Sales debate: How will Porsche’s decision to go turbocharged affect 991 prices?
We Porsche 911 fans are notoriously set in our ways. The gradual pervasion of the PDK gearbox through the upper echelons of the current 911 range brought many cries of derision (and a hefty price hike on earlier generations of GT3), while some enthusiasts still haven’t come to terms with the switch to water-cooling.
So, how will the almost certain move towards turbocharging on the 991.2 affect prices of the first generation cars in the short term?
“As yet it’s not having an effect,” explains Porsche Bournemouth sales executive Karl Meyer. “I’d say less than 15 per cent of our customers have even asked about it [the new car].”
Meyer points out that, historically, Porsche has always been a master at controlling residual values when a facelift model is released. However, given the huge step-change expected, he wouldn’t be surprised if 991 Gen1 depreciation slowed down a little: “A 991 GTS or 991 C2S could be seen as the last of the naturally aspirated cars,” he points out.
Greig Daly, Sales Director at independent specialist RPM Technik, agrees: “In the short term, it will probably shore up prices of the 991s. I don’t think they will go up in value though as there’s just way too many of them.”
Volume is also a key factor in Meyer’s argument, pointing out that, unlike GT3 values, “the [Carrera] market behaves a bit differently.”
“The nearest you can compare it to is the 996. That was the biggest change for the company ever yet 993s continued to fall at the normal rate. People talked but prices didn’t follow,” explains Meyer.
The Porsche Bournemouth expert feels it will take “10, 15, 20 years” until 991 Carreras start appreciating because of the turbocharged effect. “That’s when collectors get their teeth into it,” he points out.
Again, Daly concurs, explaining that, in the short-term, the 991 will continue to depreciate, especially once the first facelifted models begin to trickle onto the second-hand market. RPM Technik’s Sales Director does feel that “Gen1 991s may not depreciate at the savage rates they have been doing” in recent times, though.
In this respect, the next few years may well be a good time to think about getting yourself into a nearly new 911.
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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