Faults:

It's an air-cooled 911, so mercifully nothing has gone wrong with it. It's my third 911 (993) and none of them have suffered any "failures".

This was the end of the breed, a mid 1998 993 turbo (arctic silver with black leather). Left hand drive, German sourced car. I prefer the pedals and steering in the left hand drive air cooled cars to the right hand drive air cooled cars.

General Comments:

Utterly standard power wise, with 408bhp and 398lb/ft. Wonderfully quiet engine (too quiet I think), responsive even when off boost and immense torque above 3k rpm. Slick 6 speed manual gearbox is a jewel, and the 4wd system retains a largely rear wheel drive bias, thus enabling power slides (given enough space) and yet maintaining some sense of security in wet conditions. It doesn't pay to use full boost in any gear short of 5th in the wet though, even in a straight line! Brakes utterly astonishing for feel and capability.

Comfortable heated and electrically adjusted seats are comfortable, though very heavy and do not provide enough lateral support for the cornering ability of the car. Unique (in the super-car world) visibility - yes, you can actually see the outside world in every direction! Makes parking easy. The car is not particularly big either, barely over 4 metres long i'd say (less than 14 feet).

Don't get it serviced at a main dealer, use a well respected independant instead. 12k miles means a £200 oil change, 24k miles means a more thorough £420 service. Tyres go at the rears every 6k miles (£400), all four at 12k miles (£650). I use either Continentals or Bridgestones, the Pirellis don't afford the appropriate grip and the Michelins are noisy.

I have put a GT3 clubsport seat in place of the driver's seat, retaining the diagonal belt for normal use (commuting, etc.) but I have also added a 6 point Willans harness for "spirited driving" and track days.

I even have a roof rack for those odd occasions when I need to carry something bigger, like my mountain bikes!

Autocar tested this version of the 911 back in May of 1998, and achieved 0-60mph in just 3.7 seconds. I haven't managed that myself (nor am I likely to try given their rather brutal methods), but I am capable of achieving 100mph in 10 seconds (with a relatively gentle start). Subsequently I can keep up with Fireblade/R1/GSXRthou riders without too much trouble in almost all situations. This car covers ground across country every bit as quickly as my Fireblade did (i have sold the bike now for personal reasons).

Faults:

Paint quality issues: When the car was delivered the dealer explained a very obvious paint blemish on the passenger door would be fixed under warranty. It never was.

Sunroof: The roof pulsed at exactly 30mph when fully open. Brilliant. You had to adjust the size of the aperture depending on how fast you were going.

Switchgear: The driver window switch packed up. The tachometer was replaced at first service to cure a wagging needle.

Brakes. I was never satisfied with the jittery braking of the car at low speeds and continually pestered for something to be done about it. Having read reviews here and magazine comments I realise it's a quirk of the car. Some quirk!

Headlamp assembly covered in condensation first morning after taking delivery. Engine bay looked filthy dirty after 100 miles. Shoulder of front passenger tyre showing signs of wear by the time I sold up.

General Comments:

Drive the dream... or not. The 911 is icon but the 996 is not the car you think it is. It's quick but doesn't transmit any feeling of speed. It's a status symbol but now commonly seen ferrying kids to school. You can fork out for the hi-fi stereo upgrade and revel at the background thrum of tyres and engine. I can still remember the feeling of being frazzled after long journeys.

As mentioned in other reviews here, the quality of the cabin really lets it down. For reasons given above the Carrera is no longer a sports car and at £60,000 there's no excuse for such a spartan interior.

To sum up, it was a let down and I never felt as though I was treated properly by the dealer. A top of the line Beamer is a far better, safer, quieter, more comfortable, all-round bet. And just as fast. And with better brakes.

General Comments:

Although the 911's boxer engine has a unique whirr to it, it's too noisy on the outside and tyre roar is numbing on longer journeys.

The rear engine, rear drive layout takes some getting used to, and at times seems like a design flaw rather than a feature.

For an expensive performance car, the cabin is extraordinarily cheap: the indicator and light stalks feel fragile, the plastic is cheap and squeaks down bumpy roads. The switchgear is also nasty.

The car is also not as exclusive as dealers would have you believe. Both Boxtsers and 911s are everywhere on British roads.