996 Carrera 4S is Driving Perfection (Part 2)

The cabin was beautifully appointed in the Turbo tradition. The 996’s plastic surfaces were trimmed in stitched leather and frequently matched by a leather three spoke steering wheel. Standard equipment included automatic climate control, fully electric seats and an upgraded Bose sound system. The options list included Porsche’s new carbon ceramic brakes (at almost $9,000, few buyers chose these), and you could further customize the interior with red seat belts and the Porsche crest embossed in the seat backs, a commonly found and tasteful option. PCM satellite navigation, still slightly exotic a decade ago, was another option, but as on the Turbo, stability control in the shape of PSM was standard, as was the suede roof.

The cabin was beautifully appointed in the Turbo tradition

In the past, ‘S’ versions often indicated a tuned Porsche witness the original 911S. As with the 993, however, the S nomenclature of the C4S denoted a model with visual rather than performance enhancement. Under the C4S’s bonnet, the 3.6 was the stock water-cooled six that would endure until 2008. Porsche’s X51 kit offered more power, but in reality Porsche had judged it right. C4S customers were more than ready to pay the significant price premium over the standard 996 for a model with fractionally (but not noticeably) slower take off due to its extra 65kg weight, because what counted was the C4S’s incomparable ‘Turbo look’. 320bhp, after all, was generous horsepower in 2001, and a 170mph+ top speed was entirely appropriate for the ultimate expression of the naturally aspirated 911 (barring the GT3, of course). Even if the C4S was, as Paul Frère observes in his book, Porsche 911 Story, “More for show than go,” the entire exercise was a casebook example of adding value and reaping the profits. Building the Turbo-based C4S also helped amortize the cost of the blown 996’s specific chassis.

With a high specification, the interior of the 996 C4S had aged well. The owner, Azz, still uses the PCM competently, and the optional Tiptronic gearbox can be enjoyable for those not accustomed to the later PDK. Deploying the switchable Sports Exhaust button to the left of the steering wheel can be an addictive experience, while the Bose speakers provide excellent acoustics of a different kind

The 996 wide body also came in Cabriolet form, and accounted for 33 per cent of 996 C4S sales. Critics remarked that the soft-top version lacked the style of the Coupe, but so it has always been with any significant modifications to the 911’s silhouette. The critics admired the job Porsche had made of integrating the hood, though with the roof down the rear could still appear bulky, an observation later leveled at the convertible 997. You could always rely on Porsche for engineering integrity, though, and road testers reported minimal scuttle shake or shimmy – the bane of roofless cars on uneven surfaces. The Tiptronic gearbox was particularly well suited to the laid back C4S Cabrio.

The 996 C4S may have lashings of Turbo inspired aesthetics, but under the decklid is a naturally aspirated 3.6 liter engine

The wide-body 996 was not destined for a long career: the next 911, the 997, was announced in 2004, and this time barely a year passed before the launch of the wide-body versions – a clear sign of the importance of this model. Even as early as 2007, Total 911 commented that the 996 C4S was already a “classic in the making.” The combination of wide Turbo body and standard C4 drive train was irresistible, and we were then as particularly taken with the return of the full-width rear reflector as we are now. Sitting low on its peerless 18-inch Turbo alloy wheels, the C4S is undoubtedly one of the best-looking 996s, overcoming all the early criticism of the first water-cooled model’s supposedly anodyne looks and uninspiring interior to look both potent and discreetly menacing.

996 Carrera 4S side

Time has proved us right. Six years on, the C4S is worth appreciably more than the base 996 or C4. The gap still has some way to go before reaching the proportions of the 993, where a low-mileage ‘4S’ can be worth half as much again as the narrow-bodied car, but as the value of average 3.6 liter 996 sinks towards or even below $22,500. The C4S is mostly to be found in the $27-$34,500 bracket, with sub-20,000-mile cars priced up to $7,500 more. Given the lavish equipment as standard and the fact that most C4Ss were delivered with factory options like switchable exhaust, the wide-body car represents potentially the best-value naturally aspirated 996, and will always turn heads.

996 Carrera 4S back