The 996 is like the ugliest...

Victoria Secret supermodel. OK. I will admit it. There are people who don't think my 996 is one of the most attractive Porsche's ever made. For my comparison, I will use the above mentioned supermodels. If you take all of them and line them up, there will be models that people think are more attractive and models that people will see as less attractive. But there will all be people who think the less attractive models are the most beautiful. And you can't convince them otherwise. The fact of the matter is that they are all Victoria Secret supermodels. And if you show up somewhere with one of them on your arm everyone will say wow. Make sense? Since the weather got cold instead of working on the cars and driving my cars I now drive and spend time on Rennlist (and learning to rant). I have been browsing other forums like the air cooled ones and looking at some of the articles posted here. This is my first experience with the Porsche Purists - who in my opinion are mostly a bunch of douche bags. If you like your car, great. But what makes them feel compelled to bash others? I mean really. Take you average 964-993 owner. Their car is worth about the same as a loaded Accord and less than a new BMW. And if they drive it, god forbid, the maintenance bills will be more than the car appreciates. If they don't drive it and use it as a work of art, great. But then why bash mine? I think I may start a rant of the week column every Thursday until the weather warms up.

I'm agree with you the only "not attractive cosmetic" is the headlights other than that the rest of the vehicle is beautiful and I started to love the headlights, I saw a thread on the off topic forum, regarding a publicity stunt in NYC, they were rolling a 996 and a Boxster with spray paint http://jalopnik.com/these-trashed-po...unt-1665135107 the comments from the other Porsche owners were but not limited to : It's a 996 that actually will increase the value Finally someone bought all 996 and they will send them to the junkyard were they belong and so on I can't not believe even between on our community some people despise this vehicles, I would understand completely if someone who has a mechanical failure after talking good care and maintenance of the car doesn't want to see it or bash it everywhere but not form someone who never own one.

I find only Porsche experts (forum members) can tell the difference between our 996's and newer 997's! To most, it's an expensive, modern supercar that brings admiring looks.

I think the headlights are great but then again I'm an engineer not a "Porsche guy." I appreciate the modularity of the unit, the way they can be easily removed and reinstalled. Very German in design. I also appreciate the fact that other 911 guys hate them. This way I can **** off all the other drivers, including other 911 drivers. Win win I say.

I think at the end of the day what it comes down to is affordability. If I could afford a 991 I would have bought one and it would not be because of the headlights. I don't believe in leasing. 996 was in my affordable extra car budget range so I went for it. Personally, I don't care about the design of the headlights. Why are we talking about this anyway? There are gazillion comments and bashing of the headlight issue.

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Because I am bored at work. And I am not bashing. I am dating a supermodel. And I think she is the most attractive out there. And you can't convince me other wise.

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I have to admit that she does look good.

Before I can agree I need to see the Victoria Secret model...then I'll issue a verdict.

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You need an Aerokit front-end (full kit really, but I find the normal front bumper distracting) on that and your driver side light could use a polish And stay out of the AC forums. Insanity lies down that road. In fact, stay out of the 997 and 991 forums too as they are almost as bad. The 996 forum is the only place you'll find a majority of people that actually enjoy using their car for what it was made (driving). Under no circumstances should you ever admit to owning (much less liking) a 996 anywhere outside the safety of this board. The damage to your psyche will be irreparable. Unless you are a glutton for abuse, then go into RLOT and talk about how you find the 996 the best looking of all 911s. That'll make you lots of friends

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Great analogy.

The 996 forum is the only place you'll find a majority of people that actually enjoy using their car for what it was made (driving). Id say you are safe in the GT3 forums as well. 996 GT3 is pretty damn attractive. And hey I actually like our headlights, they are unique at least and have a futuristic techno shape to them. Every time I walk up to or away from my 4S I'm grinning ear to ear. Lowered with the right stance these cars can be very good looking in my opinion.

I would have my 996 have "bug eyes", if I could snap my finger and make it happen. But I am fine with the lights it has. And I think the car is better looking than the 991. I think the car has become too long and too wide (which is what the air-cooled guys say about the 996, I suppose). And the "911" badge? Please... I guess this makes me belong with a 997, which is sort of what I now have, behind the seats.

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The passenger headlight is brand new thanks to a deer. The drivers side has been polished, and polished, and polished but I can't make them match. The car is covered with salt and road debris also. I have not had time to take it to the car wash (gasp - yea a car wash) this week. I think I am going to AC forums and complain about how I want might want one, but I can't get how much they suck because they have bad interiors and outdated looks. And forget how bad they perform compared to a water cooled car. Then I am going to go to the 991 forum and complain about how I wanted one but it was too big and cushy and felt more like a GT car than a sports car. I can't actually complain about the 997's. I actually like them except they have those outdated "retro" headlights.

