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Monza Lab
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Monza Lab
Variant · 1997–1998
The scarcest modern air-cooled 911 — the 993 Turbo taken to its factory limit.
The 993 Turbo S is the top-of-range 993 Turbo, built for the final two model years of the air-cooled 911. It takes the 993 Turbo's twin-turbo all-wheel-drive platform and adds larger K24 turbochargers, revised intake and exhaust, unique aero and carbon interior appointments, and uprated brakes. Euro cars are rated 450 hp (330 kW); US cars are rated 424 hp due to market-specific emissions and fuel calibration.
Production is small and market-specific. Euro-spec Turbo S (WLS option, 1997-1998) is commonly cited at ≈345 units; US-spec Turbo S (WLS2 option, 1997-1998 model years) at ≈183 units, for a combined factory total of roughly 528 cars worldwide — sources vary by a small margin and conservative collectors work to the ≈500-550 range. It is, by any honest count, one of the scarcest modern air-cooled 911s.
The market treats the 993 Turbo S as blue-chip terminal air-cooled. Driver-grade cars trade $650k–$900k; excellent examples $900k–$1.2M; concours matching-numbers cars $1.2M–$1.4M+. Values have approximately doubled since 2018 and continue to re-rate as the market internalizes its scarcity relative to the base 993 Turbo (≈5,978 total 993 Turbo including non-S).
The 993 Turbo S is the final factory expression of the air-cooled twin-turbo 911. Everything subsequent — the 996 Turbo, 997 Turbo, 991 Turbo, 992 Turbo — is water-cooled. It is therefore the terminal point of a design philosophy that began with the 1975 930 single-turbo and culminated in a 450 hp (Euro) twin-turbo AWD supercar with factory aero and a carbon-trimmed cabin.
Its scarcity premium is real. Where the 964 Turbo 3.6 occupies the final-single-turbo tier (≈1,437 units), and the standard 993 Turbo occupies the first-twin-turbo-AWD tier (≈5,978 units combined), the 993 Turbo S occupies its own tier as the highest-spec, rarest-production terminal air-cooled Turbo. The market prices all three accordingly, and the Turbo S has consistently set the ceiling among them.
Original paint, documented history, 40-70k km, full service history
Matching numbers, original paint, sub-40k km, full service history with 993-specialist
Zero-issue matching-numbers with full provenance, ideally single-owner and sub-20k km
US-titled WLS2 cars carry a modest premium in the US market versus gray-market imports due to clean federalization and registration ease
Single-owner, preservation-class cars with named ownership chain occasionally exceed $1.4M
The base 993 Turbo (1995-1998, ≈5,633 units) makes 408 hp (Euro) / 402 hp (US) from twin K16 turbos. The 993 Turbo S (1997-1998, ≈528 units worldwide) makes 450 hp (Euro) / 424 hp (US) from larger K24 turbos, with revised intake/exhaust. Visually, the Turbo S adds rear-wheel air scoops, enlarged front intakes, and a carbon rear wing with integrated intercooler intakes. Interior differs with carbon dashboard and door trims, Turbo S-specific seats, and aluminum trim details. The Turbo S trades at roughly 2-3x base 993 Turbo money in equivalent condition.
Approximately 528 cars worldwide — ≈345 Euro-market cars (WLS option) and ≈183 US-market cars (WLS2 option), produced across the 1997 and 1998 model years. Sources differ slightly (the 500-550 range covers the conservative consensus). Either way, it is one of the scarcest modern air-cooled 911s — roughly one-tenth the volume of the base 993 Turbo and one-third the volume of the 964 Turbo 3.6.
Different cars entirely. The 993 Turbo S is a road-focused top-of-range AWD twin-turbo with luxury interior, 450 hp (Euro), carbon trim, and full street equipment — ≈528 units. The 993 GT2 is a rear-wheel-drive homologation race car for GT2-class competition, with widebody fiberglass fenders, stripped interior, fixed-back buckets, and 430 hp (later 450 hp Evo) — ≈172 street cars plus GT2 Evo variants. The GT2 is scarcer and trades higher ($2M+ for street cars, $3M+ for GT2 Evo); the Turbo S is the luxury-spec top-of-range Turbo. They share a generation but nothing else.
