Motormutt hero: '996' Porsche 911

As an evo reader I think it’s fair to say many of you see buying a Porsche 911 as a right of passage. It certainly felt like that for me when I bought mine back in 2006. Six years on I still feel chuffed to own an example of the car I’d always wanted.

To be honest 911s are never that far from my thoughts, but with the recent introduction of the more capable, more refined and more expensive 991 generation car it is perhaps inevitable that my Friday Daydream this week - via evo's new Motormutt used car search engine - is a tempting and very affordable slice of Zuffenhausen’s more recent past. 

The early 996 generation cars have been somewhat maligned, thanks to its pebble-smooth styling and reliability scares. While it pays to be wary of engine oil seal issues there’s no reason to ignore cars such as this fine manual Carrera 4. 

Styling is entirely subjective, but I’ve come round to the 996’s looks and actually think its clean, smooth and uncluttered lines are poised to become rather cool. So often you see nice 996s with terrible interior colours, but this silver paint and black leather is a perfect combination. 

The early 3.4-litre motors deliver a sweet and revvy 300bhp, which feels pretty keen with a little over 1300kg to propel while that slippery shape makes for a still impressive top speed of 174mph. Chassis-wise the early Carrera 4 has a lovely dynamic transparency to it, so while you are aware of the weight distribution it doesn’t dominate the experience. Strong brakes and feelsome steering complete a well-sorted package.  

This particular car has a full service history and has only done 60,000 miles, pretty modest for a 13-year old car. There are cheaper 996 Carreras out there, but I’d wager few, if any, are as appealing as this one. 

If you want to look for your own dream performance car then check out Motormutt here, or click on the 'Cars for Sale' tab anywhere on the site. You can see the original listing for the Porsche 911 here.