PORSCHE 911 Carrera (996) 1997-2001 Photos, engines & full specs

Designed as a grand tourer, the Porsche Carrera was the base version for the 911 range in 1998. It offered enough comfort to be used as a daily driver.

The 996 Porsche was unveiled in 1997. The Carrera was the quickest naturally aspirated Porsche 911 from its times, apart from the GT3 versions, which were track-focused vehicles. The main advantage of the 911 was that it was a true, daily-driver, sports-car. It was the first water-cooled 911.

From the outside, the big headlights were oddly shaped and that brought a lot of criticism from Porsche fans around the world. The main difference between the 1998 Carrera and the facelifted version was that on this model, the turn-signals were placed at the bottom of the headlights. From the side, the flush bodywork, without any enlargements for the wheel-arches, offered a clean look.

Inside, the car was fitted as standard with a stereo and air-conditioning. Since it was the base model in the stable, it didn't feature too many luxury items, but those were on the options list. The standard seats could have been upgraded to power-adjustable leather seats. It was the first Porsche 911 with a center stack. The 911 featured two seats in the back, but very cramped. Those were installed mainly for tax and insurance purposes.

Under the engine lid, there was a newly-developed flat-six engine that offered 300 hp. It was mated as standard with a six-speed manual. A 5-speed automatic (Tiptronic) with manual override to shift gears was on the options list. The Carrera 2 was rear-wheel-drive.