How nice it would be to own an old Porsche . . .

Paul_C

. . . or to be more precise, to have a spare $500,000 and an old Porsche.

http://www.topgear.com/car-news/classic/porsche-911-40-singer-greatest-car-you-can-buy-today#1


 

TTony

You can get a decent old 911 (996/997 vintage) for a lot less - c£20k last time I looked and half-thought about it ...

digitalscream

TTony said:

You can get a decent old 911 (996/997 vintage) for a lot less - c£20k last time I looked and half-thought about it ...

Have you read the article? That's no "decent old 911"...

Winny_Pooh

Old 911s sound like VW beetles to me

monquixote

Winny_Pooh said:

Old 911s sound like VW beetles to me

There is a very good reason for that.

Bucket

Singer 911s are the absolute tits, I want one.

My favourite of the 60s 911s is the Targa - luckily, Singer have done one of those too.

http://purentonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Singer-Porsche-911-Targa-pic-03.jpg

I cannot think of a single way that car could be more desirable.

TTony

digitalscream said:

TTony said:

You can get a decent old 911 (996/997 vintage) for a lot less - c£20k last time I looked and half-thought about it ...

Have you read the article? That's no "decent old 911"...

I realise that that one is a little bit different - just saying that all 911s aren't quite that unusual , nor that exotically priced.

DefaultM

Bucket said:

Singer 911s are the absolute tits, I want one.

My favourite of the 60s 911s is the Targa - luckily, Singer have done one of those too.

http://purentonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Singer-Porsche-911-Targa-pic-03.jpg

I cannot think of a single way that car could be more desirable.

https://i.imgur.com/Gf7EyvM.jpg

Alnico

When i had a 944 Turbo i looked into owning a 1987 911 Turbo. 

I was told by a very decent local indy specialist to expect roughly £2k of parts and maintenance per yer, over and above normal servicing. He said if you're lucky enough to not spend it one year, keep it there and you will need it the following year but if looked after and driven with respect, that should be all it costs you and even then, they weren't suffering any depreciation to speak of.

So with routine servicing it's around £2,800 per year to be safe or at least it was 4 years ago when i last owned a car like this.
Approx £233 per month but with classic insurance and free road tax.

With no depreciation to take into account, how does that stack up with running a modern car? 

octatonic

I'd rather have a modern 911 myself.
I like the look of the old stuff- cars, motorbikes, guitars- but then you have to live with them.

Alnico

octatonic said:

I'd rather have a modern 911 myself.
I like the look of the old stuff- cars, motorbikes, guitars- but then you have to live with them.

Having owned many classic bikes and cars, including the frankly ridiculous XJS 5.3 V12, i would agree with you entirely.

Evilmags

Most people are too used to modern things like traction control, big wheels and tyres and decent brakes to deal with a 60s or 70s Porshe. A bit like a few girls I know. Look great, go like the clappers but very high maintanance so better off borrowing someone else's. ...

Bucket

octatonic said:

I'd rather have a modern 911 myself.
I like the look of the old stuff- cars, motorbikes, guitars- but then you have to live with them.

That's the great thing about the Singers - looks like an old 911 but is built from a newer bodyshell (from the late 80s 964 I think) using modern materials and techniques, with the engine from a modern 911, proper gearbox and suspension etc. Best of all worlds.

monquixote

Bucket said:

octatonic said:

I'd rather have a modern 911 myself.
I like the look of the old stuff- cars, motorbikes, guitars- but then you have to live with them.

That's the great thing about the Singers - looks like an old 911 but is built from a newer bodyshell (from the late 80s 964 I think) using modern materials and techniques, with the engine from a modern 911, proper gearbox and suspension etc. Best of all worlds.

That's a fail then.

A proper Porsche has to be air cooled.

rlw

Right -  a little bit my opinion.  Cars owned.  Carrera 3.2; 944 turbo;  964 wide body 4wd; 993 C4S;  996 GT3.

Singers are kit cars, albeit very expensive and clever.    Don't want one.

Old Porsches  - up to late eighties - are shit.  Been there, done it, t-shirt everything.   Noisy, don't handle that well, uncomfortable, potentially dangerous.  Cost a fortune to keep properly.

Later Porsches - 964/993 - are less shit but still noisy, interesting at the very limit - been there, done it, t-shirt everything - and cost a fortune to maintain if used as intended. 

Later Porsches - 996 - are noisy, more comfortable, still interesting at the limit - been there, done it, t-shirt and video - more practical and still cost a fortune to run properly.

Sobering thought.  Two weeks ago to the day, I drove my CLK55 into the front of a Scania milk tanker, full, on it's way to the dairy.  We met offside front corner to offside front corner at a combined speed of 65/70 mph.

My car virtually took of his front corner bodywork, ripped of its own front wing and part of the door skin, crumpled and was thrown backwards by the speed of the impact, although stopping within 20 feet of the tanker.  WE opened the doors and walked away.

A 911 would almost certainly have gone straight under and I wouldn't be typing this now.  Two cats would be homeless and there would be an awful financial mess to be sorted out.

So, no, I don't want a Singer or another proper 911 even.

mudslide73

Their boss was in Catherine Wheel - I want one btw. The early 70s RS is the most beautiful 911 in my eyes so this is the perfect fusion. 

oddball

I love my 991 generation 911, epically fast, reliable and looks wonderful. Old air cooled versions really don't interest me. Old cars as a whole don't really interest me

Bucket

monquixote said:

That's a fail then.

A proper Porsche has to be air cooled.

Oh, you're not one of those are you  

the_jaffa

Bucket said:

monquixote said:

That's a fail then.

A proper Porsche has to be air cooled.

Oh, you're not one of those are you  

The Singer engines are air cooled anyway; just a modern, Cosworth built, air cooled motor. 

John_P

As much as I'd like a 911 I would prefer a 356 way more cool. 

oddball

the_jaffa said:

Bucket said:

monquixote said:

That's a fail then.

A proper Porsche has to be air cooled.

Oh, you're not one of those are you  

The Singer engines are air cooled anyway; just a modern, Cosworth built, air cooled motor. 

The people who talk that nonsense about 'proper' Porsches have generally never driven anything other than their mums Ford Fiesta