Pick of the Day: 2003 Porsche 911 996 Turbo X50 coupe

There are a lot of supercars in the world. Be it Nissan with the GTR, or any of offerings from McLaren, Ferrari, and Lamborghini. They qualify for the Supercar category, and while they are both fast and offer exciting styling, they also involve some level of compromise for their owners. Some of these issues include a lack of comfort, limited luggage space, and the worst of all; extreme service costs.

There is one option out there that offers the typical supercar qualities, and yet does not make the owner have to compromise any amenities. It is a supercar that can easily be used as a daily driver; the Porsche 996 Turbo.

The 996 Turbo was introduced in 1999 at the Frankfurt Auto show and launched in the US in late-2000 as a 2001 model. The 996 was powered by a water-cooled twin turbo intercooled 3.6-litre flat-6 engine that produced a factory-rated 414 bhp and 415 ft/lbs of torque. The engine was derived from the 1998 Le Mans winning 911 GT1 race car and nicknamed the Mezger engine after its designer.

The 996 Turbo also featured revised styling and a wider stance than the naturally aspirated 996 Carrera models. U.S. models incorporated an electronically adjustable rear spoiler that rises at 76 mph and lowers at 36 mph.

In 2002 if you wanted more power from your Porsche 996 Turbo you clicked the option box that X50, which included larger K24 turbochargers and intercoolers, a revised ECU and quad-pipe exhaust which increased the engine to 444 bhp. The car was a shot across the bow of the other supercars, as it was a true supercar and yet had all the usability of a standard 996.

The Pick of the Day is one of these cars, a 2003 911 Porsche 996 Turbo listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealer in Tempe, Arizona. (Click the link to view the listing)

This Porsche has a black leather interior with red stitching and is optioned with a Tiptronic S transmission, heated front seats, and lumbar support on left and right seats. It has the aforementioned X50 Turbo Power Kit, X54 stainless steel exhaust, Porsche crests on the headrests, and lowered seats, which being 6’4” tall I like.

It has 50,378 miles from new and also includes its original air compressor, spare tire, jack, tool kit, owners manuals, service books and is said to be ready to be driven anywhere.

While many people might overlook this 996 Turbo, due to it being equipped with a Tiptronic transmission and not the coveted manual gearbox, I feel that the inclusion of the X50 package on this car negates any performance loss that you might experience from the automatic.

When new, the 996 Turbo with the X50 engine option and a Tiptronic transmission gave the car a 0-60 mph time of 3.6 seconds and a ¼ mile time of 11.8 seconds, which is quick especially when compared to the standards of the era it was produced. The Tiptronic also gives this 996 Turbo a level of usability that to me trumps the perceived downsides of the automatic. If you are stuck in stop and go traffic you will quickly learn to love the Tiptronic, as it makes day-to-day driving a supercar a lot easier. In addition, these transmissions are virtually indestructible, and as an added bonus you will never need to perform an expensive clutch service.

Now here is the best part of this specific Pick of the Day. When this car was new it had a sticker price of $154,205 and today this 996 is being offered at what I am calling an incredible buy of $64,900.

In closing I will remind you of hat Tom Cruise said in the movie Risky Business, “Porsche. There is no Substitute.”