what Porsche is closest to a '95 M3 driving experience?

driving experience? 944/968. anything rear engined is a whole different ball game.

ownership experience? 987 Boxster/Cayman.

 

^^^this. The 993 Porsche (good ones) are quite expensive now, and of course they drive literally like nothing else on earth.

 

my initial a thought is a 944S or 968 would be the closest to a '95 M3 driving experience. a 993 would a be a good DD however. my drives in one seem to me a good combination between old school and slightly more modern comfort. you can get a nice 993 coupe w/ mid miles for 30-35k. i could drive one as a dd.

 

They, have indeed increased in price. I would never by able to justify my car to my wife vs when I bought it back in 2003.

 

A 911 does NOT drive like an E36 M3. I have had many BMW's including an E30 M3, E34 M5 and Dinan 540i and the 911 driving experience is vastly different than any of those BMWs. Honestly, the E30 M3 sucks in comparison to the 911. A friend that was a die hard BMW guy got a 911 Carrera and he said the same thing. He said there is no use getting any M3 as they don't compare. He has since bought my 86 930 and loves that car, and a 993. He said after driving the turbo, the 993 was meh.

Now, if you are thinking about creature comforts that the E36 M3 offers, you are probably best off with a 996 or 996. They would be your best bang for the buck, but are still a very different driving experience than your M3.

 

Do you want "closest to a '95 M3 driving experience" or best driving experience?

If best, 993.

Matt

 

My dd is a 951 (944 turbo), lots of fun, practical and a very good handling car.

 

ah...in that sense yes, 993. maybe a 964. but the 90's 911s still remind me of a vintage car-in some ways bad (ergonomics, not the best amenities), in some ways good (very high build quality).

late 928/968 might be worth looking at too if you can find a nice example.

 

mid miles to me is around 100k. here is an example from the PCA website.

1996 911 Carrera

Details:
Ad #: 13415
Ad Date: 1/31/2014
Year: 1996
Model: 911 Carrera
Miles: 94000
Price: $30,000.00
Exterior Color: Silver
Interior Color: Black
Seller Type: Private Seller
Location: Mo. City, TX
Company:
Body Type: Coupe
Make:
Wheel Size: 18

 

Sorry, but I think nice 993s will always be sought after cars. The build quality, plus air-cooled configuration, plus revised rear suspension (big improvement over the 964 and 911) make it a modern classic.

Was gonna say... the only reason to get a 3 series/M3 is because you need a usable back seat and boot. If you can afford to have one impractical car in the garage, I would make it a Ferrari V8 or Porsche 911 (993 preferably, but the 997 is also a nice car -- my brother had two of them.) The 996s are cheap, but over the long haul I think the 993 will probably hold value better and may even appreciate a bit more.

 

That's tempting.

 

For what it is worth I went from a 96 M3 to a 95 993 ten years ago and have no regrets! Unfortunately all air cooled 911 prices are on the rise...

 

What about a 968 Club sport?

 

I happen to have just a bit of experience with both these cars and in my opinion based on what you wrote in your first post (not expensive daily driver) you should look at either later year 996's or 06 and up 997's. Keep in mind that the tiptronic cars are just terrible and until the PDK came out in the 997.2 Porsche was way behind when it came to auto boxes. They are also not bullet proof (they source many of their parts from lesser manufacturers) and so do not expect 90k without lots of repair bills. Others may disagree but I've owned 40 Porsches and every M Car made for about 15 years (other than the new series out now) and taken all of them apart changing one thing or another. As far as refined that can easily be overcome with a couple mods and turning off the traction controls and sticking with a RWD car. Good luck

 

I've owned an e34 M5, e36 M3, e39 M5 and 360 M5 and none of them compare to the driving experience of any of my 911s; 88 911, 97 993 or 12 991.

 

Closest 911 to your M3 is a 996.

 

Oh.... I see what I did there.

 

For best 911 experience, I wouldn't go with 993. For mostly street driving experience, there's 2.7RS or 964RS (if one can US-import). The beauty of subjectivity...

For the OP, 996 GT3? M3-similar modern bits, abundance of 911 character and relatively attainable price.

 

Sorry, but 996 has NOTHING of the "911 (air-cooled) character".

 

I can understand your point. But it is still a 911 model.