The follow-up album to a smash hit is said to be the greatest challenge in a musician’s career. Even legendary artists, from The Who to Arctic Monkeys, have suffered from ‘sophomore syndrome’, where they’re forced to turn around a new album in just a few months off the back of a highly successful record that may have taken years to produce.
Not for the first time, we’re going to apply that logic to the car world. Think the E36 BMW M3, the R33-generation Nissan Skyline GT-R, the hybrid Honda NSX and so on. They all followed on from hugely successful performance cars and, ultimately, weren’t able to fill the prodigiously gigantic boots vacated by their predecessors. However, while they may have disappointed in period, many have since spawned their own avid fan bases because, in isolation, they’re actually rather good cars - and nothing embodies that more than the 996 Porsche 911 GT2.
Porsche was never going to have it easy with the 996 GT2. Not only was the company under intense fire for switching from air to water cooling and ditching the 911’s signature oval headlights for a pair of fried eggs on the 996, but the GT2 model itself had an immensely tough act to follow in the 993 original. Badged as the 911 GT, the 993 version was an ultra-lightweight homologation special built in extremely low numbers and available exclusively through special order when new. Porsche was far more interested in GT3 racing by the time the 996 came along and, therefore, its second GT2 offering would be built squarely as a road car.
No one would accuse the 996 GT2 of being a big softie, though. Like the 993 variant, the 996 is essentially a rear-wheel drive version of the 911 Turbo, only with considerably more power and less weight to lug about. Out back is the same 3.6-litre flat-six engine as the 911 GT3 with a couple of turbocharges slapped on, bringing power up to 463hp and 457lb ft of torque in the process. And while a DIN kerbweight of 1,440kg made the 996 a fair bit heavier than its predecessor, it was still some 100kg lighter than the 996 Turbo and only 80kg heavier than the stripped-out GT3 RS. Porsche allegedly tuned the car to understeer, fearing mere mortals wouldn’t be able to handle that much power in a rear-engined, rear-wheel drive car. The reality was quite the opposite. It garnered the ‘widow maker’ nickname due to snap oversteer – especially in the wet – though John’s PH Heroes piece on the 996 GT2 suggests those claims were somewhat exaggerated.
Besides, with follow-up GT2 models dialling up the power to ridiculous levels in vastly more focused packages, the ‘tamer’ 996 variant looks like a tempting ownership proposition. Not least because they’re comfortably the least expensive GT2 to buy, but they’re still exceptionally rare in Clubsport guise. The car we have here is one of only 16 right-hooker Clubsports said to have been made, featuring a roll cage, fire extinguisher, bucket seats trimmed in a flame-retardant material, race harnesses and an electric cut-off switch. A no-cost option when new and very much the desired spec for prospective buyers.
Given its rarity, this GT2 Clubsport finished in Basalt Black seems like a bit of a steal at £146,900, and even comes with a year’s warranty through seller JZM Porsche. Perhaps the 996 GT2’s reputation of being the soft-yet-snappy second album has prevented values from reaching the heady heights of the 993 original - but going off John’s word, the 996 GT2 is a seriously underappreciated and, in turn, potentially undervalued. You know what they say about buying low...
SPECIFICATION | PORSCHE 911 (996) GT2 CLUBSPORT
Engine: 3,600cc flat-six, twin turbocharged
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 463@5,700rpm
Torque (lb ft): 457@3,500rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
Year registered: 2002
Recorded mileage: 36,000
Price new: £114,900
Yours for: £146,900
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