The narrow body 993s are cars which are often ignored by buyers, as they put their attention more towards the widebody cars, which in today’s market are the more desirable cars. That leaves the formerly mentioned cars as a great opportunity to get into Porsche’s last air-cooled 911, be it in rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive configuration. Though most of these narrow body cars are often found with high-mileage(or kms), they still have the potential of being great cars if they were properly maintained. After all, Porsche is known for its reliability. The good thing about these cars is that all of its variants are widely available, from the coupe, to the cabriolet, to the targa.

As you can already see from the photo on top, the car I’m going to talk about is yes, a narrow body 993. This particular car, however, is not your typical Carrera 4. See, when ordering a 993 Carrera model new, there was an option called the X51 Package, which was an engine upgrade, or “Powerkit” as they are called. For the Varioram cars(1996-98), the package would up the engine’s displacement to 3.8L and the power to 400hp. For the pre-Varioram cars(like this one is), it was a whole different story. Rather than upgrading the existing Carrera engine, the car would come fitted with the 3.8L unit derived from the 964 Carrera RS 3.8. That’s right, the engine straight from the most hardcore 964 there is. You can very well say that these cars are in a sense, an even bigger wolf dressed in a wolf that is dressed in a sheep’s clothing.

To see the listing for the car, click here

This option was actually never sold in North America, so the only way you are going to find it is my searching on the ROW market. I know it sounds really exciting that you were able to get essentially an RS engine in a standard Carrera, but it was undoubtedly a costly option. Unfortunately, I am unable to find the exact price of the option through brochures or conversations with other Porsche enthusiasts.

For sale in New York is a 1995 Carrera 4, as previously mentioned, fitted with this very rare option. This particular car is a Japanese import, which is evident by the MIZWA Porsche sticker on its windshield, asides from the dealer listing mentioning it as well. For those that don’t know, MIZWA back in the 1990s was the sole importer of Porsches in Japan from 1952 until 1997, when Porsche themselves decided to finally open up an official franchise in the country, and subsequently dropped MIZWA’s franchise rights. With 66,000km, it has definitely seen some time in and out of the garage, in other words, it has been a semi-garage queen throughout its life. Colour combination is spot-on with this car, with the perfect Iris Blue Metallic exterior on Blue interior. I always like it when cars with rare options such as this one are specified with colour combos that would otherwise make it stand out. Of course this car comes with the 6-speed manual as it should be with these cars, as the X51 option made it mandatory. Another essential option is equipped as well, the code M030 Sport Suspension, which was actually lower in ROW cars compared to North American cars with the option. History wise, it shows to be a well taken care of example with immaculate maintenance history from day one.

Remember how I mentioned that the X51 Package was not a cheap option? Well, the asking price from the dealership reflects just that, plus the “air-cooled Porsche market adjustment”. At $165,000 USD, this car is up there price-wise with the likes of the Turbo and widebody 993s. I strongly believe that if you are interested in a 993 in the upper hundred-thousand price range to actually use, then the aforementioned cars are a better bet. This car, being what it is, will likely be bought for collectability purposes, despite the use it has seen in its life. I would definitely consider this car to be a unicorn, but with many more options available at that price point, I think I’ll pass.

Best Regards,
Juan Reyes-Abreu

Credit Goes To:
Cooper Classic Cars for the information on this very rare 993.