Our Air-Cooled Porsche Is Almost Here

Next month, an air-cooled Porsche 911 (964 Carrera 2) will finally be joining our family. I’d always assumed an air-cooled 911 was still a long way off, but things have moved surprisingly quickly. My husband has been searching used-car listings almost every day, asking air-cooled Porsche owners for advice, and ordering magazines to research his options. In the end, he seemed torn between one big question: “Should I get a 993 or a 964?”

He ultimately chose the 964, so I asked him to tell me a little more about the decision. For now, he’s been working closely with the dealer on the restoration, aiming to have the car in top condition by the time it’s delivered.

① Why Buy an Air-Cooled Porsche?

First, I asked him why he wanted an air-cooled Porsche in the first place. His answer:

“Because I wanted to step into the air-cooled rabbit hole.”
*They call it a rabbit hole because once you take the first step, you don’t just struggle to get back out—you keep falling deeper and deeper.

That’s what he said. (Laughs.)

I’ve always thought that if you’re going to talk about Porsche and the 911, you should own an air-cooled one at least once. But I still haven’t bought a modern 911 because I can’t decide which model to get. At some point, I started thinking, “Maybe I should start with an air-cooled car instead.” I was also curious about the so-called air-cooled rabbit hole that owners say you can never climb out of. I wanted to find out for myself just how much fun it is.

Well, curiosity is a wonderful thing—but this is a seriously expensive curiosity! (Laughs.)

② Why Choose a 964?

So why did he settle on a 964? Here’s what he told me:

I did consider a pre-1974 911 and the 930, but I’m not really a classic-car fanatic. I drive long distances like crazy and want to enjoy the car without holding back, so I also wanted a reasonable level of comfort and reliability.
I’ve always liked the design of the 993 and 959, so at first I planned to buy a 993. But the next-generation 992 was also returning to the 930 and 964 look, and I thought, “If I’m going to own a 911, I want one with that unmistakable frog-eye face.” That’s why I chose the 964.

The 964 also came with air conditioning as standard (though I wonder how well it works—that’s something I’m curious about, too), so it might be a great choice for enjoying the character of an air-cooled Porsche while still getting some everyday practicality.

③ Why Choose Tiptronic?

I’d assumed that if my husband bought a 911—especially an air-cooled one—“there’s no way he’d choose anything but a manual.” But this time, he went for a Tiptronic. I asked him why:

Of course, I initially looked at manual cars. But there aren’t many in good condition, and the ones you do find are either ridiculously expensive or almost always modified in some way. The suspension, steering, and wheels are especially likely to have been changed. I believe that “there’s no tuner better than Porsche’s own Weissach development center” when it comes to overall balance, so I wanted my Porsche to be completely original.

That makes sense. When we previously asked about the price of a promising air-cooled manual, it was easily over ¥10 million. I couldn’t help thinking, “At that price, you could buy a brand-new, stock 911!” Even allowing for its rarity, that seemed a little steep. My husband went on:

With a Tiptronic, we found a few really nice cars with good service records and clear histories, and the prices were still within reason. Also, most air-cooled articles and blogs are about manual cars, so I thought it might be interesting to buy a Tiptronic and share information about it. Fortunately, we already have a manual Boxster GTS at home, so I can enjoy the manual experience in that.

Meanwhile, I can barely drive the Boxster with its manual gearbox yet. If the air-cooled Porsche had been a manual, too… I’d have had to start a whole new series called “Learning to Drive an Air-Cooled Porsche (Manual)”! (Yikes.) I’m relieved we’ve avoided that for now.

My husband also says he’s surprisingly fond of four-speed automatics.

The Honda Legend Coupe I used to own (the KA3 and KA8) and my E36 BMW 318is both had four-speed automatics, and they’re among my favorite cars I’ve owned. I never minded the limited number of gears or the fact that they were automatics. In fact, I quite liked how the wide gear ratios let you wind them out.

That’s what he says.

Last weekend, my husband traveled to a used-car dealership in Nagoya to take care of the paperwork for the air-cooled Porsche and check on the restoration. I can’t wait to see what kind of air-cooled 911 is coming home to us.