Update Jul 21, 2020: This car is now SOLD

The listing for the car can be seen at this link.

Amongst Porsche aficionados, one of the biggest topics often discussed is the air-cooled cars that the marque produced from its inception back in 1948, all the way until 1998. While interest in these cars was quite dormant for decades, it had definitely spiked in recent years. One of these cars is the Porsche 964, considered to be first proper evolution of Porsche’s flagship model. When the 911 was first introduced in 1963 to replace the highly-successful 356, it became an instant hit just like its predecessor. Not only did Porsche produce different versions of the car, but also implemented into this car engineering concepts that were never before seen in the automotive industry. Some of them include the targa rollover bar, an early version of a semi-automatic transmission(in the form of the Sportomatic transmission), among others. The first generation of the 911 was in production for a record 26 years, until 1989, and its fate was questioned several times by the company throughout its production run. The 964 was unveiled in 1988 as a 1989 model year car, and in comparison to the outgoing G-Model 911(as the first generation was called following its refresh in 1973), it was more than 80% new.

The new changes were evident from the start. Firstly, the body panels were all new, finally giving the 911 a look that reflected the then-ending 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, ridding it of its exterior design that originated from the 1970s. This aside, the car now had an automatic rear spoiler which came up when above 80km/h. New changes also occurred in the interior, with an onboard computer, a warning system in the instrument cluster, and automatic climate control. Mechanically, the Carrera models were powered by an all-new 3.6L flat-6 engine, still naturally aspirated. The power was transferred to the wheels via the G50 5-speed gearbox, carried over from the previous generation but still relatively new. The three previously available body styles, coupe, cabriolet, and targa, were also brought over. The 964 was also the first 911 available with all-wheel drive, and with that also came the still relevant “4” nomenclature, used to identify all-wheel-drive Porsches. Initially, the Carrera 4 was the sole model available, with the rear-wheel-drive Carrera 2 being introduced in 1990. It was also during the production of the 964 that Porsche began to widen its audience of customers. They did this by introducing the Tiptronic transmission, which was a 4-speed automatic with a “manual” mode, which allowed for manual gear selection by pushing or pulling the gear selector when flicked to the right of the “drive” position. Porsche produced the car beginning in the 1989 model year, until the 1994 model year, during which the company was in financial troubles. Do note that I have only spoken about the Carrera models. I will continue to speak about the rest of the 964 lineup in future posts.

For sale at Porsche Wellington is a rare Carrera 4 with the desirable “turbo look” widebody option. This was an option available for the 1993 and 1994 model year Carrera models, and cars equipped with said option are some of the most desirable, as the look and stance are significantly improved. The example for sale is finished in the very solid colour combination of Midnight Blue Metallic over two-tone Black/Cashmere leather interior. Now, I’m normally against bright-coloured interiors because of how easily they show wear and tear, but when you combine them with the correct dark-coloured exterior, they can really stand out, as is the case with this car. With about 75,000 miles on the odometer, it is evident that this car was not sitting in the garage for much of its life, which assures that the car does operate correctly, unlike “garage queens” which can have problems due to a lack of fluid flow inside the engine, for instance. The transmission in this car is the 5-speed manual, so yes, this is a purists’ car. In the present-day air-cooled market, Tiptronic cars are highly undesirable, and this shown by the big difference in prices between the manual and tiptronic cars. At a price of $109,992, it is on the average price range when it comes to widebody 964 Carreras. With 964 prices on a high alongside those of the 993, this particular car can be considered a bargain, specially given that this is a rare car.

The second-hand 964 market can be said to be parallel to that of the 993, though both generations have their very desirable models. Speaking on the Carrera market, widebody 964 prices are higher than those of the 993 Carrera S and 4S. This is not surprising at all because there were not many 964 widebody Carreras made, in comparison to the vast amount of widebody 993 Carreras. While it is surprising to look back at how much these cars were worth about 10 years ago, I am still unable to believe that these now-expensive cars were once a bargain at one point in time. As these cars begin to get older with age, it is going to be interesting where the market goes from here.

Best Regards,
Juan Reyes-Abreu

Credit goes to:
Porsche Warrington for the photographs and information on the 964 that is for sale.