culture clash - 996 C2tip versus 964RS

Incredible! I am the privileged owner of a 996C2 Tip for last 3 years and now a 964RS for last 36 hours. Both have 300bhp ( 964 has been hotted from the factory 260 bhp) and the older car is a bit lighter maybe 250 lb but a lot noisier. I am relearning how to drive with the 964, manual steering, manual gearbox, solid suspension , more trips to the dealer. First impression is that 964RS is an icon - a 'real porsche' , nervy and involving and stressful. The 996 is soft and rewarding - you can go fast and not suffer a heart attack. The 964 looks close to the original 911. Both cars when new cost similar big figures, but deliver different appeal. Do any other 996 owners have an older Porsche to compare ?

FWIW, I went from a stock 94 964 Speedster to a stock 98 993CS to an 02 C4 Cab/TipS Speedster was light, fast, "tossable" and limited use. 993 was faster, sleeker and more general purpose use, altho it was lowered and a 6 spd. 02 Cab is more of a GT car, more easy going, less effort to drive, classier but clearly not a classic. The older I get the softer I want the ride!

I would love a older p-car like RSA 964 just because of bare necessities and firm ride which makes it all that fun to toss around. Only thing is getting use to that clutch action from the floor-totally different then mounted on top-which been use to all my life. But wife factor forbids me in the near future on a second one : (. She wants another car first-I'm dead last. Regards. Mike

I have a 996 and US Carrera Cup car. The Cup Car is the ultimate street and club car. I race the cup and drive it on the street. It is brutal, fun and ALL PORSCHE. Now that I've past my 40th birthday, the 996 makes sense. But I don't think I would sell the Cup car anytime soon. BTW, If anyone is interested, I know where there is a 92 US Carrera Cup car for sale. Jim Newman

I to am blessed to have the multi Porsche experence. Started w/ a new '86 944/5-speed, loved it, fun/ nary ever a problem,78k miles then I sold it & got a'02 O. Red 966/w/ factory "aero-kit",6-speed, "sport exhaust", short shift, My 1st 911!,... then the CVRpca DE's/ AX bug got me. & started looking & asking & found( July) a Beatuiful cared for '91 964 C2! Track CAR!! A good PPI confirmed it , the price- lucky me made a great deal & tracked it stock Aug 23rd @ LRock, what a blast! No PSM!/etc so for now I'm having more fun/learning how to handle a "more" classic 911! <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" /> <a href="http://www.www.cvrpca.org/n_cvrmonly_b.htm" target="_blank">CVRPCA.org</a>

[quote] I am relearning how to drive with the 964, manual steering, manual gearbox, solid suspension , more trips to the dealer. <hr></blockquote> Great to hear all of your impressions. I think a lot of us first-time owners who have become Porsche owners with a 996 often stop to think: "What if we had bought an older "truer" Porsche." As you are all aware, many have criticized (although lot less in recent months as the 996 has finally started to integrate itself into Porsche society) that the 996 was a marked departure from a purebread Porsche, and that much of the "true" Porsche feeling has been lost by creating the level of refinement that has gone into the 996. Although I would like to own an older Porsche one day just to breath the old legends, I do get concerned about the maintenance costs, and the frequent trips to the shop and overall headache. Nonetheless, I look forward to owning my very own pre-996 marque one day, when I overcome these psycological obstacles. Regards.

Vik, just hold on to yout current 996. Every Porsche evolution has been greeted with the statement "It is no longer a Porsche". Whether it is the front engine rear-wheel evolution or the slight forward migration of the rear engine relative to the rear axle or the development of the watercooled engine, or the more tractable nature of the 996. Give it a few years, and the next evolution again will be called "not a true Porsche", and the 996 will be considered the benchmark.

Vik/Palting So true... I have been an avid Porsche fan for many years. Every new model has been swarmed with critics. Every new model has had it's share of problems. I loved my old air cooled 911 and drove it every day for 6 years. I now own a 99 996 that I love to drive as my daily driver. My driving skills are not very well honed and the 996 makes driving easy and fun. The only thing I really miss about my old 911 is the cacophony of the classic air-cooled engine.

Having come out of a 96 C4 into my 2000 C2,I have the say the C2 is certainly a better car, but not built anywhere near as well as the 993. (Had a plastic piece fall off in the Drivers footwell in the middle of an autocross run yesterday!) I had recently installed the HR setup in the car and had to bring the car back to my tech as it had developed a wierd noise. He "had" to drive the car...put about 200 miles on it <img src="graemlins/nono.gif" border="0" alt="[nono]" /> ostensibly to determine where the noise was coming from. He typically deals with 70s through 993s for race setup and told me that my car was the best porsche he's ever driven. As he put it, great linear power, shifts smooth, handling incredibly forgiving and rock stable. What more could you ask. The 996 is a great car and certainly worthy of the name. That said, I'm the market for a older 911 or 944 to DE and track.

interesting to see the opinions from 996 owners. I am going to hang on to both cars, I keep 996 at home in full view of wife, and the 964RS away from home in a lock-up garage, its not a shopping or commute car. I would not want to be faced with an either-or decision on which car to keep, the head says the 996, which is a great car.....the nether regions say the RS, which leaves you trembling after a 30 minute exploration of its capability envelope.....which is always going to be difficult to explain to the wife...

palting's comments are perfect--current porsche models are always criticized. i remember when 356's were the only "real porsches" <img src="graemlins/nono.gif" border="0" alt="[nono]" /> <img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" /> my 2002 c4s is twice the car that my '79 911sc ever was. psm now saves us if we lift the throttle in a curve. awd makes rain a non event. i believe that mawkish nostalgia is best reserved for girlfriends instead of porsches!