Porsche 911 Carrera 4 (997 Series) (2005 To Date)
BY ANDY ENRIGHT
If the 996 generation of the Porsche 911 was the period when the car matured, the 997 series saw the car develop an even more polished sheen. Where it was once quite easy to see the Volkswagen DNA in Porsche, by the time the 997 was launched in 2004, Porsche had diverged so far from its rather basic sporting car roots that the 911 had become a technical tour de force and, in Carrera 4 guise, one of the most devastatingly effective all-weather cars in existence. Used examples of the C4 are now starting to appear and represent a cost effective way to buy supercar capability at upmarket sports coupe prices.
The 997 took its quality cue form the Cayenne 4x4 and features a three-spoke wheel and an in-dash LCD monitor. Some aspects are pure 993, however, such as the location of the air vents and the roll top along the upper dash. Porsche know their history and so do their customers and the design of the 997s cabin pays homage to Porsches of the past. The quality of materials, however, is like no 911 built to date.
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It also gives the back of the car some attitude that some would say was missing from the pure and pretty rear wheel drive Carrera. By comparison, the Carrera 4 looks hunkered down and squat.
The 911 Carrera 4 has traditionally been a little more prone to depreciation than the Carrera 2 but in 997 guise its been bearing up reasonably strongly. Expect to pay around £55,000 for a 55-plated Coupe and add around £600 if you want the convenience of the Tiptronic S automatic gearbox. Soft top models start at £60,000 for a 55-plater. If you need the additional power of the Carrera 4 3.
8-litre S models, youll need to find £60,000 for a Coupe, and £65,000 for a Convertible, both sporting manual gearboxes. As you might well expect, insurance is a top of the shop Group 20 right across the board.
Porsche claims to have solved the cylinder liner problem that sporadically afflicted the 996 and has also made changes to the design of the big ends and Variocam system other potential fault points. No significant faults have yet to develop with the 997 but its worth seeking out a Porsche Approved car as even apparently trivial faults can be very expensive to rectify without warranty protection. The all-wheel drive system fitted to the Carrera 4 has thus far proven bulletproof. The 19-inch alloys fitted to the 997 Carrera S are very prone to kerbing damage so check these over individually.
Check the bodywork, especially the bonnet, as this can easily be damaged by owners slamming them onto protruding items in the front boot. 997s are very colour sensitive and white and black cars are currently in vogue with the ubiquitous silver now starting to fall from favour. Speed Yellow attracts a select clientele.
(Estimated prices, based on a 2005 Carrera 4 S) Consumables for a 911 are almost laughably cheap. Youll pay £15 for an air filter, £4 for each spark plug, £10 for an oil filter, £16 for a alternator chain, and £15 for a fuel filter. Offset these costs by running any 911 exclusively on synthetic oil. Other parts are rather pricier.
Youll need to put by £300 for a replacement tinted windscreen, £450 for a clutch kit and do try not to damage your xenon headlights as Porsche will charge you £556 each for replacements.
The all-wheel drive system features a multi-disc viscous coupling and transfers between five and ten per cent of drive permanently to the front wheels. Youll be able to feel the benefit of this additional traction when accelerating out of corners, especially if the surface is damp. Whereas a Carrera will blink its traction control light at the driver as power is cut to the rear in an attempt to regain grip, the Carrera 4 will be able to balance power delivery to all four tyres and use more of its engine power. Power is something Carrera 4 owners will enjoy a fair slug of.
This 911 still uses a flat six engine and its still hung out at the back but Carrera 4 buyers will get a 325bhp 3.6-litre powerplant and Carrera 4 S customers will be treated to a 355bhp 3.8-litre unit. The straight line performance of the Carrera 4 is nigh-on identical to that of the Carrera, the extra 6bhp being offset by the additional weight.
Both standard models hit 60mph in 4.9 seconds although the Carrera has a 2mph top speed advantage at 177mph. The Carrera 4S is that little bit feistier, and takes a tenth or so out of the two-wheel drive Carrera to 60mph, recording a 4.6 second figure and loses 2mph at the top end, pegged in this instance to 180mph.
These figures are recorded in bone dry conditions. Add a bit of typical British moisture to the equation and the Carrera 4s advantage would widen significantly. Theres also very little performance penalty if you opt for the Cabriolet models. The chassis has been thoroughly revised in the latest car with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) standard on the Carrera S.
This system is built around specially designed Michelin Pilot sport tyres and Bilstein adaptive dampers that can be set in one of two modes, normal and sport. The sport mode also sharpens the throttle action. An optional sports chassis set up offers stiffer springs and dampers, a lower ride height and a more aggressive limited slip differential. Thus equipped and with an experienced driver behind the wheel, the 997 Carrera 4 S can run a lap of the Nurburgring in under 8 minutes, the true acid test of a supercar.
The Porsche 911 Carrera 4 just oozes capability. Its not a car that needs to shout about its abilities, instead providing the well-informed driver with a purposeful, no nonsense and pragmatic approach to tackling our often wet roads. When the heavens open, youve got a dark and unfamiliar journey ahead of you and you need all the help you can get, there arent many sports cars that can get anywhere near a Porsche 911 Carrera 4. Used stocks are reasonably plentiful, so be as fastidious as possible and dont buy at the bottom of the market.
