Drove a '93 964 RS America....Can't stop thining about it!!!
 

Hello gang!
Today, as I was driving home from the office in my gorgeous '06 997 C2S Cab, I saw a 2 964's at a local exotic car dealership. One was an '89 Carrera 4, and the other was a 93 RSA. Both were red. Both are for sale. Both look PRISTINE. In any case, I had to stop by and check the cars out.

The Carrera 4 was nice, but had been kind of "mutilated"...the 3rd brake light which is usually at the top of the rear windshield was removed, and had been replaced by a light on a strip of plastic or metal or whatever bolted on just over the engine hood grille, as seen in the convertible 993's. Wierd, but otherwise the car looked pretty good.

However, that was enought to divert my attention to the other 964, the RSA. THAT car was beautiful. Roll cage and all. A salesman then came outside, and started to talk to me about the car. He brought the keys with him, showed me the pristine interior, all original except for a newer radio. I also noticed that the car had been lowered. He turned the car on, and after a brief stall, the engined purred to life. He then told me to go ahead and take it for a "ride around the block". I felt like a nervous kid about to go on his first date. Seriously. So I took the car for a spin.

TOTALLY different ride compared to my 997. MUCH less torque, steering was a bit stiffer, shifting the gears felt "longer" and acceleration was sluggish, compared to my car. It was STILL exhilirating. The smell of the interior, the sound of the engine and the handling of the car was enough to make me almost, well, emotional. This thing cornered TIGHT....like on rails. I was regretting having to go back and handing the keys to the dealer. I asked a few more questions, and I got his card. needless to say, I am completely infatuated. The salesman knew it. Problem is, I cannot have 2 cars at this time. Wifey says I have to finish paying off the one I have (in 3 more years) before getting another one, or I have to sell my 997.

The salesman said he would be happy to work a deal if I wanted to trade in my car for the RSA. My "sensible" side tells me to wait, and keep my car ( which I DO enjoy driving a lot, by the way), and eventually have BOTH my 997 and a 964 coupe. But my impulsive, frivolous side tells me to throw caution to the wind and make the deal with the 964. I will say this, the passion I felt while I was driving the 964 is unique.

Crazy huh? I hope you guys can relate, and I hope you can offer your opinions!!! I just felt I had to write down and share this experience...helps me deal with it better!!!

Thanks for reading!!!

Abdon

As great as the car sounds, I don't think it is a DD. I would wait until you can afford to have the 964 as a second car - probably not the answer you want to hear. GL with whatever you decide to do.

I appreciate your response! It's more than likely what I will do...meaning, I will have it as a second car when I can. I just found the ride so enjoyable that even when I do have it as a second car, I may still end up using it as a DD!! lol!!

any pics of these 964?

I had an RSA as a daily driver....it was super...the seats are the best imho that existed back then....my car was recently relisted at the same price I sold it after 3 years...so there is that too

I have driven my RSA quite a bit. It is no where as comfortable or easy to drive as my 04 996, but it has a soul that no modern Porsche can replicate. It will be the last Porsche that I own.

Well in my opinion is the RSA as usable as a normal 964. Personally I’ve kept the 997 if your using it as a daily drive, and take the car next to a daily car.

I share your passion for the RSA but mine goes back to 1993 when these were new. Speaking from a 20+ year Porsche owner (currently on my 16th), I have owned both 997.1's, and most recently a 2010 997.2 C4S with PDK. I LOVED these cars... however... I've since sold the modern toys and replaced with ummmmm... TWO RSA's!!!

I agree with the statements above regarding the daily driver part. Neither RSA is a daily driver for me, but I would certainly make the sacrifice if I had to. :)

The values are going up on the 964's, especially the RSA's due to supply and demand. Since there were only 701 produced to begin with, and since a good majority have since been crushed following track related accidents, I plan on keeping both of mine. In fact, I'd buy another if the opportunity presented itself.

Best of luck!!!

Hey Abdon,

Chiming in... I am selling my 2006 997S convertible for a 964... sounds familiar?

I have found the car I want and I can't wait for the 997 to go. I will not be using the 964 everyday but at least 2-3 days a week.

P.

I would have no qualms driving a well maintained 964 every day. it's the ones that are less well maintained that you have to worry about.

I sold my 996 4S a few years ago and bought a RSA and have never regreted it. My opinion way more fun and rewarding on the track and backroads. The 997 is a much more comfortable road car so as a daily driver and if your driving long interstate miles that would require careful consideration.

Have you considered a Carrera 2 instead of an RSA? The RSA doesn't really differentiate much from a C2 (unlike the euro Carrera RS) except the lack of power steering and option deletes (which many added back anyway, A/C, sunroof, radio, etc.).

RSA owners will tell you otherwised because they are biased, and C2 owners will agree with me because we are biased.

A well dialed C2 will get you 90-95% of the trills of an RSA for 1/2 the price. It won't be as exclusive, but it's nearly an identical car. As far as resale, you shouldn't have a problem getting what you paid for it. The prices on these cars, even lowly C2 and C4s, are firm and maybe up 15% over a few years ago. Just make sure you don't overpay on the front end. If you intend to drive the car regularly, don't pay a premium for a super low mileage car, since your cost to drive the car will go up the more miles you put on the car.

I put the RSA manual steering rack on my turbo car. I could not tell much difference in that department

I was so gla dto find a thread on a RSA. I currently have 2011 GT3 RS that I take to the track for DE's. However, lately my competative spirit has been getting the best of me and I am now looking for a dedicated track car to club race. My RS is just to pricey to risk damaging racing it. My budget is about 30-40k - So I've considered several cars, spec miata (too slow) but real cheap to buy and maintain and there are tons of them, BMW M3 e36 great bang for your buck at 25k for a trun key race car and the RSA. I was really leaning to the e36 due to the price but my current RS is my second in just 1.5 years and I think I'd like to saty with that marquee. That said I am concered about the substantial less power in the RSA (prior to the RS I had a turbo Cab). Whats the car like on the track? Recommendations? There are several for sale on online under 30-40k fully race preped. Your thoughts are appreciated.

I had a 964 and traded it in for a 997tt. I must tell you that at first, the 997tt blew me away when I test drove and got hooked. That's why I bought it but I think I enjoy driving the 964 more. Maybe it was a cab. Oh well.