Seven 911 Turbo Porsches Could Cost More Than a Small Mansion

If I go down that rabbit hole again, I'll likely come back with some stories for you to read if you haven't seen the two series. It's been a while since I binge-watched them, but lately, I've been craving to return to Japan. It's been almost a decade now, which is wild. I remember nearly fainting (of enthusiasm) as I passed Taniguchi down the hallway at the Tokyo Auto Salon. But I didn't want to be just an annoying fan and decided to improve my Japanese until the next occasion.

And rewatching the two anime shows could be a great way to polish up my "Nihongo" (Japanese language) skills. I'd have to write several pages if you ask which cars I liked most from the two shows. However, the only non-Japanese vehicle that comes to mind is the Porsche 911 Turbo "Blackbird." A car of that level is still a rather distant dream, but I'll be happy if I get there within the next ten years. Thinking about the topic, I remembered I hadn't checked the 911 Turbo market in at least a few months.

So, with just enough money in my pockets to barely keep a 1991 Mazda RX-7 running, I came up with what I thought would be a million-dollar question: How much would a collection of 911 Turbos (one from each generation) cost these days? You'll find out if you'll stick around until the end of this story. I headed to a well-known auction platform that keeps track of former sales and found myself diving deeper than expected. Almost 400 Porsche 911 Turbo models found new homes in the past year alone. The most popular generation here was the 997, with 105 units, while the rarest one was the 964, with just 17 units. But let's go deeper and see what I discovered about the market.

Porsche 930

Although the first 911 dates back to 1964, it wasn't until 1975 that Porsche unveiled the first Turbo: the 930. The company had been developing turbocharged engines for its motorsport programs, so there was enough data to implement them on road cars. The first 911 Turbo was a big hit, and within 12 months, the company reportedly sold 1,000 units.

At first, the turbocharged 3.0-liter flat-six engine had a maximum output of just 256 horsepower and 243 lb-ft (329 Nm). That may not sound like much today, but remember, the year was 1975, and the car only weighed 2,635 lbs (1,195 kg). Of course, the German manufacturer continued to improve the vehicle in the coming years. Around 20,000 units left the factory until 1989, as its replacement was ready to take over. On BaT, over 60 of these cars traded hands in the past 12 months. Eight were Cabriolet models: a Slantnose version sold for a whopping $332,000.

I'd much rather have the "regular" coupe, thank you very much! The most expensive was a 1989 Turbo S with about 42K miles (68K km) on its odometer. It sold for $305,000, featured a few RUF goodies, and looked almost brand new. But there is still hope, people! The cheapest 930 went for just over $70,0000 as it had 118K miles on the clock. Doing the math, I figured the average price for one of these cars (according to BaT data) goes up to $143,167. That's not enough to get you a brand-new 911 Turbo, but it's still sufficient for a basic Carrera 4S. Just remember, they don't call the 930 the Widowmaker for nothing.

Porsche 964

The 964 was around for a much shorter period compared to the 930. At first, it featured an upgraded version of the 3.3-liter flat-six on its predecessor, but then Porsche pulled out the big guns in 1993. The new 3.6-liter power plant raised performance levels to 355 hp and 384 lb-ft (520 Nm) of torque, but an even cooler S version came out later.

964s are extremely rare compared to their predecessors and successors. And you know what that means! Only 17 Turbo 964 found new owners within the last 12 months via BaT. Eight featured the 3.3-liter engine, with prices ranging between $136,000 to $250,000. Nine had the more powerful unit, and prices varied between $240,000 and $800,964.

Quite a fitting successful bid there, isn't it? The latter was one of 17 "Package" models with the X88 Turbo S power kit. If I remember correctly, the Sultan of Brunei and Jenson Button used to own one. Disregarding the cheapest and most expensive 964 Turbos on the market, I've calculated an average price of $281,838 for these cars. That should be enough to purchase a brand-new GT3 RS!

Porsche 993

The 993 is always sentimental for Porsche enthusiasts, as it was the last air-cooled 911. Taking it for a drive around Schwarzwald in the Need for Speed game over 20 years ago was a blast! You could write a thesis on why the new gen-Turbo model is better than the 964, but some might disagree. The car now used a twin-turbo setup and the AWD system from the 959, and the performance levels went up to 444 hp for the Turbo S model.

