Hi all, i m a new potential porsche 997 owner. I m working in dubai at the moment and planning to buy a private imported american 2005 997. does anyone knows about the specification difference between the american spec and the gulf spec?As you are aware the temperature here is much higher than anywhere in the states. i doubt if the yankee spec can survive under this desert condition. Pleasehelp. thank you very much

 

Welcome to the Porsche family. You will love the 997. I just traded in my 1999 996 which I bought new for a new 2007 911 cab. I love both cars.

I may be able to help a little. I have some experinece with European and middle Eastern speced car on Ferraris. I do not know if this translates to Porsche but it may help you ask some of the right questions.

In the Ferrari world non US speced cars are about $30K cheaper for a 360 Modena or a F430. The tuning of the car and indeed some of the body parts are differernt because of USfederal regulation.

The Non US cars tend to run richer and you can see a little soot on the tail pipe and the back of the car. I am told they have a little better performance but to be honest most people including me cannot tell the difference. The gas mileage is about 1-2 mpg less. If you buy a car overseas it must be US speced for pollution or modified. On a Ferrari the number I have been told is $25k. That is an old cost about 1 year ago. I have been told the add on pollution equipment gives trouble passing exhaust emissions testing if you live in one of those states. I have been told by those that own European cars they normally pass when you first pick the car and sometimes first year. After that they always need tweaking or part replacement. The engineering and the metalurgy is substandard.

Non US speced cars in the Ferrari world are much less desireable and are harder to sell and demanda lower market price. I have been told US speced car in Europe are okay and hold their value.

Also some of the parts likeinternal door suppport for Fed regulations is not there so your dealer would have to order thepart from Europe which can take months. I could go on about the otheritems like bumpers, software that controls the motor, etc but you get the point.

Some of the middle East coutriesus the US specs for the cars they import into their country. Dubui was and maybe still isone of those. I looked at several Dubui cars when I was looking a somespecific Ferrari types and was considering them for that reason.

So I would tread carefully. If you buy a car overseas you will be required to get it certified by your state. The DMV in the state you will be living in when you come back to the USA can help you with codes and country of origin and what is required. In Florida, where I livethey were very helpful.

I looked at a big block classic Corvette in Canada and after conversations with the State walked away from what I thought would be a good deal.

If you are thinking about buying a new 997 you might want to talk to a dealer in the US or the factory. The thought would be to buy a US spec'd car and import it to Dubia.

Good luck to you.

Lee