Press "Enter" to skip to content
Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.

Tag: S2

1992 Porsche 944 S2 Coupe

1992 Porsche 944 S2 Coupe

Published November 27, 2021 by Andrew

In terms of pure value for money with the Porsche brand, the 944 S2 is way up there if you are hunting for a car that doesn’t cost $60,000. A half-decent coupe can still be acquired for $15,000, and the cabriolets are even a little cheaper. Even though these cars are going on 30 years old, they certainly aren’t slow. A healthy example can still put down a 0-60 time in 6.2 seconds, and even more surprisingly the can muster up a top speed of 150 mph. Yes, the maintenance can be pricey, especially when it comes to the timing belt service, but you wanted a Porsche, right?

Today, we are looking at a 1992 944 S2 coupe up for sale in Norwich, England, although I’m scratching my head at the model year. My understanding is that the production was done for all 944 models in 1991, so it’s likely this dealer is going by the registration date rather than the production date. Whatever the case, it is finished in the very rare color of Maritime Blue and has a matching shade of blue on the inside as well. What’s not to like?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1992 Porsche 944 S2 Coupe at Dbure Valley Classics

Read Our Post1992 Porsche 944 S2 Coupe
1 Comment
1991 Audi 90 quattro 20V Turbo

1991 Audi 90 quattro 20V Turbo

Published July 3, 2020 by Carter

Everyone talks a good game, but let’s be honest – few undertake the heavy lifting involved with a project car. I’ve certainly been guilty of it more than once, having had a Coupe GT racecar that I just couldn’t quite come up with the resources to get together. Then I was going to drop my spare Audi 4.2 V8 into a derelict 924 chassis that was kicking around. I still think that’s a good idea, but it has not occurred. And I’m not alone, judging by how often ‘project’ cars come up for sale.

One of the more prevalent dreams in the Audi swaps is to recreate what Europeans had the advantage of all along – 20V turbo power in the small chassis. While most take the Coupe Quattro route for their swap, some go the unusual route of choosing an 80 or 90 quattro. They’re not as popular for a few reasons – mostly, the sedan platform doesn’t look as neat to some, but another reason is that tire size is more limited on the sedan. But let’s not forget that Audi built about 300 S2 sedans themselves, so it’s not without precedent.

Today’s car has taken inspiration from that and done the heavy lifting for your project already. So is it the car for you?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 Audi 90 quattro 20V Turbo on eBay

Read Our Post1991 Audi 90 quattro 20V Turbo
2 Comments
1989 Porsche 944S2 ROW

1989 Porsche 944S2 ROW

Published August 15, 2018 by Carter

Although the United States is one of the most important market for its sales, the 944S2 is a case where a majority of the cars sold were “Rest of World” examples. Total S2 production was 19,945 units, and of those about 6,036 came to North America. When you compare that to the 944 Turbo, 25,107 were built with 14,235 sold in the United States alone. Typically, the European versions of the 80s cars we look at had more power, but that was not the case for the S2. The M44.41 was a world engine, meaning it was only available with catalyst and rated at 207 horsepower (211 according to Porsche, although that’s the motor’s PS rating rather than HP). So what did a “ROW” 944S2 get you? Well, the shorter and lighter rear bumper treatment for one, side indicators just ahead of the rub strips, and in front you got integrated dual fog lights/driving lights rather than the fog/dummy setup on U.S. cars. In the case of this particular ’89, you also got the option for a really neat Studio cloth interior:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 Porsche 944S2 on eBay

Read Our Post1989 Porsche 944S2 ROW
2 Comments
Feature Listing: Supercharged 2002 BMW M5 Dinan S2

Feature Listing: Supercharged 2002 BMW M5 Dinan S2

Published July 6, 2018 by Carter

I promise that this post wasn’t by design, but rather is completely a coincidence that it follows hot on the heels of the neat supercharged E34 540i 6-speed from yesterday. How do you possibly trump that potent hot rod? Well, starting with a M5 is probably a good bet.

If the E34 was a potent athlete, the E39 comes across as a consummate professional. It was immediately the new benchmark for sports sedans once again, and when BMW finally did make the call to bring a M5 to market they produced what many consider to be the definitive driver’s car in super sedan form. Whatever you had from the period, the M5 was just plain better. With 394 horsepower kicking out of is snorting S62 V8 and mated solely to a 6-speed manual transmission, it was hard to conceive how that package could possibly be improved upon.

That didn’t dissuade Steve Dinan, though. His S2 package fixed a car that wasn’t broken according to Car and Driver. Power was up to a massive 470 yet the car was still naturally aspirated. Bigger, better intake was met with bigger, better exhaust, and the whole package was kept up with bigger, better suspension and slowed down with bigger, better brakes. It was…well, bigger and better. 0-60 was dispatched in a tick over four seconds and it would do a standing quarter-mile in 12.7 seconds. These numbers won’t scare a Dodge Demon, granted, but are still really respectable today.

Of course, if “respectable” isn’t quite enough for you and you really need to surprise that Demon driver…

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 BMW M5 Dinan S2 on Austin Craigslist

Read Our PostFeature Listing: Supercharged 2002 BMW M5 Dinan S2
7 Comments
Tuner Tuesday Double Take: 2002 and 2003 BMW M5 Dinan S2s

Tuner Tuesday Double Take: 2002 and 2003 BMW M5 Dinan S2s

Published September 19, 2017 by Carter

There are a few select automotive tuners who can take an impressive package and refine it into an even better entity. That group includes legends such as AMG, Alpina and Ruf – all of which are staples of this segment.

Yet they are far from alone. Given the task of improving on what is generally considered to be one of the greatest sedans ever made is no small feat, but if there was one group up to it, it was Steve Dinan’s eponymous company in California.

While just about anyone can take a turbocharged engine and crank up the boost, slap a few stickers on it and call it done, the E39 M5 didn’t come with forced induction. On top of that, it was a motor which wasn’t exactly underdeveloped before it went into production. Nor were the brakes, suspension, or any other aspect of the third gen M5. But Dinan thought they could improve upon them, and with a tremendous amount of work, did.

Dinan went to town on the S62 from start to end. Out came the factory air boxes, air meters and velocity stacks, replaced by Dinan units of larger diameter and better flow qualities, along with larger throttle bodies bored out by the company. This necessitated reprogramming of the computer controls for the engine to match the new flow characteristics. To help the exhaust side of the motor, unique tubular headers were fit to a free-flowing, lightweight exhaust system. While this sounds a bit like old-school engineering, it was successful; the result was an additional 76 horsepower and 51 lb.ft of torque – basically, this was like adding a 1980 Rabbit’s worth of power to an already powerful car.

Dinan coupled the engine mods with a shorter final drive and higher rev-limiter to reach fantastic speeds. The S2 was capable of 0-60 runs around 4 seconds flat and, in unrestricted mode, geared out around 190 mph in 6th. These are still very impressive numbers today, some fifteen years after its introduction! Of course, special forged wheels from the company were added along with their signature suspension. The price was steep, at $36,000 in modifications alone – a further 50% premium on your premium sedan.

Today, you can pick up one of these super-saloons for less than what the price of the modifications cost originally making them one heck of a performance bargain, and I have two to consider for today’s Tuner Tuesday:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 BMW M5 Dinan S2 on eBay

Read Our PostTuner Tuesday Double Take: 2002 and 2003 BMW M5 Dinan S2s
2 Comments