Sales debate: Why are 996 GT2s undervalued compared to 993 and 997 GT2s?
For a while now, 993 GT2s have sat near the top of the financial tree as one of the most expensive production Porsche 911s on the collector’s market; expect to pay upwards of £500,000 ($675,450) for a nice example of the original widowmaker. The 993’s successor, the 996 GT2, has lagged behind value-wise though.
A year or so ago, a water-cooled GT2 could be found for under £60,000 ($81,000), making it one of our Neunelfers to buy in issue 126’s investor’s special, and, despite a price rise proving us right, they still languish behind 993 and 997 widowmakers.
“There’s quite a handful of them on the market right now,” says Porsche specialist Lee Maxted-Page, “and they’re in a spread between £100,000 to £150,000 ($135,00 to $202,000).”
With just 173 examples of the 993 GT2 built compared to the 996’s production run of 1,287, is this price gap purely down to the numbers available?
“No,” Maxted-Page confirms. “996 GT2s are still very low production cars as there were 129 UK cars built between 2001-04: 16 in 2001, 66 in 2002, 31 in 2003 and then 16 Gen2s in 2004.”
However, despite the 996’s prowess as a driver’s car, Maxted-Page feels it can’t be compared to the 993, the latter a “proper homologated car for Le Mans.” Mark Sumpter from Paragon agrees, pointing to the 996’s lack of racing pedigree as a key reason why its value lagged far behind the 993 GT2.
While Sumpter points out that the relative abundance of 996s does, rightfully, have an effect on the GT2 price gap, he feels that as the 996 is “a decade newer than the 993, the water-cooled car hasn’t hit ‘classic’ values yet.”
It’s one of the reasons why Sumpter believes “good, original-spec 996 GT2s will continue to appreciate”, making them a good purchase despite the price hike they’ve enjoyed over the last year.
Maxted-Page agrees: “A lot of this water-cooled stuff has taken more time to appreciate than the air-cooled stuff,” he says. “But recently, the focus has been on Turbos, from the early 930s right the way through.”
As the 911 enters a new turbocharged era, Maxted- Page feels that interest is only going one way: “Low mileage, factory original cars have the potential to be valued in the £150,000 to £200,000 ($202,000 to $270,000) bracket.”
Sumpter is even more optimistic and claims, “a low-mileage, perfect car may get to £250,000 ($337,600) in the next two or three years.” He adds, “I think they will settle at around one third of the price of a good 993 GT2.” Good news if you thought you’d missed the water-cooled widowmaker boat.
For market advice on any generation or style of Porsche 911, check out our full selection of sales debates, where we ask the 911 experts the pertinent market questions so you don’t have to.
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