A Porsche 911 for every budget

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Let’s start with the basics first.

The Porsche 911 was developed from the Volkswagen Beetle as a more sporting alternative to the ‘Bug – this means the engine is mounted behind the rear wheels, in the boot area.

Designed from the start as a two-door coupe, the Porsche 911 has undergone major changes throughout its 40-year life-cycle – but remains one of the most engaging driving experiences known to man.

Before you start splashing out your hard-earned, familiarise yourself with the internal model variants and years:

1964 to 1989 – Porsche 911: Porsche gave the 911 revisions throughout this period, but the model number was always known as 911.

1989 to 1993 – Porsche 911 (964): 911 underwent heavy revision and is known as the 964 model.

1993 to 1998 – Porsche 911 (993): The last generation where Porsche fitted the 911 with air-cooled engines.

1998 to 2005 – Porsche 911 (996): Revisions included the fitting of the famous ‘fried-egg’ style headlights.

2005 to present – Porsche 911 (997): The newest addition to the long-line of 911s, the 997 model has been likened as one of the finest driving machines.

£0 to £10,000

A Porsche 911 for less than ten grand?

Hunt around and you can bag a mid-1980s Porker for around £8,000 – this will get you into a 3.2-litre Carrera with 207bhp and a 0-60mph time of around 6 seconds.

But be careful – Porsche has built an enviable reputation for reliability, but as with all older cars, a full service history is essential.

Looked after examples – even with high miles – are difficult to find in this price bracket, but we found a 1984 Porsche 911 3.2-litre Carrera with 152,000 miles on the clock for £7,995 – metallic blue, leather interior, full service history, and of course, the famous ‘whale-tail’ spoiler.

£10,001 to £20,000

The early 90s saw the mighty Porsche 911 undergo a facelift – and put it properly on the map.

Purists may have scoffed at the 993 variant Porsche 911s, but there is no denying the model’s appeal.

And for around £15,000, you can bag your self some proper old-school open-top motoring – we found a mint Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Cabriolet, with just 65,000 miles on the clock for £14,995.

Reach into the upper realms of the price bracket and you can own a coupe Carrera – we found this 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 with just 61,000 miles on the clock for £18,990.

And amazingly, you can even find high-mileage examples of the 996-model Porsche 911 in this range.

We found this 1998 Porsche 911 Carrera – with those famous ‘fried-egg’ headlights – for just £19,995, with 78,800 miles on the clock and a full Porsche service history.

£20,000 to £30,000

You can pick up a mint condition low-mileage 996-model Porsche 911 Carrera – complete with the storming 300bhp 3.4-litre ‘boxer’ style engine.

We found a 2000 Porsche 911 Carrera with 54,000 miles on the clock for £22,000, or this four-wheel-drive 2001 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet for £28,995.

£30,000+

Fork out around £30,000 or more and you can find yourself a Porsche for every mood.

We found a 2002 Porsche 911 with the 3.6-litre engine slung out behind the rear wheels, with just 19,800 miles on the clock, 18-inch alloy wheels and a full service history for £34,950.

But spend a little bit more and things get interesting – we found this mint condition 2000 Porsche 911 Turbo with a full Porsche service history and 63,000 miles, for £37,490.

If you fancy something a little more hardcore and your internal organs can accommodate, why not try out this 2004 Porsche 911 GT3? Fitted with a 3.6-litre flat-six engine and produced between 360bhp and 380bhp.

View more images of the Porsche 911 for sale on Auto Trader here