Pictures of my new (to me) 600HP Sports Car

[docdan]

Well, I have been the happy previous owner of two NSX's in the past, a 1995 and a 1997 NSX-T. They were awesome sports cars. After my 2nd NSX, however, I thought that I would explore some of the other sports cars out there.

I ended up buying an AMG SL55. As you all know, that car is a sheer horsepower beast. However, despite all its power, it really wasn't that much fun to drive. Unless you floored the pedal and roared off, the ride was rather sedate and too detached.

So I sold the SL55 and had been keeping my eyes open for other possibilities. I was browsing autotrader.com when I came across an ad for a 2004 996 Turbo Cabriolet. Now, normally, I wouldn't have considered myself a huge Porsche fan, nor a Porsche hater. I liked some I saw, and others I didn't care for. Well this particular Porsche I cared for a lot.

It is a single owner Turbo Cab that was ordered with pretty much every factory option including the $17K X50 option that boosted the horsepower to around 450HP. He had ordered it with the X50 upgrade because he needed the bigger turbos and heavier duty transmission for his planned upgrades.

After that, the original owner immediately had the dealership, Hendrick Porsche in Charlotte, NC, do a bunch of modifications to it. (This particular dealership is an Evolution Motorsports dealer and encourages modifying your Porsche. The service manager is a also a certified Porsche high performance driving instructor who also hosts track events for the customers who mod their cars...but I digress.)

This car has the following mods by the dealership:

Stage III Evo 600 HP ugrade
Lightweight High Flow Exhaust - 100 Cell Cats
B&M Short Throw Shifter
GT2 Brembo Brake Upgrades
Lowered Suspension
Custom Rollbar/Strut
Sparco Aluminum Pedals
Champion Motorsports 19" Ultralight Forged Aluminum Alloy Wheels--Custom Painted Black/Silver

Hardtop
Gemballa Carbon Fiber Hood
Gemballa Front Nose
Tech Art Rear Bumper
Tech Art Side Skirts
GT2 Rear Spoiler
Carbon Fiber intakes and mirrors
3M Clear Bra
K40 Calibre Front/Rear Radar and Laser Diffusers

Okay, now I'll shut up and post some pictures:

I know some people on this board don't particularly care too much for P-cars, and that's cool with me. They aren't for everyone, especially a modded one like this. But in my case, this was just what I wanted. To me it doesn't look like all the other 996's out there and it drives and handles like nothing else I've driven.



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[ediddynsx]

I like it....I wouldn't mind getting a P-car after I get the cars that I really want first. Looks great congrats.

 

[Aero]

Nice. Are you sure 600 is enough? :wink:

 

[GOTTSPD]

I don't really like P-cars, but that one is awesome! Congrats on the new, hot ride!

 

[LP Tuning]

I know some people on this board don't particularly care too much for P-cars, and that's cool with me. They aren't for everyone, especially a modded one like this. But in my case, this was just what I wanted. To me it doesn't look like all the other 996's out there and it drives and handles like nothing else I've driven.

Funny thing about the P-cars especially the 996's is that those damn things no matter how much work has been done, still seem stock from the top of the motor. ever since they moved the intercoolers to the fenders, unless you look underneath the car, they all look exactly the same. Sweet car nonethe less.

 

[Wheelman]

Sweeet! Congratulations! That's gotta be one hell of a ride!

 

[flaminio]

I gotta say that I'm no fan of the P-cars either, but that is one sweet looking ride. I think it's possibly the best looking 911-variant I've ever seen. Congrats!

 

[my1stnsx]

Great looking car!!!!:smile:

 

[SaberX]

Wow. I bet its a monster. Recently, a friend who has a stock 01 996 Turbo did a few runs against my 91 CTSC NSX. We were close to dead even and I like to think my car is pretty fast. I can't even imagine what an extra 200+ hp on top of what he already had would turn that car into... And yea, P-cars are kinda like all too similar looking - but you clearly no longer fall into that bucket. Nice ride!

 

[Matt_337]

Congrats

I remember when you were shopping for a sports car a while back, we (the board) listed so many cars and the reasoning for why you should get X car.

 

[AU_NSX]

I know some people on this board don't particularly care too much for P-cars, and that's cool with me. They aren't for everyone, especially a modded one like this. But in my case, this was just what I wanted. To me it doesn't look like all the other 996's out there and it drives and handles like nothing else I've driven.

Congratulations!

I used to be a P-car fan, I used to have an '81 SC in Guards Red with Fuch forged alloy wheels. ... But that stopped the day I drove my first NSX! :smile: Understandable right...

Anyway, since Porsche released the Cayman S... That dragged me back into their showroom and got me interested in them again! Let's just say that I have a newfound (or should that be revived?) appreciation for the marque and you have an awesome example there! Wow! 600 hp convertible!! Enjoy!

