Here’s an interesting comparison for you! While the 1989 944 Turbo was the last year for the model in the US as the normally aspirated S2 and later 968 took the reigns, in other parts of the world the forced-induction models carried on – and lost their top. That’s right, in Europe you could get a 944 Turbo Cabriolet! They’re quite rare to see – just 625 were produced only in the 1991 model year, and this number represents about 1/10th the amount of 944 S2 cabriolets. Today’s car is pretty slick and already has been imported – but it’s also not very cheap. So, for comparison’s sake, I thought it would be interesting to see the 968 Coupe that the same seller is also offering – also a rare car in its own right, since just 649 were imported for the year. Let’s start with the Turbo:
Tag: rare porsche 968
While the final evolution of Porsche’s front-engine four-cylinder transaxle experiment wasn’t a resounding sales success, it was not for lack of trying. The standard 968 was certainly a competent and composed performance coupe; sure, it lacked the panache of the 300-horsepower Japanese imports of the time, but wasn’t that in part the point? It was an understated and well-built car that still looks nice today. And it wasn’t as if it also didn’t have some performance. Adding to that in 1992 was the launch of the lightweight Club Sport model. By eliminating some soundproofing material, the sunroof, and the air conditioning as well as fitting manually adjustable Recaro seats, Porsche stripped ~200lbs of weight out of the 968. The same 237-horsepower M44 was under the hood, but the “add lightness” formula worked and produced better performance. ’93 models were available in just five colors; black, white, Speed Yellow, Guards Red, and today’s striking shade of Maritime Blue (L38B). Only about 1,900 of these special 968s were produced, so they typically fetch a premium. How premium?