Friend of mine just bought a 993 Carrera 4
My good friend, and partner in crime on the "driving the alps in a 997" trip, just bought a very nice (1995) 993 Carrera 4 with sport exhaust.
He has been aching to get back in a Porsche since he sold his Boxster and has now found a perfect car for his taste.
I drove it yesterday and was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was to drive. You do feel the rear end moving around a lot more than in the 997, but it was much less than I thought it would be. And it stayed cool and calm within the "normal" limits of a regular road.
As I told him before his purchase I was sceptical about the interior in the 993 (and earlier models), but it was perhaps the biggest surprise as it was much better than I thought it would be. Only some of the buttons remind you of a 60's VW Beetle, and the quality was great after 15 years, no squeaks or rattles.
The gearchange was also very impressive, very precise and more so than in my BMW. Not bad for a 15 year old car.
The two things tha could be better was the brake pedal, which was very hard and difficult to modulate, although I'm sure you get used to it. And I would like a adjustable steering wheel. Since I'm quite tall (190 cm) there was not much room between my knee and the steering wheel which made it a bit more difficult to drive "actively".
And the best part? The sound
(and kick above 4500 rpm)
Having heard the 993 before I knew it sounded great, but holy fcuk this car sounds fantastic. The sport exhaust helps of course, and at low rpm it has a V8-like rumble that the newer water cooled 911's can only dream of (especially the DFI 997.2) and above 4k rpm where the engine really gets going it turns into a roar that will scare anyone within 50 ft
The way the engine changes personality at app 4500 rpm is really fun as well, it's like you get one more engine pushing you forward. The thrust (and sound) really takes off. The 997 also had this, but not as much since it has more torque at low rpm.
This is going to be a fun autumn (he does not plan to drive it in winter), and I can now get a regular Porsche "fix" until I can get my own
Here's picture and video clip from one of the tunnels we drove, unfortunately the video (from my iPhone) doesn't do the sound justice, which was almost painfully loud.
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10 PRINT "997.2 Carrera S rules"
20 GOTO 10
30 RUN
