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2001 996 Turbo VIN WP0ZZZ99Z1S (******) Is this a factory unicorn or Japanese mod car
I just purchased a 2001 996 Turbo that I did not see in person and have many unanswered questions. Any help would be much appreciated.
1) the car seems to have a GT2 tail and I can't figure out why. A dealer told me it was an option but I can't find any info on it
2) the car has the rear bumper rubbers missing on either side of the plate. The same dealer told me that this is a Japanese rear bumper with the same option.
3) the front bumper has grills instead of slats
4) no VIN check will recognize this serial number - I've tried on here, on suncoast as well as vincheck.org
5) the car seems to have extended wheel studs - can anyone comment why?
My concern is that nobody in North America including the Porsche dealer can tell me anything about this VIN or these body options and whether these body options are factory original or not.
Do I have a unicorn or a Frankencar?
If someone can answer all of these questions I'll donate $100 to your charity of choice. Any help would be greatly apprecaited.
Last edited by VintageCollector; 10-21-2021 at 07:50 PM.
I just purchased a 2001 996 Turbo that I did not see in person and have many unanswered questions. Any help would be much appreciated.
1) the car seems to have a GT2 tail and I can't figure out why. A dealer told me it was an option but I can't find any info on it
2) the car has the rear bumper rubbers missing on either side of the plate. The same dealer told me that this is a Japanese rear bumper with the same option.
3) the front bumper has grills instead of slats
4) no VIN check will recognize this serial number - I've tried on here, on suncoast as well as vincheck.org
5) the car seems to have extended wheel studs - can anyone comment why?
My concern is that nobody in North America including the Porsche dealer can tell me anything about this VIN or these body options and whether these body options are factory original or not.
Do I have a unicorn or a Frankencar?
The GT2 spoiler is not a factory style wing, it's an aftermarket add-on. Looks like the Misha Designs one that was on my car when I bought it.
Since the rear bumper does not have the US-spec bumperettes and you can't find any info about the VIN, this tells me this car started life in another country. Japan is a likely answer since (for some reason) lots of JDM-market cars get imported to Canada. Left hand drive cars are seen as a status symbol there, so that is why the car is not right hand drive despite being from Japan originally.
The bumper grills are aftermarket, as are the wheel studs. The car sits low as well, I bet it also has aftermarket suspension.
Last edited by Capt. Obvious; 10-21-2021 at 07:55 PM.
This car may have a Euro spec or Japanese spec engine as well.
I'd also be interested to know how those engines differ.
Very little difference between engines in these cars in different markets aside from some smog-related things. Most European countries didn't require secondary air injection (SAI) at the time, but the US did.
Why didn't you research the car prior to purchasing it?
In BC, buying a JDM Porsche is the hot thing right now and most are purchased with very little info and arrive in great shape. Japan is like the last place you can get a reasonably priced Porsche.
Congrats on the purchase. Sorry I can't help with the VIN info. It was likely just modded by the previous owner and saw some track time which is normal in JP.
The GT2 spoiler is not a factory style wing, it's an aftermarket add-on. Looks like the Misha Designs one that was on my car when I bought it.
Since the rear bumper does not have the US-spec bumperettes and you can't find any info about the VIN, this tells me this car started life in another country. Japan is a likely answer since (for some reason) lots of JDM-market cars get imported to Canada. Left hand drive cars are seen as a status symbol there, so that is why the car is not right hand drive despite being from Japan originally.
The bumper grills are aftermarket, as are the wheel studs. The car sits low as well, I bet it also has aftermarket suspension.
Thanks. It looks to me like the Misha wing is too large to lower using the hydraulics without it making contact with the car. Is that possible?
Also, what really has me confused is that the dealer I spoke to mentioned that this was some sort of GT2 option but I have not been able to get more information other than a phone conversation.
Does anyone have a way of checking purchase options on a Japanese car?
Thanks. It looks to me like the Misha wing is too large to lower using the hydraulics without it making contact with the car. Is that possible?
Also, what really has me confused is that the dealer I spoke to mentioned that this was some sort of GT2 option but I have not been able to get more information other than a phone conversation.
Does anyone have a way of checking purchase options on a Japanese car?
You can lower the hydraulics all the way down without the wing touching the car. There was about 1/2" of space between the tail lights and the winglets. However, if your wing is raised, the hydraulics have probably been removed or modified because they won't just stay up on these cars.
There was an option to purchase the factory GT2 decklid for these cars, but it looks much different than what you have (do a Google search for a real 996 GT2 and you'll see the difference).
Under the hood there should be a white paper sticker that is about 3x4" that lists the options. It looks like something someone would make on their home computer in 1995, but it's a factory sticker.
10-21-2021, 07:38 PM
2001 996 Turbo VIN WP0ZZZ99Z1S (******) Is this a factory unicorn or Japanese mod car