 

[BioBanker]

Love it.

Bet it is outrageously awesome.

 

[morrow]

Congats on the new car. I became a huge P-car fan after driving a 996T with the x-50 package! I can't imagine how yours must feel with the additional add ons. I usually don't care for the cabriolet because they look wrong with the top up, but the hard top looks like it fixes that issue. Do you have any issues with additional noise with the hard top on? (not that you can hear it over the engine)
Did you drive a coupe as well, if so can you tell a difference in handling between the two?

 

[synergy004]

LOL I scrolled down to see who posted and I am waitin for Len3.86356735's response.

Nice ride.

gj

 

[nchopp]

I think I need to go change my pants.

 

[len3.8]

LOL I scrolled down to see who posted and I am waitin for Len3.86356735's response.

Nice ride.

gj

LOL...
If he likes it, I love it...
I am not a big "cab" fan, but the car looks good..
Enjoy it...

 

[ANYTIME]

How does Porsche deal with the warranty (if there is one left) with the mods done to the car?

 

[VictorH]

How does Porsche deal with the warranty (if there is one left) with the mods done to the car?

I have found Porsche to be generally tolerant of modifications and warranty claims. This is even true when failures occur on the track. My Cayman's users manual only mentions that using full racing slicks voids the warranty. R-compound tires are apparently okay. Porsche expects many owners to track their cars.

Porsche is the largest racecar and probably the largest sportscar manufacturer in the world. Porsche knows that on average, their clientele consists of performance enthusiasts not soccer moms or entry level college students. Being sterny intolerant of mods damages relations with the demographics they are serving (and generating a majority of revenue from). Fortunately (or unfortunately), main stream car companies are not working in this environment.

The dealer network is also very tolerant as a whole. The dealers are the ones who really count when it comes time for them to represent you to Porsche on warranty claims.

2 of the 3 dealers in my area continually have Porsches going through their service department for installation and tuning of mods. My dealer has technicians and several "stalls" reserved for performance mods. I spoke to one of the technicians recently about the high boost supercharger kit he was installing into a customers 911S. I was shocked at the sheer number of mods they do per week and the wide range of things they are willing to do.

 

[S-TO-8K]

Nicely optioned out ride!!
I sold my NA '99 996 coupe to get an NSX :biggrin:

 

[ChopsJazz]

I don't want to be a cynic, but I'm not a fan of the look of the newer cab. They got the roofline and engine cover all wrong in my opinion. I think the body mods you've got look pretty good, but I question Porsche's making a turbo option in the cabriolet. Just my opinion, but that seems like an awful lot of power for a flexible chassis. Just my 2 cents.

 

[LeftLane]

I think I need to go change my pants.

I fouled my keyboard also. :smile:

Sweet ride - one of my all-time faves.

 

[docdan]

Thanks for all the compliments....I knew I was going out on a bit of a limb posting a Porsche on the NSX forum.


Yes, this car is a blast to drive. I seems very light, nimble, and tossable for cabriolet, yet it throws me back in my seat more than my SL55 did. You go through 1st gear in a heartbeat before you're shifting to second. Flooring it in 2nd or 3rd is actually scary the first few times. I remember making a mental note the first time I floored it to never let someone else drive it without me.

I'm sure the performance mods have a lot to do with it, but I couldn't tell any difference between this and a stock 996 Turbo Coupe I drove, except this was faster and tighter. The hardtop does not create any additional noise, quite to the contrary, it actually blocks out more road noise, and creates less "wind noise" than the convertible top.

As to the amount of horsepower for this cabriolet frame...I'm not sure how to respond to that. I'm definitely not an engineer, and my understanding of car frames are basic at best. I was told that Porsche engineered this body specifically to try to compensate for the structural shortcomings of a convertible. The car has a little bit more structural integrity with the hardtop on. This particular car has a custom "roll bar" installed behind the front seats. This also lends to some added structural stability to the frame.
That being said, I know a coupe would be a better body, much like an NSX coupe's would be better than an NSX-T.

As to the warranty, this is how this particular dealership handles it. They make you sign a waiver at the time you mod your vehicle that states that you understand that parts of your warranty may be voided by the mods.

If there is a problem with your car, that directly involves, or is a direct result of a part or portion of the car that you modded, most likely it will not be covered. If it has nothing whatsoever to do with the mods, the warranty is still in effect.

For the multitudes of "gray zone" type situations, it is going to be the service manager's call along with Porsche. I know this particular service manager will go to bat for his clients as much as possible. I don't have any first hand experiences with Porsche N.A., so I'm not sure how lenient they are, and I hope I don't have to find out any time soon!



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[nchopp]

How about some shots of her next to the A8?

 

[The Kid]

Awesome ride. Im becoming a big Porsche fan myself and also have a 2001 911 cab as my daily driver. Almost 3 months and 2k miles and I havent had a problem yet.