A coming-of-age story for the Modern Porsche

For all of the Porsche fans who hate the 996, allow me to provide educated opinion that may help you be a more interesting conversation partner at your next Cars and Coffee meetup. Hate is often rooted in fear of the unknown. Owning and maintaining one of these yolk-eyed 911 for the last seven has given me plenty of time to learn about its characteristics and place in history. It was hard to understand this when the 996 launched in 1997, but the first water-cooled 911 built the foundation for the modern Porsche that we know and love today.

The 1990s were not all fluorescent pool parties on Puff Daddy’s yacht. There was a recession early in the decade and Porsche sales bottomed out in 1993 with just over 3,700 cars sold in North America. Porsche wasn’t going to be around for much longer if they didn’t make meaningful changes.

Porsche hired Toyota to implement its world-class production process. Around the same time, Pinky Lai was selected to design the model that would put all of the production process changes onto the road. The old methods of production just weren’t going to cut it. The model would be the first full redesign since the car was originally designed in 1963. Much like JLo, who was also conceived in the 60s, the 996 turned out to be a timeless beauty that is only getting better looking with age.

Engine Reliability

Is there a chance that the engine will grenade itself when the IMS Bearing fails? Yes, a very small chance. It should be noted that this is a potential issue for 996, 997.1, 986, and 987.1 models, outside of the Turbo and GT cars. Any owner who is concerned about this possibility can easily have an upgraded bearing installed as insurance. Nearly every generation has some sort of significant mechanical flaw. The SC had exploding airboxes, the 964 had leaky head gaskets, and the 993 had valve guide issues. Deal with it should be a well known phrase to any classic car owner.

Plastic Interior

Another common complaint is the interior of the 996. Sure, later generations of 911s come with a more luxurious interior. None of them provide the simplicity of the 996. Take a look inside, there isn’t much going on. Some window switches, an ashtray, climate controls, a radio, door locks, and not much else. It is a modern update on the classic pragmatic German interior. Plus, the vastly improved ergonomics allow you to read the gauges while driving the vehicle, a novel feature missing from the precious air-cooled cars.

The 911 was never a car worth bragging about the interior. 964 for comparison.

The lights. What most people other than Pinky Lai himself haven’t considered is the simplicity of the lights. Take a look at the front of any other generation of 911 and you will see growths of fog and turn signal lighting assemblies. Only the 996 was able to keep the design restrained to a single structural lighting element that contains all of the needed functions. Removing all of the other distractions leaves a shape that stands in contrast to many of the overwrought designs we see on the road today. I believe Harm Lagaay, Porsche’s Chief Designer at the time, put the final sprinkle of salt on the two-egg order when he said, “People joked about the headlights. Fried eggs. I always say 320,000 fried eggs? The canteen can’t have been that bad.”

Finally, the least known design feature of everyone’s new favorite 911 generation is the rear cat deck. This detail is another generation specific detail that you won’t find on other models. Just below the third-brake light, there is a cat-sized shelf that is perfectly warm after a spirited drive. Even when given the choice of sitting on an equally warm 964, the family cat always chooses the 996.

We have many years to see how the 996 is received by future enthusiasts. I think we all can be thankful for the classic shapes that are captured by the body. When you see the newest 992 GT3 RS throwing down six minute lap records, you can remember that the 996 was the clean canvas that gave rise to the modern 911.

For more musings and unpopular opinions, be sure to sign up for the homologatedSHIFT newsletter.

If there are any topics or cars you want to see, reach out at gear@homologatedshift.com