A SORTED 993 SUCH AS THIS ONE IS THE CRYSTALLISATION OF EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EVER HEARD ABOUT DRIVING A 911
When you step into a car that has been out of production for nigh on 15 years you need to recalibrate your expectations. On first impressions the interior will be baggy, the leather cracked, the seat not pinching your
hips as tightly as you remember. The carpets will be flat, the pile lying horizontal after a decade of size nines leaving their imprint. And the plastic will have lost some sheen, picked up a few nicks and scuffs along the way, too, most probably. Unless, of course, you've just stepped into a 993: the 911 that finds it impossible to show any signs of age whatsoever.
The 993 I'd found myself in had been borrowed from
Porsche specialist Paul Stephen for a story you can read in the coming months, but 50 taken aback was I as to how weil this 70,000+ mile example had worn I snuck off for a cheeky drive after we'd finished the job.
This 993, a Carrera 4, is the car you would want to drive to satisfy your curiosity that the 993 is, as everyone who ask will tell you, the best 91 1
Porsche has ever built. This example, like 50 many others, goes a long way to prove this theory right. The door dunks shut with the solidity everyone tells you it will, the cabin feels cosy, and everything you touch feels box-fresh to the point that you think you are the first to use them. Even the driving position feels just right and as you expected - the steering wheel dose to your chest with your fingertips capable of stretching out and touching the top of the dash. You bring the seat forward on its runners an extra notch more than you would in a regular car, too. It's all part of the precision that a 993 installs in you.
What happens on the road in a sorted 993 such as this one is the crystallisation of everything you have every heard about driving a 911. The controls are 50 instinctive to use, balanced to perfection and beautifully damped in their action. In a world of fly-by-wire throttles the 993's mechanical linkage is a treat to experience knowing that every 100rpm of crank speed is down to what you do with your right foot. It's a delightfully refreshing feeling.
This 993 example has had some money at thrown at its chassis to freshen up the dampers and bushing, and it feels, I imagine, how a 993 would feel when new. Taught, responsive and slack-free in everything it does, and when you begin to push on the 993 moment of clarity shines its brightest. The VarioRam 'six melds torque with power seamlessly as you climb into the revs, the pace quickening with no fuss, just a solid surge as another gear slots home. It's a pure, mechanical experience accompanied by an unmolested soundtrack as the exhaust note matches engine and road speed to perfection without a controllable exhaust valve in earshot. And then you brake, turn-in and let the outer corners of the chassis soak up the body roll, the tyres find their grip and the whole car comes to you as you get back onto the power and fall once more under the spell of that 3.6-litre mill.
Believe the hype when someone tells you they don't make a 911 like the 993 anymore. It is a beautiful classic, and classically beautifully. The great 911.
ENGINE: 3600cc, air-cooled flat-six
Max Power: 285hp @ 6100rpm
Peak torque: 251lb ft @ 5250rpm
Weight: 1420kg
Top Speed: 171 mph
0-62mph: 5.3 seconds
Price GBP 62,495 (1996)
October 10, 2012, 4:33 am
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