1982 Porsche 911 SC With 164,000 Miles Is One Of The Cheapest Air-Cooled 911s Currently For Sale, And It's Still Almost $75,000
A clean air-cooled Porsche 911 (or any condition of air-cooled 911, frankly) has been a car culture status symbol for a while now. And to illustrate how valuable they've gotten, there's this not-particularly-special, six-digits-on-the-odometer, relatively accessible example that is still commanding new-luxury car prices.
Seen for sale on CarGurus is this 1982 Porsche 911 SC asking a probably-reasonable $73,482 (it originally listed for $74,982, but the price has been adjusted since). The listing only has pictures of the exterior, but judging from the photos, it's far from a fixer-upper. It is, though, sitting at almost 165,000 miles, which means it likely served as somebody's semi-regular driver for the 44 years its been around.
SC, by the way, stood for Super Carrera and is simply what Porsche decided to call the regular-ass Carrera from 1978 to 1983. So, no, this is not a direct ancestor to the modern, top-shelf 911 GT3 S/C. Confusing nomenclature, as it turns out, isn't a new German car phenomenon.
Worth it?
This five-speed '82 SC is powered by a 3.0-liter flat-six making 172 horsepower and 189 lb-ft of torque. Those are econobox numbers by modern standards, sure, but remember that it only weighs 2,700 pounds... which, er, is actually a bit heavier than I assumed. Look, this was the early '80s and effectively the base model, m'kay? Give it a break.
Instrumented testing of a 1980 model by Car and Driver back in the day saw it snap off a zero-to-60-mph time of six seconds flat, with a quarter-mile run lasting 14.7 seconds at 92 mph, and hitting a top speed of 130 mph. It was still a great sports car, even without the lightning-fast numbers we're used to seeing today, with that period review heaping praise on its "godsend" brakes, "direct and quick" steering, and a manual transmission that got a linkage update that made the gates more defined.
Worth nearly $75,000 in 2026, though? Maybe! Especially considering a base-as-it-gets new 911 is pretty much double that. But at the same time, we can't help but look at this listing and miss the days when a car like this could be had for, like, 15 grand.