Now that the clocks have gone forward and the bright evenings are with us, we have entered the often-mentioned Porsche ‘season’. Owners of older Porsches have started to get their cars out of storage and use them more regularly, leading to 911s and other classic Porsche models becoming a more common sight on the road.

This increased activity/visibility of the older Porsches has a noticeable effect on the used Porsche market as a whole. With more cars out and about, the unique attractions of Porsche ownership – particularly older models – are brought to the fore and enquiry levels at independent dealerships increase. This is when we begin to see the trends for demand (and therefore prices) emerge for the year ahead.

Enquiry levels through February and March prove that the market remains in good shape. We’ve welcomed a steady stream of potential buyers and feedback on condition of our stock and asking prices has been very positive. Many cars have sold within hours of arriving at JZM and regular visitors to our all-new website will have noticed a considerable intake of interesting and highly collectable Porsches through the winter months. With so much attention on collectable Porsches during the ‘off-season’, it is easy to forget that the majority of owners buy their Porsches to drive them.

Porsche cars for driving remain in strong demand. Recent weeks have brought many quick sales for a variety of drivers’ cars, including a Gen 1 997 GT3 RS prepared by JZM for track use that had enjoyed track days all over Europe (and will continue to do so), a well-specced Cayman S manual in rare Rhodium Silver and a trio of smart Porsche Cayman Rs. Also sold in short order was a perfect 991 Carrera GTS manual in Lava Orange, the beautiful Porsche 356 ‘Outlaw’ Coupe and a pair of 997 Turbos, one of which had been tastefully modified here in the JZM tuning workshops with KW 3-way adjustable suspension, upgraded exhaust and an RS flywheel and clutch.

We find that cars which have been modified with care and attention using quality parts continue to sell well. JZM offers only the best quality aftermarket Porsche tuning parts, guaranteed to improve performance over a standard car. Parts of this quality tend to be quite sought after by keen drivers, so cars with average mileage offered with these modifications usually sell for higher prices than standard cars – quite a different situation to low mileage cars, which do better in factory spec.

The rising prices for low mileage cars have caused many owners of average mileage examples with interesting modifications to return their cars to standard, which generally makes them less interesting to drive and can keep the cars in the garage. This approach is unrewarding on a number of levels: cars that do not get used can cost more to maintain.

It is always better to use and enjoy Porsches with average mileage and if that means leaving aftermarket upgrades in place for a better drive, then owners should do that. Any price rise for a standard-ised car may be completely wiped out when potentially paying additional maintenance for lower use. “Drive and enjoy” remains the best philosophy.

Regarding what’s hot and what’s not, air-cooled enquiries have definitely picked up with the arrival of spring and we have sold some great air-cooled 911s this month, including our low-mileage Speedster in Black, 964RS in Silver, the Falsen Green 930 Flatnose and a beautiful 993 Carrera 4S in Violet Metallic. We still have some very interesting air-cooled cars in the showroom and all have strong enquiries listed against them.

We have enquiries on file for most water-cooled 911s, so many of these cars sell as soon as they pass our inspection and before they are advertised. Recent low-mileage sales include a superb Gen II 997 GT3 Clubsport with less than 12k miles, which had a number of names against it before it arrived. The car was offered to existing enquiries in order and the first potential buyer snapped it up.

Elsewhere in GT3s, the Gen 2 991 GT3 announcement generated some interesting phone calls and discussions about brokerage deals to raise cash for a GT3 order. The reality is that 991.2 GT3s will be just as hard to order as Gen 1s, so make sure you have a confirmed order before selling the car you already own. Buying a Gen 2 GT3 in the hope of securing a place on the list for the next GT2 may not be enough to guarantee a spot: Porsche simply will not make enough cars for those 911s to be offered to the regular man in the street (including us – we share your pain).

All water-cooled Turbos remain in demand and we have RHD 996 GT2 and Clubsport and even a RHD 997 GT2 RS coming in. All of these cars have enquiries listed against them and will probably sell to clients who have waited patiently for the right cars to come up. Really good 997 Turbo manuals are still in demand and Turbo S 996 or 997 are also excellent news. We are buying as many of these cars as we can find that pass our pre-sale inspection and outbidding all other dealers, so contact us if you have a car available.

