The 911 R is a special machine but also a largely unobtainable one—all 991 copies were spoken for long ago. Sold largely to existing 918 Spyder owners at a base price of $185,950, the most exclusive first-generation 991 (991.1 in Porsche-speak) is already a classic.
Frustrating unavailability aside, it's still encouraging to see that a purist's car can exist amid Porsche's ever-growing model lines and customer base. We don't know if Porsche plans to do something similar with the new 991.2 chassis, although they do now have a very nice six-speed manual.