked that one, but had a few laps around Knockhill with Alan McNish in a same spec car, that kind of blew me away at the time !!

I chose my 997.1 C4S specifically because it fulfilled this brief and it has delivered it aplenty. I don't drive daily, but the 997 has been used to carry 50+ bottles of wine through Europe in middle of winter, go skiing, go mountain biking and fully loaded on 2-month long summer Euro trips with child several years now. Its generally comfortable (great seats, bit noisy), surprisingly spacious, fun to drive yet safe. Occasionally a bit too fast really, its so easy to press pedal to the metal and be over the stated speed limit at any given time. So, for me its the 997 Carrera that takes my vote. However, I do think that any Carrera variant works. My only concern is age, as any car gets older its more risky that, no matter how well maintained, there might be issues which could get in the way of "doing it all" as that intrinsically requires for the car to be reliable.

997.1 C4S.

Possibly the 997 GTS or first gen na 991 GTS but thinking about it neither cars are actually special enough even with 'manuel' gearboxes. So for the sweetspot its the 991.2 GT3 winged 'manuel' or even the Touring both of which offer that heady mix of driver interaction even at lower speeds with very special occasion, warp speed with effective cup car engine, reasonable usability overall, charismatic pre ppf authetic sounding engine (now lost on the 992 GT3) with 9k rev limit with contantly variable awesome induction noises across the whole rev range, old school mech diff, perfectly spaced gear ratios and gearbox action with a remarkable flatshift option for added entertainment. Only really gripe is the overlight clutch which since late 2017 Porsche saw fit to fit in all their GT cars presumably to keep the wusses/snowflakes happy.

997.2 c2s. I also ran a Caterham Superlight and now a v12s Vantage as daily cars My opinion may not be entirely trustworthy…

I first fell in love with the 911 ethos back in the early 80s because of the one car does it all. So any 911 will do depending on your flavour, manual or auto, turbo or NA , 2wd or 4wd and so on. Mine would have been a 997SC when you could buy one a few years back for less than a £100k! Would have been extremely economical too! Now I think it’s got to be a a base 991.2 pre September 2018 so no Gpf.

I think the original ethos of the 911 has become a bit lost recently. The new 911 cars are certainly great, but wasn’t the 911 a small, light, nimble sports car, not a GT? Therefore, is the new ‘do it all’ 911 actually a Cayman? Although, to answer the question, probably a 997 C4 with PDK! Edited by mrfunex on Tuesday 5th April 18:29

A C4 with PDK is about as far removed from the original 911 ethos as you can get lol.

OP pretty much describes my situation.. can only have one car in the household (live in London with only 1 parking permit allowed each and wife doesn’t drive!) and it had to be a 911! Needs to handle family days out with the dog, school runs with 3 11 year olds , B&Q trips as well as track days and Nurburgring trips Manual 991.1 GTS ticks all the boxes for me, a manual 991.2 GT3 would be lovely but the lack of rear seats is a deal breaker for me and the “only car” brief

As we all know the 911 is not the only iconic car to increase in size, mini, golf, 3 series etc. It is what it is but a modern 911 is still small compared to many cars these days so imo the original ethos is still there for the modern era. Also I don’t think a caymans footprint is that much smaller than a 911, basically same car although 911 engine is out back but has a shorter wheelbase than the cayman (or use too)

AND7 F said: OP pretty much describes my situation.. can only have one car in the household (live in London with only 1 parking permit allowed each and wife doesn’t drive!) and it had to be a 911! Needs to handle family days out with the dog, school runs with 3 11 year olds , B&Q trips as well as track days and Nurburgring trips Manual 991.1 GTS ticks all the boxes for me, a manual 991.2 GT3 would be lovely but the lack of rear seats is a deal breaker for me and the “only car” brief Haha, great pic. To me this is where it is difficult to think of a single other car that fits the bill.

Without a doubt it would be my 991.2 GT3 touring. My kids are too big to fit in the back of a 911 now so the lack of rear seats is a non issue now. It’s perfectly civilised for long journeys, small enough to easily park and biblically good on track. Plus it has bags of character and still feels like a 911 even at sensible road speeds.

GT4P said: As we all know the 911 is not the only iconic car to increase in size, mini, golf, 3 series etc. Agreed. I don't think that the original 901/911 was specifically designed to be light and small. Its more that those were the normal configurations of cars at the time. Rather, the design brief was for a car that would be enjoyable to drive / sporty while retaining the ability to be used with the whole family, which I believe led to the whole "engine out the back" design concept. The other point is that the 911 never shied away from being a "top of the range" vehicle and, like it or not, these days that involves a certain size and weight. Edited by RiccardoG on Wednesday 6th April 11:32

[quote=seawise]Without a doubt it would be my 991.2 GT3 touring. My kids are too big to fit in the back of a 911 now so the lack of rear seats is a non issue now. It’s perfectly civilised for long journeys, small enough to easily park and biblically good on track. Plus it has bags of character and still feels like a 911 even at sensible road speeds. Very nice and I am looking at manual GT3s for when this day comes for me.. shame they are twice the price of a GTS but may be doable My other concern with running a GT3 as an only car is their sensitivity to mileage seems to be much higher than for the regular models so that even racking up 5000 a year like I do would become expensive in terms of resale

AND7 F]eawise said: Without a doubt it would be my 991.2 GT3 touring. My kids are too big to fit in the back of a 911 now so the lack of rear seats is a non issue now. It’s perfectly civilised for long journeys, small enough to easily park and biblically good on track. Plus it has bags of character and still feels like a 911 even at sensible road speeds. Very nice and I am looking at manual GT3s for when this day comes for me.. shame they are twice the price of a GTS but may be doable My other concern with running a GT3 as an only car is their sensitivity to mileage seems to be much higher than for the regular models so that even racking up 5000 a year like I do would become expensive in terms of resale Wouldn't say GT3s are impacted more than any other niche cars in this price category and in many cases they are actually less sensitive to mileage depreciation.

seawise said: My kids are too big to fit in the back of a 911 now so the lack of rear seats is a non issue now. So arguably no 911 is the 'do it all' 911 for you

olv said: So arguably no 911 is the 'do it all' 911 for you They can walk

seawise said: They can walk Haha Your Touring is pretty much the perfect 911 to me.