The big news in Porsche circles this month was of course the Sothebys RM Auctions sale at Retromobile in Paris. More than £28 million pounds’ worth of cars were sold on the night, with many record prices for collectable 911s.

Surprise of the show was undoubtedly a 2004 Porsche 996 GT3 RS with less than 200 kms from new, which fetched a staggering £343,000 including premium. Other Porsches also fared well: one 993 Turbo S Cabriolet finishing at a jaw-dropping £1.1M including premium. A 959 Sport sold for £1.7M including premium and both 964RS models offered made just under £200k each including premium.

Some may say that auction results are pie-in-the-sky numbers which do not relate back to the retail market, but we disagree. These sales offer an important window into buyer mindset at the very top end of the market. They also contextualise the two-tier market that we often refer to in our market reports: high end collectors versus enthusiast owners.

JZM Porsche caters for both markets and sales often cross from one to the other. Many of our enthusiast customers are keen collectors with more than one Porsche, and many of our serious collectors with portfolios of ten or more cars always retain one or two models with average mileage, which can be driven guilt-free. Understanding the difference in perceived market value between a collectable Porsche and a driver’s car is where auctions can help. So what lessons can we take away from the RM Paris results?

The first and most important signpost was the continued rise of the 996. Four 996 models were offered on the night, with the GT3 RS and a 24,000-km GT2 Clubsport both beating their top estimates by some margin. The Mk1 GT3 Clubsport and higher mileage 996 Turbo S Cabriolet each achieved more than mid-estimate including premium.

The second point is that production levels remain critical to achieving the best prices. The 993 price was easier to understand when one considers that the 993 Turbo S Cabriolet is a very limited production model, with fewer than 15 examples manufactured. Compare this to production of the 1973 Carrera RS, where up to 100 times that number were originally manufactured (a ’73 RS Touring sold for £470k including premium on the night). Another low production model is the 964 Turbo S, a 23k-mile example of which was sold on the night for almost £790,000 including premium. JZM has sold a number of Turbo S models in the last twelve months and this price was a pleasant surprise for all of our owners.

The final point we take away from the latest RM sale is that, while air-cooled prices are holding up well, water-cooled prices are gathering pace, indicating a growing willingness among collectors to look to later models for stars of the future. The 996 GT3 and RS are good examples of this. Compare circa 600 996 GT3s produced to the 991 GT3, where up to 6,000 models may have been manufactured, and it is easy to see why collectors are snapping up early GT3s at this time.

Bringing these points into the retail market, one might reasonably wonder why some sellers are still asking twice the list price for used 991 GT3s when clearly the market is not going to stand that. Our activity in the modern GT3 market and occasional foray into other modern sports cars such as the Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 recently sold and the Ferrari 458s we have handled means that we benefit from the input of a wide audience – not just the Porsche crowd. Having sold a number of 991 GT3s this month, we do not sense an appetite for overpriced GT3 stock and so carefully monitor our prices.

January was a busy month at JZM Porsche, with 29 cars sold. February started somewhat quieter but, as the month progressed, enquiry levels increased and we were happy to welcome serious buyers to the showroom. The global nature of our business continued, with cars selling as far afield as Belgium and the Far East. Air-cooled was again at the forefront, with several air-cooled cars sold through February, including our 964 30-Jahre Anniversary car. JZM special projects have also been selling: one 964 hot rod with retrimmed interior, new KW suspension and some other tweaks was a very quick seller and we have another special 964 in build which we think will find a new home in short order.

Our success with 911 Turbos continues. Two very smart 997 Turbos (Coupe and Cabriolet) have just arrived in the showroom and we continue to bring in some fantastic 930s. The latest 930 in Black with original Tartan Recaro trim is just about to land and we have a couple of appointments lined up for that car.

The air-cooled market has not yet started properly, as it tends to coincide with the F1 calendar. Once that first race appears, the 2017 classic Porsche season will get going in style and we could see another record year for the early air-cooled models. Anyone in the market for an air-cooled Porsche would be well advised to be proactive and get enquiries moving early, while the weather is still a bit grey and things remain relatively quiet.