Porsche 911 (996) Sales & Production Numbers

Porsche 911 (996) Sales & Production Numbers

Production of the 996 spanned nine years, between 1997 and 2006. In that time, 175,164 units were sold, making it the best-selling model in the car’s history and the biggest turning point in the development of the 911. But despite these immense numbers, the 996 – successor to the 993 – was also known as the unloved series; or at least, it was initially rejected by Porsche fans, just as happened in 1963, when the original 911 replaced the universally adored 356.

The 996 marked the first time that the signature 911 characteristics, developed and presented by Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, had been modified significantly – the biggest (and most criticized) change being the new water-cooled boxer engines. After the convertible was introduced in 1998, the GT3 followed in 1999, while the Carerra 4S and Targa arrived in 2001. The 4S had the wider, more voluptuous hips of the Turbo, but without the rear wing and gaping side air-intakes. And like all Porsche models marked with a ‘4’, it had four-wheel drive. From 1999, the strange grey-mottled plastic interior components were painted in a soft black to the joy of the public (and me!). Power rose from 300HP to 320 and then 345, before culminating in the 420HP Turbo and the frankly lethal 483HP GT2. In 2004, we saw the arrival of the revered, 381HP GT3RS – a stripped out, track-focused version that featured a new crankcase and dry-sump lubrication.