How to spec the perfect Porsche 911 to maintain or add value

According to the data experts over at Hagerty, “Porsche buyers are very particular when it comes to buying their cars”. A breakdown of their likes – the things they look for when purchasing a 911 – reveals the things you can do to make sure your very own sportscar has a fighting chance of retaining its value (if that's the kind of thing you're in to).

Unsurprisingly, bagging yourself a specially crafted, bespoke 911 comes out on top - “the Sonderwunsch (special wishes) cars created for Porsche’s very top clients since the 1970s,” said Hagerty UK price guide editor John Mayhead. “Many of these factory one-offs were also created for famous people, adding to their desirability.”

You should also somehow ‘win the lottery’, to assist your chances of getting a Sonderwunsch car. Really helps smooth the transaction.

After those super-rare one-offs come the RS variants which again, should come as no surprise. Porsche has a long and storied history on the racetrack of course, and the cars that celebrate this are highly sought after. “Ever since the 2.7RS was created in 1973, the ‘Rennsport’ badge has made any Porsche ultra-desirable,” said Mayhead.

The ‘GT’ and ‘Clubsport’ cars follow the RS cars in terms of investment pieces, followed by Turbo models and those with factory performance packs. Cars with a manual gearbox, good service histories with all the ‘known’ faults fixed are desirable, as are cars with delivery mileage. None of which should come as a shocker.

So, with that in mind, what you’re after is a one-off, manual gearbox car that’s never been driven. Easy.

Options

Naturally, there are many different options that can have an effect on the future value of your 911, and Hagerty says that for newer 911s, the Sport Chrono pack, sports seats and better sound systems are all very desirable.

For the older cars, it’s about keeping it as close to factory spec as possible, apparently. “Buyers demand exact factory spec with all numbers of engine, gearbox and chassis,” Mayhead said, “and the colours and interior matching the build sheet and with correct year stamped wheels.”

Hagerty did say there are ‘extra points’ for interesting specs: dogleg ‘boxes, chromed steelies, correct tool kits… that sort of thing. On the other end of the scale, outlandish liveries and seat patterns can be hit or miss – some buyers will love them, some… won’t.

Perfect Porsche 911 specs

There are two that Hagerty has picked out. The first is a 1967 ‘C16’ Porsche 911S in Guards/India Red, with 4.5in Fuchs alloys. On the other end of the scale is a 997.2 GT3 RS 4.0 in RS green with black alloys, PCCB brakes, Sport Chrono, the front lift system and 918 Spyder buckets. Sounds like a perfect two-car garage to us.