Air vs. Liquid cooled 911 models

[Blondebaerde]

Originally Posted by curiousgeorge5

I remember when the 911 was air-cooled. They became liquid-cooled in the 90s, IIRC. Was the character of the air-cooled models more pleasing.

To purists, yes.

I had a 996 Turbo, first of the liquid cooled. In every way but one, a demonstrably superior car to the 993 (air cooled) Turbo it replaced.

That one way was "cool factor," aka "nostalgia." Oh, and they blew their own exclusivity-factor on the 996, making too many of them, plus that dumbass headlight problem: WTF were they thinking. I barely got 40 grand on my trade in of a c. 45K mile car in excellent condition, 15 years old. For awhile, and maybe still, a comparable 993 Turbo from the mid 1990s was going for $125K on eBay. Ah well.

911s are usually not about logic and facts, the design is weird and shouldn't work as well as it should. That they often win "shootouts" to this day against similar sports coupes is due to cool factor (a lot), build quality (very high), and that in each generation they've incrementally improved the design to the point where it could split atoms. I'm afraid to drive a 991.2, I might like it. Some are getting snotty about the "last of the normally-aspirated" flat-sixes, too. I am not, though I do enjoy that mine revs to the moon and howls all the way up to redline.

[Tiffer E38]

Hmmm. I owned a '66, '69 911T (modded to S specs) and a '74 S. All air-cooled of course.


I've driven quite a few newer 911 series, and though the performance is much better (and in some cases, insanely scary better), the early cars had character that most later ones lack, be it in sound (not just the engine, but overall sound) immediacy of the controls (you could feel the mechanical connection to the road through your butt and the steering wheel), and more. I've driven early air cooled ones lately and all that still rings true. The feel of the road, and what the tires are doing, through the steering wheel to your fingertips is just incredible. The cars feel much more like a thin mechanical extension of yourself. Absolutely love driving them fast on twisty backroads, but then again, after autocrossing them for many years, I can control them past the limits pretty easy, and know where those limits are so not to come close to them on the road).


New ones are faster, yes. They are more comfortable, yes. They are definitely safer and more "useful." Incredible cars in their own right. But... They are more isolated and don't feel as much like a second skin. The modern bulk is noticeable. The only exceptions are the GT2 and GT3 versions, and even then, the bulk and isolation is noticeable, even though you are not as isolated from the world around you. In the quest for better daily driver qualities, they actually have lost something that made/make the early cars special. Gained a lot in performance, but for those of us who probably wouldn't track the cars, that doesn't matter quite as much (still wouldn't turn down a new one... )

[curiousgeorge5]

Originally Posted by Blondebaerde

For awhile, and maybe still, a comparable 993 Turbo from the mid 1990s was going for $125K on eBay. Ah well.

Wow!