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It's been almost 18 months, but I think I am coming home.
In 99 while living in North Carolina, I bought an Arctic Silver M Coupe. After 6300 miles, I sold the car through this board to BluesJam (Jamal M - hey you still out there?)
At the time, I needed something with 4 seats, and the Coupe was my only car. It had 6500 or so miles on it, and I was very sad to see it go.
After the Coupe, I bought a classic green '00 Land Rover Disco II. While functional enough, it is no sports car. Nice sport utility, though. Alas, I missed having a sports car. I moved to Canada for work.
I still needed 4 doors, and things being as they are here in the great north, I thought it would be wise to have AWD. So, I sold the Disco II, and bought a 2001 Audi S4. Silver again. Nice car. I liked the turbos, but no exhaust note, too "floaty" - nothing visceral about it. After 2300 km, I sold it.
This time, I thought, I will not screw around. In January (before I sold the S4), I started to do research. I looked at the Boxster, Boxster S, 911, 911 Turbo, M5, and even looked back into the M Coupe. At the time, the existence of a new Coupe was only speculation, and in any case, I couldn't wait to find out. The M5, though fast, I am sure, was still hard to find at normal prices, and struck me as being too big. The 911 Turbo, like the M5, was hard to get at a reasonable price, and probably too clinical to be fun in that M Coupe sort of way.
After much research and consternation, in early March, I ended up buying an '01 911 Cab. I'd never had a Cab before, and thought it would be fun, plus I had wanted a 911 since I was a kid. My 911 Cab is, you guessed it, silver, with GT3 wheels, GT3 skirts, has a black top, heated seats (important in Canada), Technic package, etc. Really nice car. When I first bought it, I swore that I would forever own a roadster or cab of some sort. A joy to drive out in the open. But...
Before I go any further, let me save you the trouble: Yes, I know I have a car problem. I have probably squandered enough money on depreciation to own any one of the above cars outright, and I still would have had the M Coupe. Guilty as charged. Better than a drug habit, as I see it.
(okay, back to the story) ...it is missing something. On the upside, it drives like a go-cart and makes a sweet (if too muffled) note. But that is really all I have to say about it. It is missing the magic. Ferraris have it. My old M Coupe had it...
I am now moving out of Canada, back to the US. Now seems like a good time to, erm, perhaps switch cars. Again. After all, the 911 is a Canadian car, and while I could import it, I would have to change the gauges. It would also take a hit in resale as it has been imported...
Background and rationalization taken care of.
Okay, thanks for your patience. I swear I am going somewhere with this.
I have a few questions for you stalwart Coupe owners.
I am looking into an 01 Coupe. I would like to modify it for autocross and maybe track it. I want to keep it street legal, though.
How available are they? Could I find one at or near MSRP? Any around in Chicago or Denver?
I am thinking of moving to Colorado (Boulder most likely), or California. What is the seat of the pants performance hit for the 5000 feet of elevation, cruelly thinning the air? Any 0-60 or 1/4 mile info?
If the sunroof is deleted, how much weight will that save?
How much weight can be saved by replacing the stock seats with GT3 (or similar) seats?
How much weight can be saved by installing SuperTrapps?
What kind of power gains can one expect from intake, exhaust and chip modifications?
Anyone save any unsprung weight by replacing the brakes or wheels? How much weight?
Thanks in advance. I really miss the M Coupe and the community - didn't know how good I had it.
Thanks again,
Paul
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