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Car Tales: A 1997 Porsche 993 Turbo from Lincoln, NE

‘In the almost twenty years that I’ve been dealing in classic cars I’ve observed how the notion of such classic pieces of art is no longer as date-tied as formerly.  
‘What do I mean? Well, I’m simply describing the passing of time as well as quirks within public taste. For example, I have heard that once Jaguar XK-Es stopped being produced in 1975, their popularity sank for a decade or so: suddenly they were considered ugly relics of an earlier age. But by the end of the 1980s the Jaguar XK-E had been revalued and was back in fashion – and how! (Just look at the way their prices raced upwards!)
‘Once upon a time people were searching for classic motor vehicles from the 1950s. But nowadays automobiles from the 1990s have turned into cars of the past that people are searching for: I have more and more people calling The Beverly Hills Car Club letting us know they had a picture of a Lamborghini Countach or a 1998 Porsche 993 Turbo Coupe on their wall when they were growing up: and that is the car they want to buy now that they have enough money to do so.
‘Which is how and why I came across one of my newest acquisitions, a 1997 Porsche 993 Turbo, all the way from Lincoln, Nebraska. And one in a distinctly non-regulation colour, midnight blue metallic in this particular case. Thomas, the guy I bought the car from, gave me a breakdown of its history.
‘The first owner, he told me, was a young guy in his mid-twenties, who had struck very lucky during the dot-com bull market of the mid-1990s. He had ordered the 993 Turbo from Porsche. And although midnight blue metallic was not standard for that model, he paid Porsche an additional $3000 for it to be painted in that color.
‘Moreover, once he had the car this first owner had added on assorted sporty modifications: a big turbo, a bigger exhaust, computer chips etc. All these improvements came courtesy of Kelly-Moss, the world-class Porsche specialists in Madison, Wisconsin. But then the original owner made a major life decision: to ask Kelly-Moss to build him a race-car, which cost him $200,000. And he started to race, even acquiring another identical vehicle, and had some success with his pair of cars.
‘Accordingly, he sold his midnight blue metallic Porsche to a new owner, in the Mid-West, someone who had been in the motor trade all his life. After a failed business adventure in another field, however, it became time for this owner to sell the 1997 Porsche 993 Turbo: he had then owned it for some three years.
‘Which is where Thomas came in, tracking down this 1997 Porsche 993 Turbo seventeen years ago and flying out from Lincoln, Nebraska, to view it.
1997 Porsche 993 Turbo misc
‘Thomas had a history in the motor trade. Indeed, he was almost royalty. “Third generation in the car business,” he remembered. His father had owned the Lincoln dealership in Nebraska, sending Thomas to mechanics school. “The second year I was out of college I was selling cars. Then my father promoted me to general manager and I ran his dealership for the next 15 years.
1997 Porsche 993 Turbo seats
‘“I like fast cars,” he said. “I drove the Porsche 993 Turbo a fair amount. Then I saw that it was going up in value, and I knew that mileage really hurts the price. So for the last 5 or 6 years, I made sure I never put more than 200 miles a year on it. It just sat under a cover. When I realised that I spent more time washing the car than driving it, I decided it was time to sell it.” 
‘Searching for the right new owner for his Porsche 993 Turbo, Thomas came across my Beverly Hills Car Club website – the one you’re looking at now! 
‘He told me that he had spoken with other potential buyers, but that a deal had never been struck – “even though I had detailed the car terrifically: I wanted a good impression for the new owner.
‘“I concluded the conversation with Alex,” said Thomas, “and it all worked out. Even the people that run the transporting company were so professional.”
‘“You know,” he mused, “That Porsche 993 Turbo is really a neat car. But if you don’t ever drive it it sort of loses its lustre.”
‘Thank you Thomas for your thoughts and review. Your Porsche 993 is an amazing car! 
-Alex Manos, Owner – Beverly Hills Car Club

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