4th May 2003, 13:25

I have had a string of fast BMW's amongst other things and I have driven my 1996 Porsche 911 (993) Carrera 4S every day for the last 8 months. That's 21,000 miles to you. Bought the car with 62,000 miles and now at 83,000 miles it runs better than ever.

Servicing is very reasonable (i use a well respected Porsche Specialist), though it has gone through lots of tyres. :-)

No rattles, no squeaks, air con that's cold and wonderful seats and driving position.

I've recently driven lots of cars to try and find something to drive daily, so that I can reduce the mileage I'm putting on my 993. Nominees like M coupe, old M3, new M3, new M5, old E55, C43, Audi S4, S3, Mitsubishi Evo VII, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, the list goes on...

Reality? Nothing comes close to my "last of the air-cooled" 911.

As someone else has already said, the air cooled 911 is a "love-it or hate-it" car. Can you guess which one I am?

5th Feb 2004, 20:02

Foibles? I think the 911 has enough race winning to argue that its foibled layout stands up quite well to the rigors of serious motor sport. Suspect brakes? What do you mean, I don't know many people who wouldn't consider 911 brakes possibly the best in the world, and it's been that way for 30 years.

You can't jump into a 911 and expect to be able to drive it like a FWD car. It deserves respect. Accelerate or die, and that's what racers need.