'91 C2 Tip--Redheaded Stepchild?

kristian85 · kristian85's Garage

Hello all,

After over a year away from P-ownership, I'm still a Porsche diplomat w/o portfolio.

But, I'm always looking, and yesterday stumbled across an excellent '91 C2 Tip coupe. I've never liked the idea of Tips, but, as the car was in excellent shape with mint interior, 46K-miles, and $8400 in a full engine reseal/rebuild last January with new rings and so on by a local Porsche dealer, I nonetheless decided to drive it. Never driven a P with Tip before.

It was an utter delight. Note that I have no difficulty in forgoing macho he-man notions that torquey sportscars need to have manuals, as I agree with noted Brit journalist LJK Setright, and the entire F-1 community, that a good autobox is faster for most drivers most of the time in most situations. Especially one that can be manually shifted.

It was clear that it was substantially easier to focus on what the chassis was doing without having to shift manually, and also easier to focus on the corners themselves. So, I quite liked it. And I even doubt that a manual car would be quicker in acceleration unless the manual owner wanted to replace clutches every 500 miles.

Question is: Are Tip cars the unloved children of the 911 flock? Do any others agree with my sentiments that they from both performance driving and comfort perspectives are excellent alternatives, perhaps even better, than manuals?

Resale issues? Are those motors as bullit-proof as the SC/Carrera motors, once the leak/distributor belt/flywheel issues (nonexistent on Tips) have been fixed?

Thanks all,

Kristian Soholm

12own911 · 04-21-2004, 12:28 PM

My boyfriend has the same car and loves it...

I am sure that the day I get to drive it, I will love it too. He likes it for all of the reasons stated above.

GeorgeK · 04-21-2004, 12:40 PM

For an everyday driver, you can't beat an automatic. With time, you discover quirks, tricks and secrets that make you even more confortable with the car (and faster).
BUT ( and that is a big but) if you have to have the challenge of a weekend warrior, where you strive for that perfect drive, then it may not be for you.
While my Porsches are sticks, I'll always do 90% of my driving with an automatic, and would not want it any other way.
Plus, remember the Sporto 911 that won the Marathon de la route?

slope-nz · 04-21-2004, 01:39 PM

My wife drives a 968 with a tip as a daily driver and she loves it. I've also driven the car a lot of miles(when she lets me) and I have no bad words for the tip.In 110,000 miles the trans has never been a problem. I feel that there is a market for both manul and tips . My$0.02 worth. Randy

bigrubberjeep · 04-21-2004, 01:51 PM

Buy what you like - Just know that at re-sale time you may either have to wait a long time to find a buyer to pay what it is worth or drop your price just to move the sale along

Amac · Amac's Garage

I'll start by saying that P- cars and shifting just go together, or
any real sports car for that matter!
But, I've always wanted to try a TIP in a big hp turbo.
If there's any way to beef up a TIP to handle the power I'd give
it a try.
Might be nice to actually drink coffee while driving a turbo.
Pull of the "dark side" keeps me manual.

Porsche · Porsche's Garage

How about a sporto mated to a turbo? Has that ever been done?

Moki · 04-23-2004, 03:50 PM

I have a 91 C2 w/Tip. I enjoy driving it in traffic and out on the mountain roads a lot. I got the car cheap as the previous owner really needed to unload it and no one like auto-Porche in my area.

I am looking to buy another C2 w/manual trans, so I have have choices in the morning.

sundaypunch · 04-23-2004, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Moki

I am looking to buy another C2 w/manual trans, so I have have choices in the morning.

For most people this means deciding between pancakes and cereal

jtkkz · 04-23-2004, 04:40 PM

Hello

I am not agaisnt any tip cars out there.

According to owners manuals and 964 books the difference between a C2 5 speed manual and a C2 tip 0-60 is about 1 second.

The 5 speed manual C2 is much faster than a C2 Tip.

My friend owns a '91 C2 Tip with lots of mods (chip, cat bypass, fabs exhuast, K&N System) and I have a stock '91 C2 with a 5 speed and it is a big difference when we take off.

My 5 speed is much quicker.

Tip cars are definitely nice especially during rush hour traffic.

Eric Coffey · 04-23-2004, 05:11 PM

Early 964 tip targa, now that is the red-headed stepchild! hehe.

jaudette3 · 04-23-2004, 05:30 PM

I bought a '98 C2S Tip mainly for one reason -- so that my wife could drive it too. I also have a couple of early S's, so I can go out and get rowdy in one of those.

As it turns out, I love the Tip. It's like having two different cars: my wife drives it in automatic mode and thinks it's just like a Mercedes SL . I drive it in manual mode, use the paddles on the steering wheel to shift, keep the revs up -- and it feels like a real sports car. Its personality totally changes from one mode to the other.

I was really surprised to like it so much -- it's the best of both worlds.

John Audette