This 2004 Porsche 911 Carrera 40th Anniversary Edition (VIN WP0AA29974S622118) has a claimed 35,695 miles and is finished in special “GT Silver” (as used on the GT2) over “Natural Gray” leather upholstery and trim. No sign of the luggage and no information regarding any IMS/RMS work. Find this one offered here on CarGurus in Arlington, TX for $33,990.
So let’s get to the warts right off the bat. The car has an AWFUL color match respray on the front bumper. CarFax confirms that there was indeed accident damage to the front end. The good news is we can assume only the bumper cover was replaced (due to the awful respray) and there was no damage to the other panels. The other wart, 6 owners. Not terrible, but collectors will probably shy away. Now on to the good stuff…
The Anniversary model is based on the 996 Carrera Coupe but with a few added features not seen on the base Carrera. Beyond the GT silver paint, the 40th Anniversary was also fitted with the “US M030” suspension. Be careful, because “US M030” does not equal “ROW M030”. While US m030 is lower than standard Carrera’s, it’s not as low as the ROW M030 suspension. 40ths also received polished 18″ Carrera wheels (the lightest 18″ from the factory).
The 40th also received the “Turbo” bumper from the 996 Turbo and polished exhaust tips.
The drivetrain featured some well received upgrades as well. The M96 Flat-Six engine was fitted with the optional “X51 engine power enhancement kit” that provided an extra 25HP which made total output 340 HP for this model. The X51 option was a $14K option that not a lot of base Carrera owners checked off when purchasing. Porsche also optimized the DME to maximize gains with the X51. To round out the drivetrain, the 40th Anniversary was the only Carrera model besides the ’99 Coupe offered with an LSD. The LSD had locking rates of 22% under acceleration and 27% under lock-up.
The interior comes in one official color, Natural Gray leather and trim. Other changes from the base Carrera include, “911 logo” door sills, GT Silver center console, and a special leather grain on the handbrake, gear shift boot, air bag and seat center.
As an added bonus, the 40th model owners also received two pieces of exclusive leather luggage (1 Large, 1 Medium) a key case and wallet all made of the same Natural Grey leather. Unfortunately, no indication from the selling dealer that the luggage is part of the package here, bummer.
These things are definitely at the bottom of the depreciation curve and maybe even on the way up. Clean low mileage (30K ish) examples are doing high $30’s-$40K on BaT. Buy it and drive it. This is essentially the 996 Carrera S. Make this 996 40th your first flat-six.
