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The Porsche 944 Turbo, known internally as the 951, is leading the charge in terms of the 944’s popularity with collectors. As such, prices have been on the rise for these forced induction coupes, as P-car enthusiasts begin to view them as worthy alternatives to the almighty 911. We saw a low mileage 1986 944 Turbo sell last month for $21,500. Good examples are regularly approaching and exceeding the $20,000 mark. Now comes along this 1987 944 Turbo with just under 6,000 miles. Surely this is one of the lowest mileage examples we’ve seen yet at GCFSB. The asking price is also one of the highest we’ve encountered. Worth the price of admission for an almost new 944 Turbo?
The 944 is one of those sports cars that is prime for engine swaps, as Carter exhibited yesterday with the 944 he found with an LS3 slotted under the hood. With one of the best balanced chassis to come out of the eighties, the 944 has become a darling of the track day set and of spirited motorists alike. With exception of the Turbo models, most of the range has stayed relatively affordable, even if it is a low mileage minter that you might stumble upon. This 1989 944 for sale in Pennsylvania has covered just over 50,000 miles. There’s not much of a description from the seller, but it appears there are some records accompanying it and it looks like a minter from the pictures.
There’s something that is inherently appealing to me about the idea of a aluminum V8 engine swapped into a Porsche 944. Sure, you could argue that just buying a 928 would scratch that particular itch, and in many ways you’d be right. But say you want extra power and cheaper operating costs? These are things that the Porsche 928 doesn’t particularly excel at, coupled with the more complicated and fragile electronics of the 944’s big brother. The smaller, lighter 944 then seems to be a natural choice; with near perfect weight distribution and bits that swap in easily from the higher-horsepower Turbo model, you can have a track-ready sleeper for about the same price as a decently sorted 928 – but choose the right engine, and you’ll have much more motivation at your call. In the case of this 1987 944, that choice would be the all-aluminum 6.2 liter V8 from the new Corvette – the LS3, rated at 430 horsepower and 424 lb.ft. of torque right out of the box:
While there are a lot of Porsche enthusiasts who love to head to the track, the reality is that few can afford to support the costs of a GT3 Cup car or even Cayman S, as illustrated in my last post. Even a modestly prepared car can be an expensive undertaking. As a result, for some time the biggest bang-for-the-buck has been the Porsche 944. Robust, tunable and naturally well balanced, the cult-classic 944 has taken to many different forms of motorsport; autocross, circuit racing and even the occasional rally. But today, while I’ve got a fairly typical 944 Turbo track build, we also will look at an odd place for the 944 to turn up; the drag strip:
Contemplating these two cars, two phrases came to my mind. The first is the old adage “there’s no replacement for displacement”; a saying which certainly could be questioned poignantly today given the plethora of high output turbocharged motors that are available. The second is a advertising campaign that Porsche has now utilized for several years – “Porsche – there is no substitute”. Combining these two expressions of automotive certainty and black or white belief systems has been the Porsche 944, which amongst other models has become a popular platform to swap American V8s into. Quick power, good balance and cheap parts seem to justify the swap, and in the case of some of the more recent LS motors the weight difference is negligible compared to the turbocharged inline-4 that came in the 951. What you get is instant power – a lot of it. So for comparison’s sake, today we have two Stone Grey Metallic 944s that take different routes. First is an original 944 Turbo from 1986 followed by an F-body LT1-swapped ’88 944. Which is the better option?
