996 conversion to 997

Design911.co.uk can convert your 996 to a 997. Looks pretty close to me. Is this a way of beating the Price Crash by forking out £3k for the conversion, or is this going to devalue the car even further. Simon

I presume that £3k is for the kit and fitting is extra. I would think that any prospective purchaser of the car in the future would be very happy with the new look. Of course, dealers will argue differently until it appears on their forecourt later.

I actually prefer mine the way it is!

Looks good, dont forget to make the 997 clone you need to change the wheels and the mirrors. I havent seen any 997 mirrors up for sale - YET! At that price it seems a better option for an early 98-99 996 upgrade than to either the clear front lenses (£300 -£350) or to the facelift.... IMHO I think the days of the purist 911 owner when everything should be original are, in part, over. The early 911 SC/Carerra and 993 were traditionally left as-is and it was frowned upon to play about with them and its really only the 996 onwards where it has become more acceptable to modify (improve?) the car. I would imagine this is in part due to the more modern design (some might say rather bland), more on the road and of course an abundance of kits and specialists out there. To upgrade to a 997 look depends on your own personal taste. If you want a clone then you need to change the wheels & mirrors and the back end. If you simply prefer the look then its probably worth going for. As far as depreciation goes, I think it will make it more desireable to many people but not by the 3-6k that it will cost to do the job properly! I think!

Personally I think that if you want a 997 then buy a 997 (If you have the means ofcourse) Conversions like this mean that the car is then limited in re-sale value and would be more difficult to insure and sell on. If you converted your car using this kit, you'd only be fooling non-Porsche enthusiasts and at the end of the day it's still a 996 and it's burned a £6,000 hole in your pocket! I do believe that the policy of original is best still exists and still commands a premium in terms of desireability.

What goes around comes around. During the 1980s it was all the rage to update cars - early 911s received impact bumpers, spoilers, flag mirrors and newer interiors to bring them up to the 911 SC/3.2 Carrera look, then the 964 conversion became the rage in the 90s. A few cars got the 993 treatment but somehow that never seemed to work out. And now the trend is for backdating these motors - plenty of owners are removing their impact bumpers and opting for the early look (Keith Seume, Ken Coad et al) - the Carrera RS look being a favourite. I think the 996 to 997 transformation looks A1 - if there are any takers it might be an idea to retain the original parts in case the next generation want to regress!

Does anyone remember the 924 to 944-look kits that used to be available? [ ]

I remember a very dodgy 944 > 944 turbo kit that Dage Sport did[:-] IMO original is best. I like the 996 and I like the 997, but I wouldn't waste money trying to make a 996 look like a 997.

I think you would put off some buyers, and I doubt if you would add much value. Probably better to spend similar money on a genuine aerokit, which would make it more saleable and add something to the value.

Yes, that sounds like a much better idea!

...and what will you do if Porsche do some sort of a facelift on the current shape in a couple of years time?

As these panels are made of fibre glass, you just go down to Halfords or your local boat shop, buy a DIY kit and make yourself a 998!

My Halfords Porsche conversion would end up like this. Much rather use a professional.[ ]

Nice job, why number it 162 and what is that you got in the foreground?

Bit of a Mickey Mouse job i know, but a lesson to be learnt. Have your conversion done professionally.[ ]