Euro WLS cars are rated 450 hp / 432 lb-ft. US WLS2 cars are rated 424 hp / 420 lb-ft, primarily due to US emissions and fuel calibration differences rather than mechanical hardware (the K24 turbos and M64/60R block are common). The power gap shows in straight-line performance — Euro cars hit 100 km/h in ≈4.1s vs ≈4.3s for US cars. Both use the G64/51 six-speed and identical AWD hardware.
Check VIN ('37' Turbo body-type digits — WP0ZZZ99ZVS37XXXX for 1997 Euro, WP0ZZZ99ZWS37XXXX for 1998 Euro), engine number M64/60R, Porsche Certificate of Authenticity confirming WLS (Euro) or WLS2 (US) option code and the M00X market-version code, matching-numbers body/engine/transmission, original carbon dashboard and door trims (often missing from crash-damaged cars), Turbo S-specific Speedline Solid-Spoke wheels, and rear-wheel air scoops (not present on base 993 Turbo). A car sold as Turbo S without a COA confirming WLS or WLS2 should be declined — well-executed clones exist.
Combined production of ≈528 cars across Euro and US is lower than any other factory 993 Turbo variant, lower than the 964 Turbo 3.6 (≈1,437), lower than the 993 RS (≈1,014), and dramatically lower than the base 993 Turbo (≈5,633). Within modern air-cooled factory specifications — which broadly covers the 964 and 993 eras — only specific sub-variants like the 964 Turbo S Flachbau (≈76), 964 3.8 RS (≈55), and 993 GT2 (≈172) are scarcer, and those occupy separate collecting tiers. Among road-focused luxury-spec 911s, the 993 Turbo S is the rarity benchmark.
Euro Turbo S: 1997 model year uses WP0ZZZ99ZV-prefix VINs with '37' body-type digits in the seventh and eighth positions; 1998 uses WP0ZZZ99ZW-prefix. US-market WLS2 cars follow US VIN conventions but share the '37' Turbo body digits. The production numbers were small enough that specific VIN ranges are tracked by registry-focused collectors, and individual VINs are known. Any Turbo S purchase at the $1M+ tier should include VIN cross-reference against a recognized 993 Turbo S registry plus full Porsche COA.
Beyond standard 993 Turbo items (turbocharger health, intercooler integrity, AWD transfer case, secondary air pump): Turbo S-specific checks include WLS or WLS2 option confirmation via COA, matching-numbers engine M64/60R and transmission, original carbon dashboard and door trims (replacements exist and are discounted), original Speedline Solid-Spoke wheels, rear air scoop originality, and chassis alignment (verifying no unrepaired impact behind the widebody panels). Service records from recognized 993 Turbo specialists are mandatory at this price tier.
They occupy different tiers. The 993 Turbo S (≈528 units, twin-turbo AWD, 450 hp Euro, terminal air-cooled Turbo, $800k-$1.4M+) is the top-of-range luxury-spec rarity. The 964 Turbo 3.6 (≈1,437 units, single-turbo RWD, 360 hp, final single-turbo 911, $350k-$650k standard) is the final analog single-turbo. Both have appreciated strongly since 2018; the Turbo S has re-rated harder in absolute dollars and sits closer to its terminal-generation ceiling. For deep-collection positioning, holding both is a common pattern — each represents a distinct moment in the air-cooled Turbo lineage.
It is established blue-chip with further upside tied to overall air-cooled market behavior. Values have approximately doubled since 2018, and the terminal-air-cooled-Turbo scarcity story is now fully understood by the market. Further aggressive multi-bagger returns from current entry points are unlikely, but the scarcity (≈528 units globally) and generational-terminus status argue against material downside. It is a long-hold preservation asset, not a trading position, and among air-cooled 993 variants it has been the most consistent appreciation performer over the last five years.
The 993 Turbo S is the scarcest luxury-spec modern air-cooled 911 and the terminus of the factory air-cooled twin-turbo lineage. Values have re-rated durably since 2018 and the market now fully prices the scarcity story. From current levels, further aggressive appreciation is unlikely; steady compounding in line with top-tier air-cooled benchmarks is the realistic expectation. For deep collectors, it is a core holding — small trade volume, firm price floors, documented ownership chains, and a non-replicable generational position. It is a hold, not a flip.
Back to Porsche 911 (993) buyer's guide.
Market bands are aggregated from public auction results. For the current generation-level median and YoY trend, see the Air-Cooled 911 Index.