If you’re in the market for a used Porsche, and interested in the highest performing model you can get, you may have to wait. Porsche quietly ordered dealerships to stop selling some of its fastest models months ago, and the world is just now finding out about it.
The order affects the 911, Boxster, Cayman, Cayenne, and Panamera from model years 2012 through 2016, and concerns models equipped with the Sport Chrono package.
This option adjusts the suspension, engine tuning, and steering ratios to create three different modes of driving. The Normal mode is, well, you get that one. Sport tightens things up a bit for quicker stoplight-to-stoplight performance. Sport Plus gets the most out of every component and is truly meant for track days. Unfortunately, Sport Plus also fails many emissions tests.
Porsche is still studying the problem, which seems to be inconsistent. Some tested cars emit banned levels of nitrogen oxide in Sport Plus mode. But the problem doesn’t happen every time, or with every Sport Chrono-equipped car. “It really goes down to us testing every model derivative. We’re being cautious,” a Porsche spokesperson told Business Insider.
In the meantime, Porsche dealers will still buy back your 2012-2016, Sport Chrono-equipped car. But they won’t sell you one. Porsche believes the problem can be fixed with a software update, which would allow them to not only sell the cars on dealer lots but easily fix those sitting in garages and driveways, too.