I use my manual 991.1 as a daily. It’s great. It’s low key (agate grey), so doesn’t get attention. Pretty small, so easy to park. Pretty efficient. Can fit children in. And golf clubs. And good fun to drive. Aware it’s not nearly as fast as more exotic varieties, but I’ve never once found myself thinking “if only this was faster…” I’ve had bigger cars in the past (switched from ffrr to 911), and I’d frequently take wife’s car over mine, as always just a bit easier to live with if popping out. But with current set up, I choose 911 everytime. It really is a good do it all car…

AND7 F said: OP pretty much describes my situation.. can only have one car in the household (live in London with only 1 parking permit allowed each and wife doesn’t drive!) and it had to be a 911! Needs to handle family days out with the dog, school runs with 3 11 year olds , B&Q trips as well as track days and Nurburgring trips Manual 991.1 GTS ticks all the boxes for me, a manual 991.2 GT3 would be lovely but the lack of rear seats is a deal breaker for me and the “only car” brief Been admiring your GTS for a few years. Can't help but stop and stare every time I wander past to have a couple of beers at the Shakespeare. Wondered if I'd ever spot it online! Great looking 911

996 Turbo, but I would say that. Mine has a tiptronic box so it's handy for getting stuck in traffic. And it has two snails to blow into the engine when you want your thrills.

Mallone said: Been admiring your GTS for a few years. Can't help but stop and stare every time I wander past to have a couple of beers at the Shakespeare. Wondered if I'd ever spot it online! Great looking 911 Haha thanks! Let me know next time you’re going and I’ll pop in for a pint 🍺 will PM you

olv said: AND7 F said: OP pretty much describes my situation.. can only have one car in the household (live in London with only 1 parking permit allowed each and wife doesn’t drive!) and it had to be a 911! Needs to handle family days out with the dog, school runs with 3 11 year olds , B&Q trips as well as track days and Nurburgring trips Manual 991.1 GTS ticks all the boxes for me, a manual 991.2 GT3 would be lovely but the lack of rear seats is a deal breaker for me and the “only car” brief Haha, great pic. To me this is where it is difficult to think of a single other car that fits the bill. This was the design and market ethos of the original 911 (or should that be 901 ) A car for the business man who required their car for work day to day that would be sporty to drive but also capable of carry the wife and kids in (hence the rear seats) at weekends . An all in one business & sports car.

I have just sold my manual 997 GTS….great car and as far as water cooled non GT cars go as good as it gets for hustling down a country lane. Sad to see it go, owned it 5 years and not driving enough any more because I have other cars which distract my attention. Everyone will have a different definition of “do it all” 911 but it is certainly a very strong contender. Seawise’s GT3 Touring is hard to see past but for some people the ride might be a bit firm and the two seats might not work. We all have different priorities. 2 I could have specced a Touring and sometimes regret it but then at other’s I’m glad I went old school !

Mine is the "do it all" 911. A new one. The C2 is the best one for the UKs bumpy pot holed roads. Old cars are old cars. I know, I spend quite alot of my life fixing them, and have done since I was 17. I love them, but not as a daily. I could not stick the best part of £100k in a daily without a warranty! I would quite happily stick £100k in a toy, no problem. My 911 is a daily. I just happens to be a nice one. I spend too much time in my friends garage helping him fix modern complicated cars that go wrong frequently. I do this voluntarily. I am pretty skeptical about the reliability of anything interesting that is 10 years old or more. Picking up a brand new 911 is a very special experience if you like 911s. There are plenty of nearly new ones out their that have racked up their first 1000 miles on a racetrack. No thanks. 30,000 miles up on mine and it is perfect. One oil service, 2 sets of rear tyres, one set of front tyres. It is used but also molly coddled. Because I use it everyday, I often see 34 mpg trundling around. Just ordered a new one, because it might take 2 years to arrive! My "old" one will be the best part of 5 years old by then. I dont want to be without one. I am going for a manual! I take passengers too. No sweat. I will hopefully buy an old one too over the next few months. I quite fancy a 60s 912 or 911. Just been looking at Drolas on Youtube. He has a very nice SC and 912 project. Tempting. That will be more of a toy than a "daily".

Can’t disagree. Although I still haven’t quite found the love for the 992 - every time I see that car, it confirms that the plain vanilla C2 variant is the perfect 911. I love the fact that it always looks like it is used as its maker intended. And, a nice patina of road film always looks so much more purposeful Edited by Koln-RS on Saturday 9th April 21:10

olv said: Off the back of a couple recent discussions on people using 997s as their every day cars, I am interested in getting your opinions on which is your favourite 911 that does everything. I suspect for lots of people their 911 is a special weekend, touring or track car. But equally for lots the whole appeal is that they are an everyday commuter, school run, supermarket and fun car in one. So if you only had one car and it had to be a 911 which would it be? Brand new Carrera? An older Turbo? 997 GTS? Something air-cooled? Manual / PDK? Does a new-ish 991.2 Carrera T best embody the 'do it all' 911 ethos? Or are you full on and it'd be a GT3 regardless. 997 GTS. I had a number of 911s and it was the best.

Louis Balfour said: 997 GTS. I had a number of 911s and it was the best. Agree great car. Miss mine but I'm not convinced it tops the newer stuff tbh.