Porsche wants to rehabilitate the 996

If you’ve been using TikTok lately, you may have noticed some annoying but relevant trends. They go by names familiar to those of us who have walked this earth for so long but to A foreigner about the young people who now see them as a novel. It was once believed that evil conquered, and now it returns from the depths: a light wash denim. Low rise jeans. until the “whale tailHe’s back on that curseapp d. Back in the early 2000s, Porsche seems to be banking on the trend of overhauling the more divisive image of the 911.

The 996th generation 911, for those out of the know, is the version of the car that first hit dealer floors in 1997. It was the first 911 to be liquid-cooled instead of air, a new technology developed a hundred years agoand featured crowd-pleasing design elements such as Headlights Fried Egg And the Engine bearings that turned the entire engine into soup If you look at them wrong, right, or not at all. To say he was not liked by the fundamentalists would be an understatement.

But time goes by, and 996 prices have fallen on the second-hand market (yes, there was a time when at least some versions of the 911 were relatively available). They ended up in the hands of enthusiasts who loved to maneuver, endured mechanical quirks, and developed an uncanny affinity for fried-egg headlights. Many of those who denounced the 996’s breaking of tradition, the Statlers Waldorf In the automotive world, its importance has since faded and has ceded ground to fans of the most refined Porsche.

Now, the company itself is involved in rehabilitating its first trials. Called the Classic Club Coupe, this one-off Porsche’s Sonderwunsch (“special wish”) is a step in that direction – turning the warm, nourishing light of Stuttgart toward a model whose life has seen its share of darkness. from Porsche:

“We wanted to go a different route – to build this unique project on a less obvious car – a modern classic – that would appeal to a slightly different set of enthusiasts,” said Tom Gorsuch, president of the Porsche Club of America (PCA). . “The fact that the final Porsche 911 Classic Club Coupe looks so cohesive, with the changes appearing naturally, is what’s really unbelievable about this challenging project.”

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“Other 911 ranges unfairly overshadowed the 996. That’s why we were happy to choose it as the basis to show all the things we can do with Porsche Classic and the recently expanded Sonderwunsch program for Porsche AG,” said Alexander Fabage, Head of Exclusivity and Classics. In 2009, the 911 Sport Classic, a limited series of 250 cars, already sparked worldwide interest. However, this particular model was not sold in the United States. Thanks to this unique model, we are now able to bring a similar exciting car concept to the US as well.”

The Classic Club Coupe borrows its engine and brakes from the 996 GT3. Porsche also claims that the GT3 “chassis” is in use, although that appears to be the case It just means car suspension. The duck wing and double bubble roof are completely unique to the Classic Club Coupe, as is the blue trim (CarPlay-enabled) interior.

The 996 has spent her life fighting an uphill battle for acceptance. Between styling and styling changes and a tendency to unreliability, achieving the same level of honor was as previous (or newer) 911s. But in the past few years, it’s been winning that war—and even Porsche is starting to side with it. In terms of early twenty-first century trends, though, can we at least leave JNCOs in the past?