Cars on the Big Screen: Porsche 911 (996) Carrera in Gone in 60 Seconds

What could possibly be better than a truly well-acted and gripping Nicolas Cage film? We have Raising Arizona by the  Cohen brothers, his portrayal of writer and director Charlie Kaufman in Adaptation and Leaving Las Vegas which earned Cage an Oscar for Best Actor in 1996. The only thing that, in my opinion, surpasses a truly great Nicolas Cage film is a mediocre, excessively action-packed and overacted blockbuster with Mr Cage as a wild and unpredictable protagonist.

The list of highlights is long, featuring The Rock, Face/Off, Con Air andGhost Rider, but for me, nothing quite compares to the masterpiece that is Gone in 60 Seconds from the year 2000.

As a lifelong car enthusiast, Gone in 60 seconds was like a greatest hits album of all the cars I admired and loved as a 13-year-old: Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, Aston Martin and Bentley all competing for my teenage attention. The star of the film, a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 named Eleanor, wasn't something I held in particularly high regard at the formative stage of my automotive journey. Instead, I was in love with Tina - a silver, brand-new Porsche 911 that, from the very first scene, stole my heart.  

The Spectacular Scene in Gone in 60 Seconds

Car thief Kip Raines and his crew have been tasked with stealing 50 exclusive cars for a short-tempered and extremely British gangster named Raymond Calitri. To avoid revealing their clever plan to the local authorities, the cars on the list are given various female names, making radio communication within the group easier. 

The 911, or Tina, is stolen in a spectacular fashion from Porsche of Beverly Hills, driven straight through a showroom window and down a daunting drop, without so much as a scratch on either the car or its occupants.

Unfortunately, the mission fails, and Calitri kidnaps Kip, forcing his retired car-thief brother Memphis Raines, played by Cage, to try and save his younger sibling from certain death by delivering every car on the list within 72 hours.

 

Porsche 911 (996)

The Porsche 911, internally deisgnated 996, made its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1997.

It was the first 911 since its introduction in 1963 to receive an entirely new platform, sharing very little with its predecessor. The previous generation, known as the 993, had enormous shoes to fill as the last in the line of air-cooled 911s - and possibly the most beloved of them all.

The 996 featured an entirely new and aerodynamically superior body with narrow hips and smooth lines. Gone were the round, welcoming Volkswagen Beetle-like headlights that had adorned the front of the 911 for over 30 years. In their place came the controversial and slightly twisted "fried egg" headlights from the entry-level Boxster. A design choice that remains a hotly debated topic among Porsche enthusiasts worldwide.

The biggest controversy, however, was found under the bonnet. The newly downsized 3.4-litre flat-six engine, producing a full 300 horsepower, now featured dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. both of these upgrades would have satisfied Porsche purists, if not for the small detail that the engine was no longer air-cooled. No large cooling fan could be seen when lifting the bonnet, nor was the same wonderful and istinctive engine note heard from the dual exhaust pipes. The car was, in fact, lighter than its prehistoric predecessor. 

Despite its challenges, the Porsche 996 became a global success, with over 175 000 units sold between 1997 and 2005. Even with its well-documented flaws – many linked to cost-cutting measures during its development – the car has today grown into a beloved icon among enthusiasts.