The Porsche 911 is one of the best sports car lines to have ever hit the roads; we don’t think there is any arguing it. Every generation is sleek, low to the ground, packed full of track-worthy goodies, boasts a very distinct look, and is a bona fide legend. First unveiled to the public at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in 1963, the first generation of the legendary German sports car (originally called the 901) was equipped with an air-cooled flat-six, and things stayed that way for another 35 years. The air-cooled days of the Porsche 911 came to an end in mid-1998 with the last models of the 993 generation.
Porsche
- Founded
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1948
- Founder
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Ferdinand Porsche
- Headquarters
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Stuttgart, Germany
- Owned By
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Volkswagen
- Current CEO
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Oliver Blume
The Porsche 911 996 generation, which was fully launched the same year, took on a water-cooled engine, and with the change came a lot of disgruntled Porsche fans who missed the iconic whirring and real mechanical sound of the air-cooled units. Some of the best Porsche 911 models are a mix of both water-cooled and air-cooled iterations, but today, it is the air-cooled Porsche 911s that are commanding huge prices on the classic car market, with collectors and purists both scrabbling to get a bit of old-school Porsche engineering.
To give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from various manufacturers and other authoritative sources, including Classic.com and Hagerty. The 2025 prices for the last air-cooled Porsche 911 models have all been taken from auction results from the last five years, though we know that other sources may provide different price ranges.
1998 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet
Price In 2025: $32,650 – $158,000
As part of the final model years of the air-cooled Porsche 911 models, the 1998 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet makes up a huge swathe of the classic 911 market. It is certainly not the rarest Porsche out there, and some lucky buyers have picked it up for just over $30,000 at auction, but it still offers a huge amount of air-cooled guts and the iconic 911 silhouette.
Plus, in the ’98 Carrera 4 Cabriolet’s case, we think collectors are still looking for one because it does signify the end of an era for Porsche, so rarity doesn’t really matter; it is more about what the model stands for. You still get a 296-horsepower 3.4 flat-six under the hood, sprint times of around 5.4 seconds, and either a six-speed manual box or a five-speed Tiptronic unit, but you also get all-wheel drive instead of rear-wheel drive.
That may irk some real Porsche purists, but there is no denying that, combined with its longer and wider body compared to its predecessor, the AWD setup helps a great deal with traction, stability, and cornering in the wet. The Carrera 4 can also be seen as a more ‘usable’ Porsche 911 (we say that lightly) because of its three-layer soft top, which was also originally available with an optional hardtop, reinforced chassis, a decent reliability reputation, and not-terrible parts availability. So, you get a Porsche 911 with an iconic engine, ease of use, and you can put the top down on a sunny day.
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1995 Porsche 911 Carrera 2
Price In 2025: $36,500 – $172,000
As the rear-wheel drive sibling of the 911 Carrera 4, the Carrera 911 2 is renowned as one of the purist-feeling and driving 993-gen 911 models ever. Prices are currently sitting at between a very wallet-friendly $36,500 and a wallet-busting $172,000. Condition and mileage play a huge role in how much it will set you back, with the cheapest example sold via online auction having 123,000 miles on the clock, while the most expensive example only had 4,000 miles on the clock.
There is little in the way of heavy electrical nannies; you get hydraulically-supported steering, a curb weight of around 3,065 pounds, a rear-wheel drive layout, and, of course, the air-cooled flat-six under the hood. All of which makes it an analog resto-modder’s dream car.
With project cars sometimes being sold for under $30,000, we can see why a lot of people want to get their hands on one to create something unique out of them. At the end of the day, you get a lightweight build, a beautiful-sounding flat-six, rear-wheel drive, little in the way of heavy electrics, and an old-school-feeling 911 build.
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1998 Porsche 911 Carrera S
Price In 2025: $45,000 – $401,000
Showcasing the widebody ‘turbo-look’ but with rear-wheel drive and a naturally aspirated 3.6-liter flat-six under the hood, the ’98 911 Carrera S is a rare blend. There is a wild gap between how much an example could cost you at auction; the lowest price paid for one was a measly $45,000, but the highest-priced example sold went for just over $400,000.
The reason for this? While the 911 Carrera S is a relatively rare Porsche, with only around 3,700 units produced and only circa 1,700 originally destined for the U.S. market, there were two flavors created: a coupe, which makes up most of the market, and a cabriolet.
The most expensive example sold via online auction in the last five years was one of the unicorn-grade cabriolets fitted with a manual transmission and only 10,000 miles on the clock. While the 1998 911 Carrera S was designated with the ’98 plate, production of this limited-run Porsche ended at the end of 1997, so technically, there is only one model-year-worth of examples to choose from, making them exceptionally rare. But, if you get your hands on one, they are some of the most sought-after 993-gen 911s, courtesy of its limited numbers, its blending of purity and more ‘modern’ looks that haven’t got out of fashion, and because it was one of the last models of the air-cooled flat-six.
