Dawn of the Modern Porsche 911
These are known as the forgotten air-cooled 911s. Not as revered as the earlier Porsche SC/3.2 models and not as popular as the later 993s, these were seen as the middle child of the late 20th century 911s. But these cars still carry many of the traits in the air-cooled 911s and brought the future technologies that will be seen in later models including all-wheel drive, variable valve timing and wide-body model ranges.
The Porsche 964 first came out in 1989 as an all-wheel model version (the Porsche 964 C4). This was a modern revelation, since it brought so many modern technologies to the 911 platform that was common for many cars of its day. This included ABS brakes and all-wheel drive. Later on in 1990 Porsche came out with the rear-wheel version called the Porsche 964 C2. And of course Porsche came with different versions of the model including convertibles, targas and the Turbo.
The biggest issue people probably have is that the early Porsche 964 were mechanically more problematic then later models due to the then-new all-wheel drive systems and the non-head gaskets in the engines. Also they mostly came with a narrow body style which isn’t as popular as the later Porsche 993 body style. Porsche owners love wide hips on their 911s.
With that said, the Porsche 964 is deemed a very reliable car once you fix the non-head gaskets. And due to the recent market boom in air-cooled 911 cars, the Porsche 964 has seen its used-market prices soar as the Porsche 993.
Bottom line: if you don’t mind the narrow body of the Porsche 964 and knowing its a 25-year + model, this is a very good model for a 1st time Porsche buyer.
ARE YOU READY TO FIND YOUR PORSCHE 911?