It needed that to reach the 186.4 mph (300 kph) mark, which didn't stop RUF from pushing things to the next level. Porsche made less than 400 units of the Turbo S, so that's what you want if money is not a problem. The most expensive of 36 Turbo 993s that traded hands on BaT falls under that category, and it sold for $560,000 (Guards Red model with 12K miles/19K km).

On the more affordable end, $155,000 was enough to close the deal for a 1996 model with about 80k miles (129k km) on its odometer. On average, a 993 Turbo would still cost around $270,000, slightly cheaper than we saw with the 964.

Porsche 996

The 996 is the cheapest way into the exclusive 911 Turbo Club. Sure, it has problems, and some people will warn you that their engines can explode. Maintenance won't be cheap compared to your Japanese sports car, but it's a Turbo! My RX-7 buddy from the UK owned a lightly-tuned 996 Turbo, and he was always raving about how amazing it is.

That didn't stop him from building up the FD to track spec, though. With the Turbo S, you could theoretically top out at 197 mph on the Autobahn, but I'm sure further upgrades will improve those figures. With over 20,000 cars coming out of Stuttgart, it's rarer than an FD RX-7.

Still, the cheapest 996 Turbo sold for $39,996 (funny, right?), while the most expensive one had a winning bid of $131,996. That translates to an average price of just under $71,000. That will barely get you into a brand-new 718 Cayman in 2024. And it's arguable which of the two would be faster around the racetrack.

Porsche 997

Once you delve into the 997 territory, you know you're going to have to spend more money as these cars aren't as old as the 996. Production went on between 2006 and 2012, and owners could enjoy up to 523 hp and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of torque with the later Turbo S models.

That's not as impressive as what the GT2 RS can offer, but that's in a class of its own. Over 100 Turbo 997s found a new owner on BaT in the past 12 months, 40 of which were the Cabriolet version.

The cheapest one sold for $57,500, while a 3,700-mile (5,954 km) example from 2007 fetched a premium $226,000. Doing the math will reveal an average price of around $98,000, which is almost what you'd have to pay for a 2024 Corvette E-Ray.

Porsche 991

It's almost strange that the 991 went out of production years ago. Despite the fact that 992 replaced it before the global pandemic, it still feels contemporary to some degree. While the GT2 RS was pushing almost 700 horsepower, the fastest Turbo S had to do with just 600 of them.

That was still enough for a top speed of over 200 mph, which Porsche owners have pursued since the '80s. Only 53 991 Turbo traded hands on BaT over the past 12 months, 22 of which were convertibles. Prices ranged between $76,000 (yes, it was still in one piece but had 92K miles on it) and $335,000 (a 2-of-200, 187-mile Turbo S Cabriolet Exclusive Series model).

With that kind of listing, the average price for a 991 Turbo is up to $158,572. However, whereas the 930s, 964s, and 993s will continue to appreciate, the 991s should go the other way around for the next few years.

Porsche 992

If you've made it this far and make seven figures a year, it almost doesn't make sense to buy a used 992. It's an option if you hate waiting and would like to drive immediately, but why not build one to your taste? With 25 listings in 12 months, the average price for these is up to $234,000. Someone sold an Aventurine Green 911 Turbo S for $320,000 last year when the sticker price was just under $259,000. A 911 Turbo S's starting price is $230,400 these days (before tax).

But let's get back to where we started so I can answer that question: How much would a collection of 911 Turbos (one from each generation) cost these days? Of course, the answer will depend on many factors: the spec of the cars, where and who you'll buy them from, and so on and so forth. Based on BaT's available data, I've come up with the following numbers.

The cheapest way into such a collection will cost around $730,000. The average price for this garage goes up to $1.25 million. And if you want to buy some of the coolest 911 Turbos on the market, you're looking at a budget of $2.7 million. That's enough to buy a small mansion and almost 50% more than the most expensive Carrera GT on the auction website. And we didn't even look at any GT3 RS or GT2 RS model. Collecting Porsche 911 cars doesn't come cheap, so you might want to buy diecast replicas instead if you're not a millionaire.