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Velvet Unreserved: 1989 Porsche 944

Velvet Unreserved: 1989 Porsche 944

Published December 17, 2017 by Carter

The takeaway from yesterday’s twin Baltic Blue 944S2s was that, while the model is generally a good bet for collectors, neither of the examples was a stellar buy. But they’re not alone; even though I’ll continue to argue that they’re undervalued relative to what they are, the reality is that many come to market with price tags that are just too high. Even though sellers’ ‘whataboutme’ attitude towards the model is arguably justified, the asking prices usually aren’t.

Yet today we’re looking at another 944. And not a top tier one at that – generally speaking, this particular model is the least appealing of the end of the run. It’s the last-year 8-valve motor, so you can imagine that if the 944S2 was overshadowed by the Turbo, this model was positively left in the dark. You got early 944 appearances with the slightly punched-out 2.7 liter inline-4. That gave you a bump to 162 horsepower, up from 158 in the high-compression 2.5 from the previous year. That didn’t sound like much, but with revised gear ratios and a healthy bump in torque, these ’89s are claimed to be the quickest of the 8V normally aspirated run. But without a “S”, “S2”, or “Turbo” script adorning its rear, and with the 924S gone to greener second-hand dealers, the regular old 944 assumed the position at the very bottom of the totem pole in the Porsche lineup.

So why buy it?

Simple. Price. It’s very easy to forget just how darn expensive Porsches were in the late 80s – even the 4-cylinder ones. That was why the 924S was so appealing. Sure, it wasn’t the glitziest Porsche out there. But it was also the only one you could buy new in the $20,000 range. By 1989? If you wanted a Turbo, you’d pay the best part of $45,000 delivered. The S2 wasn’t much better, ringing in at registers as $42,000. So it’s there that you can start to see the appeal of the base model, which had most of the look of the higher-spec models but could be yours for $33,000. Today? It’s the same deal:

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1986 Porsche 944 Turbo

1986 Porsche 944 Turbo

Published September 17, 2017 by Carter

Let’s get the not-so-subtle elephant in the room out of the way – this car isn’t, and probably never will be, a collector example of a 944 Turbo. Heck, perhaps the 944 Turbo will never be appreciated on a more grand scale, either, though I personally find that one pretty baffling.

Okay, can we move on?

Let’s say that instead of just hoping that some day your car will be worth a mint, or indeed even caring what other people think about your vehicular choices, you just want have a car which looks good and is enjoyable to drive. Let’s not forget, this advice is coming from someone with somewhat polarizing vehicle choices…so, take the advice with a grain of salt, but I’m going to persist in my argument that the 944 Turbo is the car for you. A true David of the 1980s, the 944 Turbo was the understated and unassuming Goliath slayer, turned down by the factory so as not to have its performance overshadow the 911 range. Being faster than a 911 is pretty much verboten in Germany and especially in Stuttgart, but nearly everyone that experienced a 944 Turbo in the 1980s came away with the impression that in every statistical (and in some non-statistical ways) it was a better car than the Carrera.

But, as one of our astute readership noted, certain cars – the Audi Quattro, the BMW M3 and M5, and of course the 911 range – were the cars of certain groups of individuals dreams. The 944 Turbo really wasn’t. There weren’t many people that hung 944 Turbo posters on their walls, because there was always something from Porsche that was a little bit more special – the 928 was more futuristic, the 911 was more comforting as a predictable classic and “Turbo” was synonymous with only one Porsche in history.

That model wasn’t the 944, nor was it the 924. And though both of those respective cars outperformed their brethren in period and were very impressive outside of the Zuffenhausen lineup, the market of today in many ways continues to mimic the original sales trends. The 944 Turbo outsold the Quattro, outsold the M3 – neither, it should be noted, limited production cars. But today, probably in part because of its success, the 944 Turbo just doesn’t get the wows, the attention, or the press of its contemporaries. Of course, there’s one more thing it doesn’t get as a result – their price:

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1986 Porsche 944 Turbo

1986 Porsche 944 Turbo

Published July 16, 2017 by Carter

The world of collector cars is full of hyperbole. Yesterday’s Quattro is a great example of this; take a legendary car and start pontificating about how it’s a collector model, and reason, objectivity and affordability fly out the window. Certainly we’ve seen this most in the Porsche world; the whiff of air-cooled over the past half decade has translated into moving the decimal point one position (or more, in some cases) to the right.

But that doesn’t mean automatically that all cars that come to market are fakers. Some are the real deal – good values in the marketplace and a collector car that should be both a good return on investment and enjoyable to own. They can be quite eye-catching, too, so while you’re rolling down the street looking like a million bucks your smile will be all the wider.

So which scenario is this 1986 944 Turbo – the real deal, or more fluff for the nutter market?

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1987 Porsche 924S

1987 Porsche 924S

Published June 25, 2017 by Carter

I’ve looked across the 924 range over the past week, from the well-optioned 1980 Turbo through the interestingly-modified 1978 924 base model. But in the case of either of those, the strong argument if you just want a nice driving, cheap entry level Porsche is the later 924S.

Offered for only two years in the U.S. market, nevertheless a bulk of the 924S production was sold here. Some 16,669 were made in total, with 9,137 making the trip across the Atlantic from Neckarsulm. Of those, the much more prevalent to find would be the first model year, with 6,947 accounting for 1987 production. Yet there were few changes across the run; 1988 received a slight bump in compression for a 5 horsepower gain, and there was the limited run of Special Edition final models that were quite special. But all offer lightweight driving fun with near-perfect balance and poise, reasonable running costs and sprightly performance. Plus, since many 924 owners treasured their foray into Porsche ownership, it’s possible just about any day of the week to find a really nice condition 924S like this impressive 43,500 mile Zermatt Silver Metallic example.

What’s not to like?

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1978 Porsche 924

1978 Porsche 924

Published June 19, 2017 by Carter

I’m going to continue my string of 924s with an interesting 1978 today. This car represents the early run of the original design. It was a simple, no-frills, lightweight sports car – in essence, what Porsche was all about. However, Porsche’s headlining cars had moved on to powerful 6- and 8-cylinder designs, and turbocharging ruled the roost in performance options – so the EA827 derivative normally aspirated 4-cylinder from corporate partners Volkswagen and Audi was selected. That relegated the 924 to only about 100 horsepower, but with good handling and excellent aerodynamics they were still entertaining – albeit relatively slow – drives.

And, at less than $10,000 new, they were an affordable sports car with good build quality and a name established in winning prestigious races around the world. Yet, as Porsche does, sales success didn’t stop them from launching marketing-targeted limited production models nearly every single year – and charging a lot more money for them with options (up to around $15,000!). Today, if you want to collect an early 924, they’re generally the ones to grab. 1976-7 saw the Martini World Championship cars, while in 1978 you could have the Limited Edition model, and in 1979 the Sebring model. There was a 1980 Le Mans edition and further specials that we’ve seen, too. Along with the addition of the Turbo to the lineup in 1980, then, there generally isn’t much of a call to look at a non special edition early 924. But, this is one that might buck that trend….

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