Carrera 2 vs Carrera 4.. how to tell?

Ok, I'll pause for laughter.. but how can you tell the difference between the 2 just by looking? I know the 4 is wider in the back (inch or 2, hard to tell), but what other clues or are there vin differences? I guess you could look underneath.. but if there is a aero kit and undertray... it is kinda hard to tell. Thanks in advance!

Hmmm, no the back-end is tha same. Ooh ooh, I know. It says Carrera 4 on the back!!

Carrera 4 have silver-painted brake calipers from factory. Carrera 2 have black-painted ones.

and the Carrera 4S have the wide body (I think)

That's correct, the C4S is the wide body (turbo body), but was only available 2002+ in the 996 model. Easiest way to distinguish is as arr0gant stated, it says Carrera 4 vs Carrera on the back.

The badging is obvious...IF the badge exists.

Other than the badge and caliper color there is no wat to tell by looking....if you can get into the front trunk it has less room than a C2 because of the front diff. Oh on wet roads it wont be sideways...lol...

Sadly, its seems with many german car enthusiasts like to debadge the cars and some makes allow to order the cars without them. Not to mention the people who get fake badges.. I have seen a million S500 badged as S600

but why does it matter? They are both great 911's...if you are buying one you will know.....

It does matter, because I appraise them for my company. If there is an easy way to tell I won't have to put them on a lift. This will allow me to cut down on the time it takes to do an appraisal.. making happier customers

Yes look in the front trunk. No way to hide the front diff and stuff.....now a GT3 (and GT2?) which is a RWD also has the same space as teh C4/C4S/TT...they use the C4/C4S/TT chassis for the stiffness. Also look on the registration! I am sure there is a way to tell via the VIN number as well as there is a code for the model, I just dont have that info..but you can google that....Also look at the car ID stamp...wont it say Carrera 4?????? LOTS of ways to tell if you are appraising it. most of us thought you meant if one drives by you.....

Popping the trunk lid makes it very obvious. A C4 won't have a spare, a false bottom on the floor with tools underneath and the big hump in the back. Porsche did make a non-widebody 996 C4. The C4S is the widebody, essentually a Turbo body without the turbo engine or the turbo engine lid. The other key indicator (besides the emblem on the back) of a C4 over a C2 is the C4 came with gray painted brake calipers with the same brakes as the regular C2.

I have an 02 C4, and yes less space in the front. My spare blowup tire sits at the bottom in a false compartment. And I have silver/brushed calipers (soon to be red )

If you are appraising it, does the insurance paper tells you what model it is? If you still not sure, just turn the front wheels and look for the drive shaft....

Drive it fast and see if it understeers to oversteers.

Use Scousers VIN Decoder at Renntech... http://www.renntech.org/forums/index...de=vin_decoder Actually the VIN doesn't specify C2 or C4... when I ran my VIN it came up with: 3rd digit (996 - 911 Carrera 2/C4/C4S/RS/turbo/turbo S/GTx) So that narrows it down.

You appraise cars... for a living... So if cosmetic external cues such as the badging isn't present, and the brake calipers were repainted from Silver, and you don't want to open up the front trunk to look for the lack of spair and false bottom. One method that can't be disguised is to turn the front wheels full lock in either direction and peek the f in. If there is a CV joint and an axle.. I think it is a C4. done.

Window Sticker.

A picture says a thousand words. Here is the trunk of my C4. The "hump" is the giveaway. The spare tire (not shown) is collapsed and is under the floor of the trunk. In a C2 there is no "hump" and the spare is an inflated donut which sits in the trunk.

drive it in the snow fast, then turn the thing.....see what happens.....

Wow, the few posts I have had on here, the people have always been very helpful and informative. I figured I was bound to come across somebody like this. Obviously there are other methods. I just wanted to find some quick things to look for. I rarely appraise Porsches since I don't work for a high-line dealer and I'm the first to admit that there is always something more to learn. But you have to remember that there are more than just Porsches out there. I have to know something about almost every car made. The internet and 45 minutes is not always possible when you 4 deep in cars and customers are pissing and moaning that that car is not ready yet. Do you know all the options, trim and engine sizes for almost every car made in the last 20 years? Could you just look and tell? For the most part I can, there are just cars I don't see on a regular basis I want to learn about.. to make sure I doing the best job I can. Thanks to all that have helped and kept the sarcasm to themselves!

C4's are also a little lower.

Sure about that?

Verist, Chill out. regardless of the car make... If you are trying to ascertain if the thing is AWD then a "universally" viable method is to peek inside the front wheel well of the car in question with the wheels turned and see if there is a driveshaft connected to the thing. That was the nature of my post.. to look for something universally common in awd cars. If you are looking at a 996 narrowbody that is debadged and the calipers are repainted and you looked in the front trunk and are still unsure. Check out the front drivetrain. That should always tell you if you have any doubts left about what it is. C2 or C4. Your welcome.

Very easy to tell a widebody for me from the back, they look like the head of a Kirby vacuum cleaner.

The C4 is not a widebody car... only the C4S. Here is a pic of my C4 and C4S - before my wife made me get rid of the C4, oh but she gets to have two purses and I don't bitch.

yes, very sure, 1 inch, I think. and yes, c4 is narrow body, same as c2.

i think i'm sure.............................. you have one, go stick your finger in the fender gap and report back!

nevermind, I guess you used to have one, me too.

Sorry if I came across a bit sensitive, but with comments like "Like Peek the F in" I could not help but jump to that conclusion. Again, thanks to everyone who took the time to post here.

Rob, now we know the real reason you got rid of the C4. It was not because your wife made you sell it, it was bacause the C4 had a "back brace." I'll bet that when you were talking to perspective buyers you were "marketing" the back brace as the Porsche Transport System, and obviously someone bought into that marketing pitch. As they say... marketing is everything!