The 997.2 has no Nav, no backup camera, no keyless ignition system, poorer visibility, a less intuitive layout, more engine vibration at idle, no automatic climate control system, attracts more attention...

AND I LOVE IT!

I've owned a fair amount of fun, performance oriented cars over the years, and the ISF was by far the most well-rounded vehicle I've owned. It had performance, enough space, reliability, exclusivity (less than 5K total in the US), and looks (that I liked, anyway)... but like probably most people on this forum, the Porsche has always been the dream car for me. I've always been waiting for the right moment to step into the Porsche world, and always had one excuse or another about why it wasn't a good idea at the time. Finally, at my wife's prodding no less (she's a great woman who also like cars), she encouraged me to just go for it. So I did. I picked up a very tastefully modded 2009, 997.2 C2 this week and I am extremely happy that I did.

The ISF was definitely more of a GT car. I bought it when it was my daily, and with kids I needed something with back seats. I wanted a reliable performance car that was decent on gas, had 4 doors, and was fun to drive. The ISF fit that bill nicely. But after about a year of daily driving it, I got a 2nd vehicle, so the ISF became the weekend/nice day car that I drove maybe 5K miles a year. It was still a blast, and the way I had it set up, particularly with my aftermarket exhaust, I still don't think there's a better SOUNDING car out there at startup and idle. The V8 rumble made it a true Japanese muscle car, and the torque down low was legit. But I longed for a true sports car, and I've had a soft spot for Porsche for over 20 years, so I figured it was time to just do it!

This is a vehicle I plan to drive maybe 4-5K miles per year. I want to finally get in to a little tracking, so I'm going to hook up with some local Porsche owners to learn more about it. Early impressions are that it feels like a cross between my old S2000 and my old BMW 335i, but better than both. It has that taught, confident feel of a German car, but the almost go-kart like feeling of my S2000 at the same time. I can see why so many people get into the brand and never look back. I certainly feel that I'm always going to be a Porsche owner as well. I'm looking forward to learning more about the car and this community, and enjoying the drive. Here's a picture of it getting the full detail job the day before I picked it up.

 

Welcome to the Club. As you said, there is no looking back.....

Yves

 

Looks good! You really dont have nav or climate control on a 997.2S?

Where in VA are you?

Congrats on the purchase!

 

Congrats on the purchase. I bought mine a couple of months ago and feel like I am really just getting to know the car. It seems to get more fun every day. Enjoy...

 

Great looking 997! You bought the best generation 911 and the C2 in my opinion is the best "driver" of them all. Enjoy.

 

Climate control was standard on all 997.2s but sat nav came as an option.

 

See, I set the temp and it seems to blow the same speed no matter how much the outside temperature has dropped. Maybe it just isn't as responsive as the one in my Lexus was. Either way, we're talking small issues that don't even matter in the long run. In fact, the lack of backup camera might be the only real thing to get used to, since I had come to rely on it quite a bit, particularly when backing out of my garage.

Again though, I forget about ALL of those things when I'm driving it!

 

Welcome!! Nice wheels...

 

other than the dual exhaust pipes on each side it looks just like my wife's "08C4, including the wheels. beautiful car. She went from celica GT to MR2, to MB slk to lexus sc430 to C4. It will be hard to move up from the C4. However, she really likes the new Jag F series.

 

Welcome! Former ISF owner here as well. Such a great car! But I think you'll soon find you'll always need a 911 in your fleet.

 

Welcome! I've had my fair share of Japanese sports cars as you can see from my signature, but nothing else compares to the Porsche, and really, German sports/luxury cars in general. The Japanese cars were all fun in their own different ways, but the 911 is in a league far above

 

Welcome and congrats;

First on finding a great Wife for nudging you over to the 911
And secondly for finding a great looking car!

These cars are great in stock config, but if you're not going to use it as a DD you can also make some minor adjustments that will have an incredible impact on handling and feedback, eg by installing GT3 sway bars and lowering springs.

I have a detailed thread here of my install. After several months I would not drive a 997.2 any other way - the handling is just at a different level now. The grin factor is off the charts

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...r-install.html

 

Thanks! I was lucky in that the previous owner already had the H&R springs and sways installed, and did some tracking with it too, so it handles like a dream. So far, just on a few turns and sweeping curves I've experienced how planted and flat this car corners. I'm sure I'm only giving it maybe half of what it can take, but I'm still far too nervous to try and find where the limits are.

 

Congrats on the 997.2 purchase!


I came from an IS350 and shopped ISFs several times and I can relate. The IS is such a great car, I had F-sport springs and intake and it was a quick/fun DD. Mine had it all too, NAV/ML, lux pkg, parking sensors, cooled seats, everything. The ISF is a lot of fun too but I just couldn't choose it over the 911. The 911 is so balanced and feels so much more maneuverable than the ISF, probably because its so much lighter.


Congrats again, ENJOY!