Living with a 20 year old supercar. The 996 models were introduced in the late 90s, with the turbo variant being revealed in 2000. The Turbo, GT2 and GT3 cars came with a new much stronger engine then the previous models, and today it has a legendary status.
Moving away from tradition, the 996 Turbo was the first Porsche on sale with water as the coolant. The twin turbo 3.6 litre flat 6 Mezger engine (derived from the 1998 Le Mans winning 911 GT1 race car) produces around 420 bhp with bags of torque at around 0.7 to 0.8 bar boost. It's coupled to a four wheel drive system that sends 95% power to the back and 5% to the front. This can change with up to 40% of the power going to the front wheels if needed. This keeps the car still feeling like a rear wheel drive. 0 to 62 mph is between 3.8 and 4.2 seconds depending on which model you have, not bad for a car that weighs around 1550kgs.
In 2002 there was a factory power up grade that you could by from Porsche called the X50. This had larger turbos, intercoolers and ecu tweaks to name just a few. There is much myth about this kit, as some say it came with a different exhaust, the gearbox strengthened, and an uprated clutch as well, but it is hard to prove this. From what I can gather, (super hard to prove 100%) this upgrade added another £10 to £15k onto your original purchase price of £89k. I hear you asking now, what are the massive power gains from this kit....emm well it's around 30 bhp! And around 40 ftlbs torque. But I guess they developed it to still be bullet proof, and to have the same warranty as a non-X50 car.
In 2005, the Turbo S model was brought out. This had the same power plant as the X50 (around 450 bhp) and a few tweaks, with the main one being the brakes. Porsche fitted Ceramic Composite Brakes or PCCB for short. As well as different calipers and pads, these brakes offered a massive weight saving over the standard 330 mm iron discs, with better braking performance, and I've been told you get less brake dust. Great when new, however there is a small issue, this is when you come to replace them, as you could be looking at spending as much as £5000..... I forgot to mention, that's £5000 per CORNER!
Behind the front grilles, the Turbo has 3 radiators and 2 air conditioning radiators. It's worth inspecting these regularly as they trap leaves and deposits. Over time, it can cause corrosion, leading to leaks and having to have new ones fitted, and that could cost north of £1000.
The front lights are plastic and like many cars of this age, they go dull and opaque. A good machine polish will bring them back to life and really brighten the look of the car. They are slightly different to non Turbo models.
There is two hydraulic rear wing rams, these can leak. They pop up and down automatically, coming up at about 75 mph and down again at about 37 mph, you also have an over ride button in the cabin. New rams are only around £1000 each!
Early 996tt didn't have a glove box.
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 225/40ZR18 (front) and range from £250 to £350 for the pair.
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 295/30ZR18 (rear) and range from £500 to £600 for the pair.
Inflatable space saving spare wheel, air pump, a few tools and a light weight alloy jack were all included, under the bonnet removable floor.
An optional Bose stereo was introduced in 2002, with a large subwoofer box.
More detailed photos.