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1996 Porsche 911 Targa
Price In 2025: $58,000 – $160,000
What was once a niche in the late ’90s has become a very modern feeling and a unique design. The 911 Targa boasts a not-quite-fully-convertible top, yet it also doesn’t boast a fixed top either. What you get with the Targa is a sliding glass ‘greenhouse’ roof that retracts underneath the rear window, rather than having to remove a heavy roof panel.
So, if you are looking for open-air thrills but with a bit more rigidity to the structure, this once oddball 911 is the answer. It is effectively the compromise model; not quite perfect for purists and not quite sporty enough for the speed demons, but a good middle ground that gives it real charm today.
1996 Porsche 911 Targa Specs
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Engine |
3.6-Liter Flat-Six |
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Transmission |
Six-Speed Manual or Four-Speed Tiptronic Automatic |
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Horsepower |
281 Horsepower |
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Torque |
273 LB-FT |
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Driveline |
Rear-Wheel Drive |
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0–60 MPH |
5.4 Seconds |
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Top Speed |
171 MPH |
The rear-end boasts multi-link suspension, known as the LSA (Lightweight, Stable, Agile) system, which was a game-changer at the time. It finally tamed some of the tail-happiness that the 911s had become known for, while still ensuring that the ride was agile.
The horizontally opposed, six-cylinder engine is mounted in the correct place, and even though the suspension was updated, anyone who took a corner with any kind of alacrity was advised to keep his or her foot down. A novice-move like lifting mid-corner was usually something that would end with a pirouette into the surrounding terrain, which is just one reason fans love this vehicle.
– Top Speed review of the Porsche 911 Targa (993) by Jonathan Lopez
MacPherson struts sit up front to sharpen up responses, an aluminum subframe helps keep the weight down, and hydraulically assisted steering gives you hands-on feedback through the wheel. Unique design, an air-cooled flat-six, and 911-grade agility; there is a lot to love about it.
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1995 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe (Manual)
Price in 2025: $72,000 – $150,000
Boasting an average auction price of $90,414, the hard-top ’95 911 Carrera is commanding high prices for some very good reasons. Not only is it relatively rare here in the U.S.A., with only 22 recorded sales in the last five years, but it was built near the end of the air-cooled line, so it is the near-culmination of everything that Porsche had been working on for the previous 30-odd years.
Under the hood is a naturally aspirated 3.6-liter flat-six that is good for 280 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque, with all the power being sent through a six-speed manual box to the rear wheels. It only weighs in at 3,020 pounds, so with the flat-six’s power, it gives you a power-to-weight ratio of 0.09-horsepower-per-pound, or more simply, rest-to-60 times in the mid-to-high four-second range.
While the 911 Coupe acts as a bit of a ‘starter pack’ into the last iterations of the air-cooled 911s, it is still simple, fantastic-looking, raw, mechanical, rear-wheel drive, and set up to be driven properly. That’s why even this model is worth a small fortune today.
A lot of these models have been juiced up over the years with body kits and loads of performance add-ons, so for collectors of Porsche heritage, finding an untampered-with example is like winning the lottery. The most expensive example of a 1995 911 Carrera Coupe went across the auction block for just over $147,000, and yes, it was highly original and only had 17,000 miles on the clock.
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1996 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S
Price In 2025: $114,000 – $220,000
According to Hagerty, the current valuation for a 1996 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S in good condition is a whopping $190,000. But, at auction, the story is a little different. The top auction sale in the last five years was $220,000, while the lowest price was $114,521, with an average of $152,220. So again, condition matters a lot.
At the time of writing, there are only two for sale, and there have only been 16 sold over the last five years via online auction. This is what is helping to drive the prices of the 911 Carrera 4S up; there weren’t that many of them built in 1996. According to some sources, only circa 7,000 models were built between ’96 and ’98, with only a reported circa 1,200 built in the inaugural year. They aren’t the rarest, but certainly not the most common.
One of the biggest reasons that they are becoming extremely collectible is because of its body. It boasts a ‘turbo look’ but without the turbocharged engine; you still get a NA 285-horsepower air-cooled flat-six. Porsche fitted the ’96 911 4S with a body similar to what is used for the turbocharged 993 models, which consists of wider rear fenders, a lower stance, and wider wheels.
You get the ever-increasingly popular wide-body look, but with naturally aspirated motivation under the hood. It is almost like it is the best of both worlds in one model, and makes for a fantastic resto-mod or restoration project, albeit an expensive one.
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1998 Porsche 911 Turbo w/ X50 Powerkit
Price In 2025: $137,000 – $250,000
If a Porsche 911 Turbo 993 is not quite enough, back when they were originally released, Porsche let you add the optional X50 Power Kit. This is no garage-modder enhancement; this is a genuine Porsche-backed upgrade. The X50 Power Kit takes the already healthy twin-turbocharged flat-six of the 911 Turbo and boosts it with upgraded K22 turbochargers, a revised ECU, and an additional intercooler.
The results take the horsepower up to 430 horsepower (some 22 horsepower more than the Turbo’s standard output) and make it a lot rowdier than the iconic Turbo, with rest-to-60 times of 4.2 seconds (versus the 911 Turbo’s 4.5-second 0–60 mph time) and a top speed of 190 mph.
