Undervalued; the Porsche 964

I've noticed a definite re-evaluation recently, of the ginger haired orphan stepchild of the 911 dynasty, the '89 to '93 964.

Chastised as being neither modern, nor traditional, and with a tendency to generate big bills, the 964 was the one you looked at before buying a 993 or a Carrera 3.2.

The 964RS was an obvious exception, good examples now starting to follow on the coat tails of its more illustrious 1973 predecessor, and you'd have to dig 6 figure deep for a very good one.

Except, except.....

The 964 was the result of Porsche's first significant investment in the 911 for 15 years. The C4's transmission system was derived from that of the 959, and the 3600cc engine had twin plugs and gave a healthy 250bhp and good economy and emissions. The suspension used coil springs for the first time in a road going 911, and the specification included ABS, and a decent heating system for the first time in air-cooled cars. It even had active aero, with a rear wing that extended to give additional cooling and downforce at speed, yet hid way at a standstill to preserve the traditional 911 profile.

And that's the key point; the 964 is the last Porsche to retain the classic 911 profile, and yet it has all the mod cons, refinement and usability you'd expect from a 90's car. In fact, in 1998 I have fond memories of a six year old car that I used daily, and in which I reached 265kph on an Autobahn.

I'm clearly not the only one who has revised my option, prices of the few good 964's remaining have hardened over the past 24 months, and the very best are now on the market at dealers with asking prices on the mid-20s.

So I've put my money where my mouth is.

I picked this up from today. Its a 1990 C4 with 45,000 miles on the clock, and looks like new. Peter Morgan checked it over and commented that its the best 964 that he's seen for a very long time.

Do you like the registration?