Porsche 911 anniversary editions

Porsche has just unveiled its 911 50th Anniversary Edition, and very nice it is too. It’s not the first time that Porsche has celebrated a 911 significant birthday, though.

Back in 1993, Porsche gave us the 964 Anniversary. Boasting the wide Turbo bodywork with Carrera 4 running gear, most were painted in Viola Metallic with Rubicon Grey leather interiors. Badging on the rear read “30 Jahre 911”. The plan was to build 911 examples of the Anniversary but it seems that Porsche struggled to sell them during the early 1990s recession and so some were badged as standard Carrera 4s.

Today, the 964 Anniversary is becoming more and more sought after, with prices on the rise. All 964s are desirable now, with buyers appreciating the cars’ looks, performance and relative rarity. The 964 Anniversary is  a surefire investment, if you can find one.

In 2004, slightly late, Porsche gave us the 996 40th Anniversary. All 1963 examples of this narrow-bodied 996 were finished in GT Metallic Silver and featured body-colour Turbo front intakes and highly polished 18-inch wheels. The interior was soft dark-grey leather with GT silver trim and was highly specced – it even had custom luggage for the boot.

However, the really interesting thing was that the engine output was boosted by 25bhp to 345bhp, thatnks to an X51 Powerkit. This gave the car a top speed of 180mph and a 0-62mph time of 4.9 seconds, making it second only to the GT3 in terms of top speed for a normally aspirated 911. The suspension used firmer springs and dampers and was lowered by 10mm. A limited-slip differential and Porsche Stability Management (PSM) were standard equipment.

Today, the 996 40th Anniversary is often misunderstood as many people see only the blingy wheels and don’t realise that the car has an uprated engine and suspension. It’s a great driver’s car and, at the moment, doesn’t command much, if any, premium over a standard 996. So if you can find one, buy it. I reckon it’s a classic in the making.