According to data on Classic.com, only two Porsche 911s with the original factory-fitted X50 Power Kit have been sold in the last five years via online auction, and both of them fetched over $100,000. One 64,000-mile model went under the hammer for just north of $137,000, while another 64,000-mile model sold more recently for just under $248,000.
What makes these models so special is that not only do you get the iconic widebody turbo design and the turbocharged flat-six shifting things along, making people think you are ‘just driving’ a 911 Turbo, but you also get a genuine Porsche factory upgrade that pushes the power and speed of an already iconic model higher. A secret sleeper in the most un-sleeper fashion possible.
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1997 Porsche 911 Turbo (993)
Price In 2025: $182,000 – $280,000
Blending awesome performance with a very distinct look, the ’97 Porsche 911 Turbo is one of the most sought-after 911 models out there. It was the first Porsche 911 to boast all-wheel drive and twin-turbochargers; that, combined with the air-cooled mill, makes it a collector’s dream.
Under the rear deck sits a 3.6-liter flat-six mated with two K27/78 turbos, one for each bank, which combined give you 408 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque. They are single-scroll units that, combined with the decent power of the flat-six, which boasts a tunable ECU, and beefed-up crankshaft and construction to handle the turbo boost, can get you to 60 mph in around 4.5 seconds and top out at around 180 mph.
While some of the other 911s on our list boast the widebody turbo look, the 911 Turbo 993 is the full package. Its flared wheel arches, bulky body, ‘whale tail’ rear spoiler, and low ground stance make it a beauty to look at, while the AWD setup means it can grip exceptionally well on the pavement.
The ’97 MY is the penultimate MY of the Porsche 911 that started the viral ‘getaway video’ trend, and its high auction prices are indicative of its very collectible status. The ‘cheapest’ example recently went under the hammer for just over $182,000, while the most expensive model fetched $280,000.
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1995 Porsche 911 Carrera RS
Price In 2025: $279,000 – $407,000
With a five-year sales count of one a year, the 1995 Porsche 911 Carrera RS is an exceptionally rare and expensive 911. Here in the U.S.A., they have always been rare because they were originally intended for the European market and weren’t sold on our shores. We got the slightly detuned RS America, which is still good, but not the monster that the RS is.
Built as a homologation model so that the 3.8-liter RSR could qualify for racing in BPR GT3 and GT4 events, the Carrera RS is track DNA made for the road. Now that models are seeping over to the classic market here in the U.S.A., they are looked at as some of the most collectible 911 models out there, and the price tells. The highest current recorded price is sitting at $407,000.
At the center of everything is a 3.8-liter NA flat-six (M64/20) that can kick out 300 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 262 pound-feet of torque at 5,400 rpm. It comes equipped with Porsche’s VarioRam variable-length intake system, which gives you a broad power band across the revs, with all the power sent through a six-speed G50/31 manual box.
0–60 mph times are clocked at around five seconds; you get a limited-slip differential, Bilstein dampers, massive brakes borrowed from the 911 Turbo, and a light curb weight of around 2,800 pounds. All-in-all, it was a shame we didn’t get it originally, but now that we do, we can only look on with green eyes at the drivers of one of the pinnacle models for naturally aspirated, air-cooled Porsche 911s.
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1997 Porsche 911 Turbo S
Price In 2025: $456,000 – $786,000
Naturally-aspirated fans may disagree, but it is widely accepted that the ’97 Porsche 911 Turbo S is the holy grail of all air-cooled Porsche 911s. This ultra-rare, factory-built beast helped to send off the air-cooled era with real style and power. Only around 350 of these models were built worldwide, so its exclusive breeding makes it a collector’s dream to start with, but then there is the power and speed of it.
Under the deck is a 3.6-liter bi-turbocharged flat-six, which has been upgraded with the X50 Power Kit and then boosted some more. Porsche fitted the 911 Turbo S with larger K24 turbochargers, a larger intercooler, an engine oil cooler, and a freer-flowing exhaust. The results are worth the money to collectors; all combined, this setup churns out 450 horsepower and 431 pound-feet of torque, and can get you to 60 in as little as 3.7 seconds.
The Turbo S boasts a larger ‘whale tail’ rear spoiler than the standard 911 Turbo 993. The rear spoiler boasts integrated air intakes that feed cold air straight down to the intercoolers; a redesigned deep-duct low spoiler helps to cool the brakes and oil and reduces front-end lift; tweaks to the undercarriage smooth things out and improve aerodynamics, and side skirts and rear bumper extensions guide airflow along the body.
This machine is made for more than just straight-line fun. You get a powerful engine, AWD, engaging wheel feedback, a rare collector’s dream, and an era-ending build. Auction results are very telling for this, and these models rarely come up for sale, with just seven sold in the last five years.
When they do come up for sale, a bidding war is inevitable, and high prices are even more inevitable. Currently, the lowest price paid for a 993 911 Turbo S is $456,000, while the top price paid, so far, is $786,000.
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