Feature
Why Modern Classics Are the Sweet Spot of Motoring
Is the latest and greatest really what enthusiasts want?
July 21, 2026
There was a time when spending almost £300,000 on a Porsche 911 sounded faintly ridiculous. What about nearly £800,000?
When we recently looked back through old Supercar Driver magazines, we found a 2016 classified for a left-hand-drive Porsche 997 GT2 RS at The Octane Collection, listed at £289,995. Wild for a 911, right?
Well, fast forward to today, and Romans International has listed another example, this time a sub-5k-mile, right-hand-drive car, at £795,000.
Of course, there has been inflation and a particularly buoyant collector car market over the past decade, but the GT2 RS has outperformed the vast majority of cars, earning its place among the greatest road-going cars Porsche has ever produced.
Production was limited to just 500 examples worldwide, immediately giving it an exclusivity few modern Porsches can match. Under the engine cover looks unsuspecting, but nestled in the rear is Porsche's legendary Mezger flat-six with two turbochargers strapped to it, producing 612bhp, gut-punching torque, and, crucially, paired exclusively with a six-speed manual gearbox driving the rear wheels.
That combination alone would be enough to guarantee its place in Porsche folklore, and it remains the most powerful manual-production Porsche the company has ever built. The engine itself is equally significant. The Mezger unit has long been revered by enthusiasts for its motorsport-derived origins and strength, and Mezger-powered cars are typically the ones that are seeing the strongest values.
Porsche also embarked on a ruthless weight-saving programme. Carbon fibre components, polycarbonate rear windows, lighter trim and reduced sound insulation helped keep kerb weight to around 1,370kg. The result was a car capable of extraordinary performance, but one that demanded absolute respect from its driver.
Unlike today's GT products, the GT2 RS offered very little in the way of electronic reassurance. With more than 600bhp, delivered in one big wollop to the rear axle through a manual gearbox, it quickly developed a reputation as one of the most thrilling — and intimidating — 911s ever made, even without the GT3's soundtrack to accompany the drive.
That reputation has only strengthened with age.
The example currently offered by Romans is a UK-supplied C16 car finished in Black and specified with the rare Comfort package rather than the more common Clubsport configuration. It was originally ordered with electrically-adjustable Adaptive Sports Seats, which come with the car, but it is currently fitted with a separate set of factory folding carbon fibre bucket seats, giving the next owner the option of preserving originality or leaning into the car's track-focused character.
As analogue performance cars become increasingly scarce, the appeal of the 997 GT2 RS only seems to grow. Limited production, one of Porsche's most celebrated engines, a manual gearbox and a reputation for rewarding brave drivers have combined to make it one of the defining collector cars of the modern era.
Looking back, £290,000 in 2016 seemed like serious money. Today, it almost looks like an opportunity missed!
