Twenty-five years ago, this was Porsche's king of the hill—you couldn't get anything more badass than the GT2. It's all black, it's a lifelong LA car. I'm the third owner. It was owned by two prior, mature Porsche Club members who maintained the car extremely well at a local independent Porsche performance shop here in LA.

I wasn't necessarily looking for a GT2. The first water-cooled car I got was a 996 GT3. So, it was kind of a nice little thing to have a pair of Porsche's finest top-of-the-range 996 cars, being the naturally aspirated GT3 and the turbocharged GT2. But I don't recall it being a car that was actually on my wish list—it just appeared at the right time, at the right price. I purchased the car in 2020.

Performance-wise, it's unmodified. I have done nothing to it. The interesting thing about this GT2, other than it being black, is the interior is all of this, call it, peanut butter leather, including the headliner. So everything is covered in leather, not just the shift knob, but the A/C vents, the CD holders, the console. I think this was a highly ticked factory option that obviously cost a lot of money 25 years ago.

The 996 GT2 is actually Porsche's last two-wheel-drive GT2—the 996 Turbo was four-wheel drive. And it's a six-speed manual, it's not like the 991 GT2 that has a PDK. It's intoxicating, unlike the earlier 3.0-liter Turbos where there's lag. This really has no lag: it's just a big sledgehammer wallop push. But it's a luxurious car where you could do a thousand miles a day in it. It's a great GT touring car, as well as a great daily driver, because it's not actually rowdy. It's somewhat civilized, it's like a wolf in sheep's clothing; it's a British boxer in a Savile Row suit that packs a punch.

It's the most expensive Porsche I've ever purchased by quite a bit… it's probably too nice for me. But as GT2s go, it has been driven. What I liked about it is it wasn't a low-mileage car, which is why I was actually able to buy it. But I haven't put many of those miles on it—it was the prior two owners that used it as a daily driver. So that does show how practical the car is.

—Magnus Walker

The second-generation Porsche 911 GT2 debuted in 2001 as the fastest, most ferocious road-legal variant of the 996-generation 911. Both lighter and more powerful, the GT2 handily eclipsed the already dazzling 911 Turbo in terms of performance. Its twin-turbo 3.6-liter flat-six boasted 10 percent more power, thanks to a higher boost limit, a larger intercooler, and a less-restrictive exhaust. The GT2 also featured rear-wheel drive, versus the 911 Turbo’s all-wheel drive—a configuration not offered on future generations of the GT2. It also eschewed the Turbo’s retractable sunroof, a front radiator, and automatic climate-control to drop 220 pounds. For convenience, the GT2 did retain air conditioning, power windows, power door locks, electric seat adjustment, and a simpler entertainment system.

The exterior featured 911 Turbo bodywork with a revised nose and larger rear wing for improved aerodynamics. Inside, the GT2 was a true two-seater, with the 911’s traditional rear demi-seats replaced with carpeting. Notably, the type 996 GT2 and concurrent Turbo model were the first to receive Porsches to receive the company’s carbon-ceramic brake package, which increased performance, yet weighed half as much as the standard system. The GT2 models also came with an uprated G96 six-speed manual gearbox, a limited-slip differential, and racing-derived suspension upgrades. Perhaps not as extreme as the first-generation type 993 GT2, a limited-run homologation special, the type 996 GT2 remains a finely honed track weapon, while retaining some measure of comfort and convenience.

This example is one of only 184 US-delivery cars for the 2002 model year and one of 1,287 produced in total worldwide from 2001 through 2005. It completed production on 17 June 2002 finished as it is today in Black over a full leather interior in special-order Natural Brown, with the roof pillars, front console, steering column, three-spoke steering wheel, dome lamp cover, CD shelf in the center console, sun visors, and rear center console all covered in leather. Other factory options include cruise control, metal door sills with model insignia, aluminum instrument dials, Porsche crests on the headrests, footwell lighting, and a limited-slip differential. It has been fitted with aftermarket three-piece wheels in complementary black.

“It's a pretty rare car,” says Magnus Walker, who acquired the GT2 in 2020. “It's a desirable car in a highly desirable special color. It just needs to be preserved for the next custodian. I'm not necessarily delicate with my cars, they do get dinged and chipped, and I just don't want it to happen to this car.”

Now offered with 95,284 miles showing on the odometer at cataloguing time, it presents an intriguing opportunity for the discerning enthusiast seeking an example of Porsche’s peak 996 variant to be driven and enjoyed with abandon, even as values for these models continue to rise.