Porsche 911 964 Carrera 4

The Porsche 911 964 Carrera 4 is a car where the catalogue numbers invite the wrong conclusion. Ranked 541st of 600 cars for power and 516th of 600 for 0 to 100 km/h acceleration, it does not arrive as a headline chaser. Its 247 bhp and 5.7 second sprint to 100 km/h place it away from the sharp end of modern performance figures, but those numbers reveal only one part of its appeal. The more interesting measure is how unusual its combination is within the collection: just 10 of the 600 cars pair a flat-six engine with all-wheel drive.

That pairing defines the Carrera 4’s position. Its naturally aspirated 3.6 litre flat-six sends 310 Nm through AWD, creating a specification that is uncommon even before considering its place among Porsche’s 65 catalogue entries. It sits in a group of just 28 naturally aspirated flat-six cars in the full collection, and its configuration brings together two traits that rarely appear side by side. The result is a sports car whose identity is shaped less by chasing the highest figures and more by the engineering choices behind them.

The 964 Carrera 4 is a two seater convertible from Germany, offered from 1988 to 1994, with a top speed of 260 km/h. Its used price of £70,000 places it 381st of 600 cars by price, meaning there are many more expensive choices available, yet its cost per bhp sits at £283. That balance matters because this is not a purchase defined by a single statistic. It occupies a space where performance, layout and drivetrain configuration intersect. The catalogue shows a car that is not near the top in outright speed or power, but stands apart through a combination shared by very few.

Selecting this Porsche for a dream garage becomes a matter of what kind of story the collection is meant to tell. The 964 Carrera 4 brings a particular formula into the mix, a naturally aspirated flat-six and AWD in a convertible sports car package. Whether that combination appeals more than a faster or more powerful alternative is a personal judgement, but it is precisely the choice between those paths that makes this car an intriguing addition to a considered collection.