2001 Porsche 911 Turbo

This car, Lot 244, sold for $109,200, including buyer’s premium, at Broad Arrow Auctions’ Costa Mesa, CA, sale on April 26, 2025.

Nearly 22,000 996 Turbos were sold in 2001–05, which rivals the much longer production run of the original 911 Turbo (1975–89). With the 997 Turbo introduction in 2006, used 996 Turbo prices softened considerably from their original MSRP of around $115k. As these terrific modern supercars became “just used cars,” it allowed a new generation of buyers to sample their prodigious power.

As prices dropped, used 996 Turbos became simply astounding performance bargains. Publisher Keith Martin owned one, as have I for well over a decade. I keep mine to remind myself how dramatically different new 911s are from the old ones we grew up with.

What’s a Mezger?

Porsche was early in the use of turbocharging for race cars and as a high-performance option for street use, way back in the 1970s. The 996 Turbo arrived with the company’s first fully water-cooled engine and full-time four-wheel drive. Like the normally aspirated 996 GT3 and the turbocharged GT2, the 996 Turbo engine was derived from the Hans Mezger-designed GT1 race car.

The Mezger engines (designated M96/70) came equipped with lightweight forged pistons, nitride-hardened lightweight crankshafts, dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder, with variable valve lift. Porsche fitted its trademark dry-sump lubrication system, which stores oil in a tank away from the engine sump. With two turbochargers, the 996 Turbo output was 415 hp at 6,000 rpm with 413 lb-ft of torque delivered between 2,700 and 4,600 rpm.

The 911 Turbo four-wheel-drive package includes the Porsche Stability Management system with anti-lock brakes, traction control, automatic brake differential and electronic brake-force distribution (known in Porsche-speak as: PSM, ABS, ASR, ABD, EBV). Wheels are visually similar to the 993 Turbo with rather exotic hollow spokes to save weight, measuring 18 by eight inches in front and an even more massively wide 18 by 11 inches in the rear. This driveline helps deliver a 0–60-mph sprint in 4.2 seconds. Top speed is an impressive 190 mph.

The well-regarded Getrag G96 6-speed manual was standard, although a 5-speed Tiptronic automatic, built around a heavy-duty Mercedes Benz gear set, was a $4,000 option. Brake components were taken directly from the GT3, with four-piston Brembo aluminum monoblock calipers and ventilated discs.

When in automatic mode for everyday driving, the Tiptronic shifts up to maximize fuel mileage. Many owners have discovered the joys of manual mode, although shifts are not lightning-fast compared to later PDK designs. Still, manual mode does provide the high revs and delightful sounds that are trademarks of all 911s.

While the 996-era 911s (as well as the Boxsters that share their engines) can suffer IMS bearing failures, all Mezger engines avoid this potential flaw. With reasonable care, these Turbo engines have proven to be amazingly robust. If you are taking your 996 Turbo to the track, pinning the aluminum coolant tubes to prevent adhesive failures can solve one of the few possible problem areas.

Resale red

This 996 Turbo was nicely equipped, with the much-preferred manual transmission. It had low miles — although not so low as to make it unusable. Its lovely and unusual interior, with custom Pepita-style fabric seat inserts, was matched with a color other than the all-too-common silver or black.

Guards Red Porsches were common through the 1980s, seemingly making that color yesterday’s news. That said, I find 996 Turbos and GT3s in Guards Red to be quite attractive and special. The new shape gave fresh life to an old icon.

Going up

Prior to being consigned here, our subject car sold for $85k on Bring a Trailer in January 2023. At that time, it had about 50 fewer miles on its odometer and the seats did not have the inserts. It was photographed for the sale wearing non-stock wheels (although the originals came with the car) and the seller indicated that it had been modified with exhaust and an aftermarket tune. Although some commenters felt that the car was well bought at the time, the price would prove to be market-correct as the overall collector car market softened.

Online sales of 996 Turbos are numerous, so it is easy to track their rise in value over the past decade. Up to 2017, these cars were commonly selling for under $50k, and even as prices started to rise, they were still selling for well under $100k up until the pandemic. Yet in 2021–22, six-figure sales became much more common. There have been fewer cars selling at that level since, as the rapid appreciation for these cars has paused.

Our subject car is something of a mixed bag, with the desirable spec of a 6-speed and low miles, yet its modifications do raise some questions. Its unique interior likely attracted interest among the cognoscenti at this all-Porsche sale, although the deviation from as-delivered could just as easily turn off some buyers. In the end, this is a nice, driver-quality car, and at this price it was slightly well sold.

Yet who among us has been willing to pass up something special just because it wasn’t the greatest deal on earth? The magic of a live auction delivers immediate acquisition of a coveted object and in doing so can also produce a price above today’s market value. Given their trajectory over the past decade, 996 Turbos deliver a Porsche experience that should continue to delight well into the future.