Sales debate: Why is the Porsche 911 SC not a more sought after model?
Despite the air-cooled boom, 911 SC prices seem to have stayed relatively low. Paragon Porsche’s Mark Sumpter believes that while the SC’s production volumes are partly to blame, “people are very romantic about the early Seventies cars and, if they are going to buy an impact bumper car, they would rather have a 3.2 Carrera with all the refinements: better heating, more powerful engine and the G50 gearbox.”
However, classic specialist Paul Stephens disputes the SC’s supposedly poor reputation. “The motoring press have always said, ‘the SC is not quite a Carrera’, so that’s what people think,” he explains. “But the 3.0-litre engine (particularly in 204bhp trim) is a really smooth, sweet-revving unit.”
The one thing the pair agree one is that the SC is suddenly experiencing something of a revival. “I think the SC is the next car that is really starting to pick up,” explains Sumpter, “especially if you can find one in what was, a few years ago, an undesirable spec.”
His views are borne out by Stephens’ experience. “People have just got the whole SC thing.” However, in Stephen’s opinion, strong values should only be commanded by well-kept examples.
“Good ones are starting to make good money, but there is a massive difference between the good and the also-rans,” he explains. “They’ve been languishing around £10,000 for so long that the person who had £10,000 probably doesn’t have £11,000. So when something went wrong, it was [fixed] with just the cheapest way to put it right.”
The market may be a bit of a minefield at the moment, but if the right car can be found, SCs appear to be the last of the affordable air-cooleds. It may even turn into a tidy investment prospect…
Do you agree with our 911 experts? Is the 911 SC gradually finding favour among air-cooled fans? Share your thoughts in the comments section below, or on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
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