There are fast cars, and then there's the Porsche 911 Turbo. This insane symphony of performance blasts you from 0-60 mph in just over 4 seconds and keeps going to nearly 200, with an unmistakable flat-6 soundtrack. This bonkers speed machine can now be yours for less than the price of a used BMW 328i.
This 2001 Porsche 911 Turbo is an all-wheel-drive, 6-speed rocketship. Its 420 horsepower dry sump flat-6 coupled with sizable twin turbos give it a power to weight ratio that rivals most motorcycles. With a good launch, it will do a sub-4-second sprint to 60, and will register more than 1 lateral G on a skid pad. It's absolutely insane.
This example looks as clean as can be, with none of the customary dings or dents that accompany any other car of this age. It looks to have been taken care of well enough by its previous owners that it has no problem passing state inspections, and has no accidents on record, although I'd hope that on something this prestigious, some receipts and service records would be included. These 996TTs didn't have the nasty IMS bearing problems that plagued the regular 996 water cooled models, but proof of previous maintenance is a must on this high-strung of a platform.
Although the car is a sought-after model of perhaps the most sought-after make, the styling on the 996 is a bit polarizing to say the least. Fortunately, for a few grand more, you can convert your 996 Porsche front end to the much better looking 997, with rear-end conversions also available, with varying degrees of difficulty. This is definitely the route I'd go, damning the purists. But even without any modifications whatsoever, this car is a keeper. It will appreciate in the coming years, all the while giving you an ear-to-ear smirk that no base model Bimmer can ever hope to compete with.
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Tavarish is the founder of APiDA Online and writes about buying and selling cool cars on the internet. He owns the world's cheapest Mercedes S-Class, a graffiti-bombed Lexus, and he's the only Jalopnik author that has never driven a Miata. He also has a real name that he didn't feel was journalist-y enough so he used a pen name and this was the best he could do.