Oh, and the aero kit. Best looking 911 avail in the states (The GT3 mark I is the sh**, but never got across the pond. I am always on the lookout for a silver Carrera 4, full aero kit, black full supple leather, with litronics and a tip.

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You're lucky. New Halogen covers are cheap compared to the Litronic ones. Our's look horrid (the polish looked OK for about 2 weeks) but I just can't justify $1700/each Our's lives outside and hasn't had a bath since it was in body shop 10 months ago. Before that when it was in the body shop (stupid tailgaters) the previous July. I honestly have no idea when it's last bath before that was, probably a few years Point out that it's not really anything but a re-skined and re-tuned 996. That'll stir the pot good

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Indeed. Except for being black outside and having the 6mt it sounds like you'd appreciate her car I suppose it's an effect of living with it for 14 years, but the non-Aero 996s (997s and 991s too really) look unfinished. The Aero bits finish the lines off nicely in my opinion and I think the Taco wing is the best of any before or since.

Really, it has been down hill ever since Porsche made the mistake of replacing the Beautiful, Sleek, Light (~1100lb) Gmund aluminum 356, with the porky ~(1500lb!) steel 356. And then the ill-fated 901/911 (2400lb!!) monstrosity... It's a wonder the company didn't fold right then.

356? 356? Don't talk to me about that piece of carp. You want a REAL Porsche, then pick up one of these babies!

now that is sum thunder there baby!

I like the the headlights, especially the mk2 ones I think the round ones look dated

Haven't read any of this except the first couple sentences but really no need for Stuart Smally syndrome. Either be proud or sell. You shouldn't have to compromise.

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But damn it "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me." And I am gonna keep saying it until you still believe me

The base 996, to me, is shaped like a bubble, and is very boring, and definitely shows its age. Luckily for this platform, there are aftermarket parts galore, to make it unique. Front bumpers, rear bumpers, side skirts, even cheap imitation rear diffusers. So even if she is the worst-looking supermodel of the bunch, you owe it to yourself to get her, at least, a breast enhancement.

Give'em HELL dg! Lol! I Do Agree with Doug about a Base 996, to me they're NOT very Appealing (downright Boring)! jmo! THIS always gives the Water-Cooled Purists FITS ( the Fastest Race Cars AND the Fastest Street Cars Porsche has EVER PRODUCED have ONE thing in Common! They are ALL Water-Cooled, Porsche has a Great History of Air-Cooled cars But it is Just THAT, A HISTORY! Like it OR NOT Air-Cooling is a Part of Porsches PAST that will MOST LIKELY NEVER Return. I LOVE Many of the Older Air-Cooled Porsches but I ALSO LOVE some of the New Cars! I Could Never Understand those Enthusiasts who Could NEVER see Past the Air-Cooled Cars! There will Always be some people that will NEVER let go of the PAST). JMO!

Man, you know that there is way to much #IMSBS going around when another 'ugly 996' thread is a refreshing change...

The 996 LOOKS great...Even the headlights. The 996 Turbo was my dream car when it came out. I never hear anyone complain about the GT1!!! Porsche 911 GT1 street version, 1997, 6 cylinders + turbo, 3.2L, 544 HP, 310 km/h. Porsche had to produce series of at least 20 street-legal cars in order to comply with international motorsports rules. http://www.pointurier.org/travel/ger.../#IMG_1494.JPG Just take em for a ride and they will start loving the headlights! Most people just See PORSCHE and don't even notice the headlights, that is no 911 owners! These head lights were sanded with 1500 grit sandpaper and polished with Z1 intensive past using buffer... Added 3M over lights.

the right color and aerokit make huge difference and even the mk1 lights look cool on 996, dunno what the fuzz is all about the whole time.

And the light weight Titanium GT3 Rims are the bomb. I like it!

and it is only a c2

Nice! I had GT3s on my 2002 C2... very light. Fun to clean!

Chris, what brand exhaust tips are on your turbo?

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I removed the headlight, sanded with 400, 800, 1200 and polished multiple times. I can't get all the yellow out. The Silver part insde even seems a little yellow. Looking at replacing in the spring. The good part was becasue I took the healdight out so many times I broke the bracket that holds it in so now the high beam on that side does not work. And then I broke 2 torx screw drivers trying to remove the bracket.

