Finally, the Air-Cooled Porsche Is Coming

Next month, an air-cooled Porsche 911 (964 Carrera 2) will be joining our family. I always thought getting an air-cooled model was something for the distant future, but it came much sooner than expected. My husband has been searching used car sites almost daily, consulting with air-cooled Porsche owners he knows, and ordering magazines to gather information. In the end, he was torn between “whether to go for a 993 or a 964.”

He ultimately decided on the 964, so I asked him a bit about that choice. By the way, my husband has been in constant contact with the used car dealer and is having the 964 fully restored to ensure it’s delivered in perfect condition.

① Why Buy an Air-Cooled Porsche?

First, I asked why he wanted to buy an air-cooled Porsche.

“Because I wanted to step into the ‘Air-Cooled Demon World’”
*Once you step in, you can never come back out, and you just keep falling deeper—that’s why it’s called that, apparently.

That’s what he said (laughs).

I’ve always thought that if you’re going to talk about Porsche and the 911, you have to have experienced an air-cooled model at least once. But when it comes to the current 911, I still can’t decide which model to buy, so I started thinking, “Maybe it’s actually a good idea to start with an air-cooled one.” Also, I wanted to see for myself how fun this so-called air-cooled demon world is that air-cooled owners say you can never escape once you enter.

Well, curiosity is good, but that’s an awfully expensive kind of curiosity (laughs).

② Why the 964?

Then I asked why he chose the 964. He said:

I considered the Narrow Body and the 930, but I’m not really a classic car fanatic. I want to drive it hard and long without holding back, so I need a certain level of comfort and reliability.
Personally, I like the design of the 993 and 959, so I originally planned to buy a 993. But since the next 992 is returning to the 930/964-style front end, I thought, “If I’m going to drive one, I want the classic frog-eye 911 face.” So I decided on the 964.

Since the 964 comes standard with air conditioning (though I wonder how effective it really is), it’s practical and still lets you enjoy the air-cooled experience, making it a good choice.

③ Why Choose Tiptronic?

I thought that if my husband was buying a 911, especially an air-cooled one, “there’s no way he’d pick anything but a manual.” But this time, he chose Tiptronic. When I asked why, he said:

At first, of course, I considered a manual. But well-maintained manuals are rare, and when they do appear, they’re either ridiculously expensive or almost always modified in some way—especially the suspension, steering, or wheels. Since I believe “no tuner can beat Porsche’s Weissach Engineering Center”, I want my Porsche to be in completely original condition.

Makes sense. When I previously checked prices for a good-condition air-cooled manual, they easily topped 10 million yen, and I honestly thought, “At that price, I could just buy a brand-new standard 911!” It’s rare, sure, but that’s just too expensive. My husband continued:

With Tiptronic, there are several well-maintained cars with clear service records and provenance, and the prices are still reasonable. Also, since most air-cooled articles and blogs focus on manuals, I thought it would be interesting to buy a Tiptronic and share that perspective. Luckily, we have a Boxster GTS with a manual, so I can still enjoy manual driving there.

Honestly, I can barely drive the Boxster manual yet and now with an air-cooled manual too, I’d have to write a whole new article titled “Until the Day I Can Drive an Air-Cooled Porsche (Manual).” I’m relieved to avoid that for now.

Also, my husband said he surprisingly likes the 4-speed automatic.

The Honda Legend Coupe (KA3 and KA8) and the E36 BMW 318is I used to own both had 4-speed automatics, and they rank among my favorite cars ever. I never minded the low number of gears or the fact they were automatics. In fact, I quite like how the wide gear ratios let you pull through the rev range.

Last weekend, my husband went all the way to a used car dealer in Nagoya to check on the paperwork and the restoration progress of the air-cooled Porsche. I’m really looking forward to seeing what kind of air-cooled Porsche will be coming home to us.