For example, there was Ben Dimson from the Philippines; Dutch-born Harm Lagaay; the American Freeman Thomas; and UK-born Tony Hatter, who worked with Lagaay on the Porsche 993.

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Hatter grew up in the exquisite Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate – frequently listed as the best place to live in the UK and celebrated across the planet through the bottles of Harrogate Spa Water that are sold ubiquitously.

I know something about Harrogate: my father grew up there and I’ve spent a couple of mornings running around the Stray. But I never went to the Harewood Hill Climb, as my Dad did, possibly at the same Swinging Sixties’ time as Tony Hatter: watching hotted-up saloon cars hurtle up a precipitous gradient in time-trials in the company of equally hot local mini-skirts.

Hatter’s creative heart was won by Porsche after he had journeyed to nearby Leeds to watch the terrific Steve McQueen movie project Le Mans.

Tony Hatter then studied Transport Design with his first design job at Opel, before moving to Porsche’s style department in 1986.

There he worked with his up-and-coming peers Harm Lagaay and Freeman Thomas to put a mark on several iterations of Porsche’s sports car design. Becoming part of Porsche’s executive team as Design Manager, Tony Hatter is credited with designing – amongst much more – the Porsche 993, in tandem with Harm Lagaay.

As you probably realize, when you blend the impeccable sumptuousness of Porsche design with the factory color of black, it seems you just can’t improve on it.

Remember the other week when Car Tales had that gorgeous black Porsche 356A, a 1959 car? It looked stunning, didn’t it?

Now we have a later model in the same color, a 1998 Porsche 993 Cabriolet 6-Speed showing 41,439 miles on the odometer. This exquisite vehicle is presented in its factory color scheme of Black (Schwarz), complemented by a luxurious black interior. A power-operated convertible soft top allows for open-air driving when conditions are right, making this Carrera extremely enjoyable to drive. This particular model is a testament to Porsche’s legendary craftsmanship and engineering, making it a highly sought-after collector’s item.

Power comes from Porsche’s 3.6-liter VarioRam air-cooled flat-six engine, paired with a proper 6-speed manual transmission that delivers a direct and engaging driving experience. Braking is handled by four-wheel ventilated disc brakes, while additional features include dual exhaust outlets, a basket-handle spoiler, a black convertible soft top with a matching boot cover, VDO instrumentation, integrated bumpers with Hella fog lights, Bosch headlights, and a four-spoke steering wheel. The car rides on 17-inch Cup II style wheels (chrome-finished) fitted with Michelin tires. A jack, tool roll, and spare tire are fitted in the front trunk.

Inside, the cabin remains driver-focused and functional, offering air conditioning, cruise control, power-adjustable exterior mirrors, power windows, electrically adjustable front seats, 2+2 seating configuration, glove compartment, an analog clock, and an OEM Porsche stereo.

The option sticker and color code remain in place under the hood.

The 993 generation was the final air-cooled Porsche 911, marking the end of an engineering era that many enthusiasts appreciate for its mechanical simplicity and distinctive character. This is a well-equipped, well-optioned 993 Carrera Cabriolet in a timeless specification that remains super-enjoyable as well as mechanically sound.

The Porsche 911, internally type 993, is the fourth generation of the 911 model of Porsche sports car, manufactured and sold between 1994 and 1998 (model years 1995–1998 in the United States), replacing the 911, type 964. Its discontinuation marked the end of air-cooled 911 models.

The 993 was much improved over and quite different from its predecessor. According to Porsche, ‘every part of the car was designed from the ground up, including the engine’ but nevertheless ‘only 20% of its parts were carried over from the prior 911.’ Porsche refers to the 993 as ‘a significant advance, not just from a technical, but also a visual perspective.’

The exquisite external design of the Porsche 993 was penned by Tony Hatter. It retained the core cabin and body shell architecture of the 964 and prior 911 model iterations, but exterior panels were revised with much more flared wheel arches, a smoother front and rear bumper design, an enlarged retractable rear wing, and teardrop shaped mirrors.

Porsche engineered a new light-alloy rear subframe with an entirely new multi-link coil springs and wishbone rear suspension design  – making significant progress with the engine’s impact on the car’s handling, putting behind the previous lift-off oversteer.

This improved driving experience was dubbed the Weissach axle.

-Alex Manos, Owner