I'd been ignoring this thread since I was just going to be argumentative, but... I pose that an aero 996 is among the best looking 911 ever made. Even bone-stock, a 996 isn't the ugly girl at the prom, but once you throw a full aero kit on a 996, you have yourself a sticky page in the catalog. Personally, I find the early 911/912 body style just meh. The whale-tail cars represent a huge, hideous solution to engineering problems, and the new cars with the horizontal stripe of clear across the tails look more than a little like they were swiped from an Aston Martin catalog. Granted, the third example isn't ugly, but... Clearly I'm in the minority, as I also find Fuchs ugly on many cars, and the slantnose cars - even legit slantnoses - look more Mitsubishi than Porsche.

Agree that 4 variants of the 996 are great looking cars: 996TT with the small spoiler is my favorite, 996 Mk I aero/GT3 is second favorite, Mk II Aero/GT3 is 3rd, C4S comes next. All are great looking 911s. I still like the "plain jane" 996s, but adding just a little bit of bling to the basic 996 shape really makes a difference. I do like several variants of the older and newer 911 models also, but not all. For example, even though I like the 991, whenever I'm at the Porsche dealer here in KC, I end up gravitating toward the Caymans, I think because they look more like my notion of a 911 than the 991 does.

I like the more traditional look since I have a 964 and had a 3.2 carrera but I love the better a/c, comfort and handling. I did a minor tint to headlights and added a front spoiler. I like it more and it is reversable.

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they look like the factory optional Stainless Steel exhaust that I have on my 04 Targa

I don't get the whole issue with the 996 either. Mine is far from perfect, needs a few things, and a dent-less paint repair guy to do some magic, but I just see them as Chickenpox scars on a supermodel. James

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Correct, also known as Tequipment Turbo Style tips. Originals are pretty expensive but there are a lot of replica's out there on eBay and such. http://www.suncoastparts.com/product...ra_ExteriorEXH

Henderson - I like the color on your car. Although I have a black car, I prefer the ones with an actual color.

I owned a 2002 c4s in 2003 before the ims fix was common, so I sold it and have owned a few different types of Porsches, but I missed the 996 so much that I'm looking for another 996, leaning towards the 40th AE for the x51 extra. 993 is really nice, but I loved the power of my c4s, and that is one of the slower 996s. So I'm preparing the 993 for sale and am shopping for the right 996. I'd like to own one of each, but I keep going back to the 996. Lots of great info on this forum by the way. Hope to be on here with a 996 soon. Kevin

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Moderators - Can we get this as a cross-post to a new thread on the 993 board?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There is always something to admire, even if what you are looking at is not the most attractive thing in the world. Case in point...

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$850++ for Chrome TIPS! That is FRIGGIN' Ridiculous! REALLY!

Gonzo, THAT is a PERFECT Example! Lol!

May be angle of photo but looks like **** are not tequip but custom?

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Learned to like the headlights because they are unique to the 996.

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I am one of those that likes the look of the 996 too... Like the adaptation of the GT1 headlights and love how my '02 C4 handles... Would buy a 996 GT3 before any other model if I wanted to (or could afford to) upgrade! but then again my other favorite Porsche is my 928 and I buy cars and motorcyles to drive like they are supposed to be driven! 125k+ miles on both of them and will have far many more before they are through! maybe I am just crazy!

Another comment for the headlight insecure therapy group. It seems to me there are two types of car groupies. The posers and the drivers. If you conversation ends at "the headlights aren't round so..." then we can't even have a discussion. I have yet to hear anyone say but my air cooled car handles, drives, and accelerates better.

I went to design school, and work with a number of architects and designers. 996 headlights (Mk 1 and 2) are better, from a holistic design perspective, than the 997. The 996 was a pure form that needed to be broken up to create tension/interest, which is why many prefer the aero/GT3 versions. The lights themselves do a great job of this by simultaneously breaking up the round form and defining its contours by connecting the front lid line through the indicators to the valence-fender break in the Mk 1, or by creating the lower edge of the light on the Mk 2. Also, note how nicely the bottom edge of the radiator air intakes echo the bottom edge of the Mk 1 lights, especially as emphasized by the aero/GT3 bumper. The 997 headlights and separate indicators appear tacked on in comparison: pure pandering to a market that wasn't ready for how great the 996 is/was. Tony Lapine was correct in redefining Porsche's design language in this way, and now that enthusiasts have had a solid decade+ to get used to it, I think they are coming around. Much as Chris Bangle was demonized for disrupting BMW's staid styling roots and later recognized as genius, I think Lapine will be similarly recognized.

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Definitely a mod. Money well spent.

I recently traded in a 2002 C4 Cab for a 2012 TT. I had more comments about the looks of the 996 than I do on the TT. But I must admit when people talk about the performance the TT has its place. Both cars are awesome of course ... They're Porsche 911s for gods sake.

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Amen brother

I like his looks! R.

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