First year: Random stuff I love about the 964

1. Closing the doors. This feels like the best built car I’ve ever driven. My 993 also had a firm and precise door closing, but the doors felt lighter. I’ll stop before I get to the bank vault clichés… (dammit…)

2. Metal door handles. Old design carried over from the G-body, but it feels like metal sculpture. The 992 plastic/electronic door handle is obviously lighter and more secure, but… no thanks. Approaching the car, you actually look forward to opening the door. It doesn’t get old.

3. Proximity of the windscreen and gauges. It’s been said often, but you feel tucked into a cockpit that feels ready for serious canyon carving.

4. One of few. The usual complaint about 911s is that there are a million of them. The 964 was expensive enough when new, and had enough early mechanical weak spots, that it sold poorly. At our cars and coffee events here, my 964 is typically the only 911 of that generation. It’s not a top tier collectible Porsche, but it’s a lot of rarity for the money. Reportedly 460 or so coupes sent to the US in MY1993.

5. Cup One wheels… subjectively among the best 911 road wheels. Ever. Only the original Fuchs on the long hood cars look this good, IMHO.

6. Power windows that are fast and flawless. Yes, every modern car has these, but I think back to my 328 and 308 and these are inverted guillotines in comparison.

7. Vertical stitched door panels. Actually the whole interior is produced to the level where you can see how Porsche had to overcharge for these cars. The quality is intoxicating, and this is the standard interior.

8. PCCM head unit upgrade. At $1300+ this is no bargain, but you get a proper OEM-looking dash unit with modern functions like Apple CarPlay. It makes a 1993 car daily drive able. A terrific way to make old cars relevant in 2022.

9. Air-cooled sound and simplicity. After a year, I had the oil changed. That was all the dealer could find to do. Granted parts cost a lot when you need them, but so far it’s been a non-issue.

10. Air conditioning. Typically this is a bad joke in air-cooled 911s, but I spent this summer in the Palm Springs area, where 110 degrees is not uncommon. The 964 air blew cold — not up to modern car standards but not far off the mark.

11. Color. I didn’t spec the slate grey, and I didn’t buy the car because of the color, but there is such a thing as the right color for a given car, and for a 964 this is it. Yes, black is nice, but it’s offered on every Porsche every year. The original buyer chose well. And the McQueen association is cool.

12. View over the front fenders. Shared with other old 911s, but not with anything made after 1994. Once ubiquitous, now iconic.

13. Classic but perfect in modern traffic. No secret that I’m into classic cars, and if I had the extra garage bays and my younger body back I’d binge on pre-1974 stuff. But if we’re honest most of it isn’t all that great to drive - unreliable, drafty, entertaining brakes, no power, etc. The 964 is no 992, but it is still superb on the road. Modern tires on the optional 17” rims doubtless help. It launches and stops effortlessly.

14. A simple metal key. To start the car, insert the key into the ignition slot and turn it. If you need a new one and insist on the factory original, it’s about $80 cut and ready.

15. “Comfort” seats. My car did not get the optional sport seats, so it’s easy to get in and out, and the bolsters look great after 30 years and 68,000 miles. If I were going racing I’d swap them out for something lighter and more sculpted, but… I’m not.

Despite all of this, of course an old 911 isn’t for everyone because they are expensive to maintain over the long term. But I haven’t felt any sense of boredom with owning a 911. If anything, it’s diminutive size and rear engine with a big fan feel exotic because no company builds anything remotely like this.

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S2000 is a terrific car. I could never understand how Honda could make so many dull cars and then an epic ride like the S2000.


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Short answer: Yes. Exciting, beautiful, dependable..

Longer answer: In every car enthusiast video (Harry Metcalfe, Intercooler, Chris Harris, etc.) I watch and every article I read, reviewers are complaining about touch screens, electronic aids and the dilution of the sports car as a mechanical experience. The new M5, for example, which is too big, too heavy, too complicated. As we keep getting new daily drivers, I find the 964's qualities and era increasingly satisfying. It gets better every year. More classic, still fine to drive in 2025 traffic. Not fast compared to the new stuff, but everyone knows its old so it gets more respect and less stoplight competition.

Yes, I've had to have two gauges restored and repaired, and it's not cheap, but when reinstalled they are little works of art that should outlive me. I have had typical old car expenses -- new fuel lines, new spring plate bushings -- and probably have to address a timing chain housing oil leak in the next year or so. But I expected all of this, and it's not like a failed DCT or other unobtainium bits. We all know we're not buying a new Lexus. I suppose Ferrari ownership makes a $5,000 shop bill seem like we dodged a bullet, whereas for normal people it's catastrophic.

And, as I wrote earlier, while 911s aren't all that rare if you live in a more affluent area, 964s actually are a rare sight. It isn't a Dino GT4, but rare enough. Younger guys, under 30, know that it's a 911, but grew up seeing water-cooled Porsches and see a 964 as something special. Familiar, but different. I love classic sports cars, and the 964 is in that niche of being both classic and usable. It still has that lineage to the legendary early '70s 911s, but tamed enough that you can drive it without undue drama.

It would be extremely hard to replace this car. I was offered a speed yellow 993 that needed mechanical sorting, but I wasn't seriously tempted. My first 911 was a 993 cabriolet, and at the time I shared the common opinion that the 993 was peak 911 in design. As I've grown up in the hobby, I would give that award to the 964 Turbo 3.6, but more generally to all 964s. I still like the 993, but Tony Hatter commented that a goal of that design was to balance the front and rear of the car. He did that, and is a very talented designer no doubt, but the signature imbalance of the original fenders and dramatically sloping coupe fly-line was what imprinted the 911 into our consciousness. I still admire all 911s -- 997 was the best modern rendition, IMO. As an icon you can drive, though, the 964 is hard to beat.

 

This came up at Marshall Goldman, but a borderline insane price based, I assume, on the 4,000 miles since new. Still a rare car, not many ‘93s and fewer Targas.

https://www.marshallgoldman.com/used-vehicle-1993-porsche-911-targa-4-c-4179/