Here lays the rare opportunity to acquire an exceptionally well kept example of the early Porsche 996, which we first sold 3 years ago. The extensive service history evidences that in the last owner’s 3 year ownership, he spent over £31,000 maintaining the car and making subtle enhancements, and the owner prior to him spent over £26,000 in his 10 year keepership, potentially making this example the best kept 996 on the market today. The car is found in gorgeous condition, with beautifully straight bodywork and stunning Ocean Blue paint (paint code L3AZ), that possesses an eye-catching deep metallic shine. The front bumper is limited to very few stone chips, having been recently resprayed, and our customary FGP Comprehensive Detailing Package has been completed, emphasising and protecting the beautiful condition of the paintwork. The alloy wheels are genuine Porsche BBS 5 spoke “Carrera” wheels, which are in unmarked condition. Please note that the car is photographed with amber lights, but these will be reverted to the original clear units, which were swapped by the previous owner.

The Space Grey coloured interior is a colour that was only available on the 996 for the first two years of production and looks very well alongside the blue exterior. All of the leather is in fabulous order and could pass for that of a much younger car. There is no noteworthy damage anywhere, including to the usual wear points such as the driver’s side bolstering and steering wheel etc. All the electrical functions inside the cabin work as they should do, including the air conditioning, which blows ice cool. This particular example is a very basic specced car, which is something we and a lot of our customers prefer, as it provides a light-weight, analogue and involving sports car. The only notable optional extra is the limited slip differential. There are two working remote key fobs with the car. The optional extra codes are as follows: 220, 222, 224, 236, 413, 650. Please note that the car is photographed with 997 front seats and gear geaiter installed, which will be reverted back to the original 996 components prior to sale. The original Stone Grey 4-prong steering wheel will also be reinstalled.

As noted earlier, over £57,000 has been spent maintaining this 996 to the very highest standard and this tells through the way that it drives. Being an early and basic model, the Porsche is light-weight and therefore nimble in the corners. The rare limited slip differential, the manual gearbox and the cable throttle give a real sense of driver involvement, which is a satisfying feeling to the person behind the wheel. The car has benefitted from a full suspension overhaul, inclusive of genuine Porsche M030 sports suspension just fitted by us in preparation for sale, which offer a slightly firmer, more sporty drive and a 10mm drop in ride-height. Upon our first sale of the car, we upgraded the IMS bearing to the “EPS” cylindrical unit, so this cause for concern has been defeated. The 3.4 litre flat 6 motor fires in to life just as it should, idles smoothly and is free from any leaks, smoking or abnormal noises. The Porsche has stainless steel sports backboxes fitted, which produce a lovely sound-track. When first preparing the car for sale, we removed the gearbox and had it rebuilt to remedy a pinion bearing whine. The clutch is light with a positive engagement having been renewed 15,000 miles ago, along with the dual mass flywheel. The brakes stop the car sharply with lots of life remaining in the discs and pads. Nearly-new Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres are fitted, providing excellent grip and traction.

The most comprehensive of servicing histories is present, made up of three hard backed leather folders with all contained paperworks in laminate holders and ordered chronologically. The original owners leather wallet containing all of the original book pack is also present, inclusive of the maintenance booklet, which has 22 service interval stamps as follows:

The service intervals are as follows: 04/07/2000 – 9,303 miles, 26/07/2001 – 18,340 miles, 24/06/2002 – 28,246 miles, 16/06/2003 – 39,686 miles, 22/06/2005 – 45,529 miles, 30/05/2007 – 56,750 miles, 09/09/2008 – 60,004 miles, 21/07/2009 – 62,238 miles, 01/09/2010 – 66,001 miles, 17/06/2011 – 68,795 miles, 13/06/2012 – 72,150 miles, 20/06/2013 – 75,400 miles, 27/06/ 2014 – 79,538 miles, 23/06/2015 – 83,547 miles, 06/06/2016 – 85,694 miles, 17/06/2017 – 88,911 miles, 25/06/2018 – 91,023 miles, 22/06/2019 – 92,686 miles, 03/08/2020 – 95,317 miles, 09/09/2020 – 95,451 miles, 08/04/2021 – 96,718 miles, 24/02/2023 – 102,232 miles.

The three folders of paperwork evidencing the £57,000-worth of works are too vast to list everything completed to this car, but the following names but a few notable jobs that have been completed: Various paint and bodywork works, various interior rattle investigations and remedial works, new battery, renew handbrake cables, modification to stainless steel exhaust back boxes, various suspension works and enhancements, 4x new Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, four-wheel alignment, new driver’s door lock, new windscreen washer jets, remove and reseal engine sump pan, renew variocam solenoid seal, new gear cable set, new coil packs, removed all undertrays to clean and wax oil protect underbody, 2x new pre-cat O2 sensors, new rear brake discs, pads, handbrake shoes and springs, gearbox rebuild, EPS IMS bearing upgrade, new engine mounts, new clutch, new flywheel, new variocam actuator, new air / oil separator, new coolant pipes, new power steering pump, new stainless steel exhaust back boxes, new front brake discs and pads, new air conditioning condensers, new starter motor, new coolant thermostat, full suspension overhaul.