Porsche 911 Carrera 915 Transmission vs G50 Transmission
- Commander
- Oct 29, 2021
- 3 min read
The Air-Cooled Porsche community has always valued a 911 Carrera 3.2 with a G50 transmission over the 915-equipped 911’s but recent sales has seen a shift in this pattern. In 2020 the Sports Car Market price guide reported a 38% increase in the median price for the 915-equipped Carrera 3.2, surpassing the median price of the G50-equipped model
Two current auctions of a 1986 915-equipped 911 Carrera and a G50-equipped 911 Carrera on Bring-a-Trailer (BaT) continues this trend with the 915 models currently outpacing the G50 models by $20,000. Of course, on BaT anything can happen in the final hour of bidding but Air Brigade would expect this trend to continue.
Why is there a value increase in the 915-equipped Porsche Carrera 3.2?
Perception Shift: Porsche owners are realizing that the 915 transmission is not as bad as the pundits had been declaring
Value: As prices for Air-Cooled Porsches continued to rise and make the cars harder to afford, the 915-equipped 911’s were a good value entry point. But, as demand increased for this model, the prices also increased.
Quality: A quality Porsche 911, will bring a “quality” price at market and more of the 1984-1986 915-equipped 911 Carreras are coming to market that are quality cars
A good example are these two 911 Carrera 3.2’s currently being auctioned on BaT. The 1986 915-transmission equipped model has had a recent refurbishment so the car shows extremely well with shiny rich paint and lush, rich leather in the interior.
The 1987 G50-equipped 911 that is lagging in price shows dull paint and well-used leather in the interior with photos that don’t match the quality of the photos of the similarly-equipped 1986 models. As more Air-Cooled Porsches are sold through online auctions such as BaT these cars will appeal to the less educated Porsche buyer who is buyer based on looks rather than conventional wisdom on “the Porsche to buy” among Porschephiles.
Full disclosure, as you can see in the photo gallery of the 1986 for sale, the current owner is an Air Brigade member and is known to the author. It is a quality car that would be a good purchase by an Air-Cooled Porsche aficionado. Air Brigade is unfamiliar with the ’87 model for sale but it appears to be a nice example also. One is a of driver quality while the other is near-concours quality.
GLWTA to the two sellers and the potential two new owners! I hope to see you both registering as Air Brigade members with these two new purchases.
1986 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Targa on Bring-a-Trailer
Bid at $40,000 with four days left in the auction
· Guards red over tan (champagne) interior
· 80K miles shown
· 27-year ownership
· 3.2-liter flat-six mated to a 915 five-speed manual transaxle
· Refurbished in 2020 – paint, interior and new windshield
· Staggered width 16” Fuchs wheels, 930S-style steering wheel and a Blaupunkt Bremen AM/FM stereo
· Ordered without the whale tail
1987 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Targa on Bring-a-Trailer
Bid at $21,161 with two days left in the auction
· Guards red over black interior
· 63K miles shown
· 9-year ownership
· 3.2-liter flat-six mated to a G50 five-speed manual transaxle
· 16” Fuchs with a lowered suspension with Bilstein dampers and a Bluetooth-capable Porsche Classic Communication Management stereo
· Features a whale tail
Air-Cooled Porsche Price Winners in 2020 to Watch for 2021
Tags: Porsche 915 Transmission, Porsche G50 Transmission,
915 Transmission versus G50 transmission, air-cooled Porsche transmissions
I have a '97 Carrera with the G50 and last year purchased a '86 Carrera with the 915. I have done complete overhaul of bushings and installed aftermarket shift kits in both cars. Neither transmission has been rebuilt, but I did replace the gear oil in both. With the shifter upgrades, the only discernible difference between the transmissions IMHO is that the 915 requires the operator to have slightly more patience with the syncro process when moving from one gear to the next. In other words, slow and smooth. Other than that, they perform equally well.
To me, the most striking difference between the two transmissions is in the shifter mechanisms as delivered by the factory. For someone used to…