Are you sure it's not a wide body? 996 3's don't have "hips" and this one sure does.

 

Interesting. I thought about this as well, as the OP DID state the VIN comes up as a C4S.

My guess is it started as a C4S, was crashed, and then panels and trim were replaced with GT3 parts. Yikes...

 

C4S is wide body, GT3 is not. That's a narrow body 911. Regular (non GT3 brakes). Ride height is too high. Prob a 03 C2.

 

I don't know enough about Porsches to tell for sure, hence my post here. Someone could easily get taken by this thing.

Before I make any clear accusations, I'll wait for the Porsche specialists to check it out tomorrow night. Should have a definitive answer by Tuesday morning.

FYI The VIN comes up either C2S or C4S (depending on what website it's checked on).

I can honestly say it's NOT stock 996 suspension, whatever is on there is REALLY stiff compared to the 996tt cars and 997s cars I've test driven.

The car seemed to really go. It was quick. Quicker than the 997s cars that I drove, but you can feel the lack of torque compared to a 996tt. Whatever powerplant is in there, it can't be a stock C2S engine.

 

This is becoming more entertaining with each post. I'm looking forward to hearing what you uncover with your team of experts tomorrow. My advice stands to keep your checkbook closed until you know a LOT more about this particular car since a lot of things aren't adding up. Good luck, and we look forward to your uncovering of the truth (or at least more of the truth).

 

As you already know, this is for sure no GT3 - that is 100% certain. The VIN has already told you that, so there is really nothing more to discuss. You can also see that it is just a dressed up Carrera on the front bumper as well since there is quite a large clue here telling you this is not a GT3 bumper: No 3rd radiator.
All thats missing is a picture of the engine bay that will show nothing else than a Carrera engine. If there had been a GT3 engine back there you would have seen the extra radiator in the front.
As the others hav pointed out the brakes and ride height are all wrong as well. BTW a real GT3 does not have a rock hard suspension, it has a fantastic suspension.

The mk1 GT3 was produced in 1999-2001 and was never sold in the US (although a couple of cars was imported privately) and has a different areo kit than the mk2.


Edit:
This is what PET (i.e. Porsche) tells you about this VIN/Car:

 

I was gonna post the PET info myself but the poster above beat me to the punch.

Everything in PET points to this being a 2003 C2S. Matter of fact, the VIN-specific spec sheet points to a US build complete with all the US DOT trappings incl the "5mph" bumperettes. See picture.

Like the others have mentioned, there are so many layers of deceit with this car that I wouldn't touch it with a 10-feet pole. Put this cat on a lift, snap a picture of the underside and the engine, post pics here and you can end this scam here and now. Have fun at the exam!

 

You guys are awesome. This all lines up with my initial thoughts. The confirmations I have received here just make it easier to walk away. THANKS EVERYONE!

 

Volder, how did you learn about this car...is there an ad posted on the internet somewhere? If there is please give me the link so I can post a warning on this car...thanks

 

I originally received the car via email from company a called "Autoland." They hunt cars down for you and deliver them to your house. When I first saw it I was skeptical of the MY03 being a GT3, so I went on Autotrader to look for it. The car is listed on Autotrader, Cars.com and the Dealership website where the car is on consignment. The car is located in Burbank, CA. Here are all 3 links:

IMX Auto Group
Autotrader
Cars.com (Although I just noticed here it's not listed as GT3, but Carrera. Probably a restriction of Cars.com not allowing a GT3 selection year for MY03.)

 

shown as what it is on Cars.com because most likely someone reported it as a fake...you should report it as well to the other two sites...thanks...

 

just talked to IMX and they still insist that it is an early MY2004 GT3 release...I let him know about the missing radiator...they are supposedly having some GT2 racers/tuners (whatever that means) looking at it today and that should put it to bed as they can check the engine and transfer case...I think the price says a lot about what is exactly going on here...if this was truly the first 996 GT3 to be sold in the US and only 21k miles it would not be offered under $40k

 

You can see exactly why I initially wanted to jump on it.

I trust this board WAY more than a car dealership or owner trying to dump his car.

 

Jeeez, what are these people thinking? If it was an GT3 it would have a GT3 VIN. They are running a scam here when they are marketing a Carrera with an aerokit as the real deal.

 

well, the real insane part of it is that the same IMX ad is on all three sites...their ad shows it as a GT3 on two sites and a Carrera 2 on Cars.com...they are feining ignorance but how hard is it to check a vin number....I wouldn't buy anything from these characters