After the somewhat lackluster 924, which was originally conceived as an Audi and was widely felt to not be worthy of the storied name it wore, Porsche nailed it with the 944. It was of course just a better 924, but very significantly better, with a new lusty but smooth 2.5 L four, improved suspension tuning, flared fenders with wider wheels and tires, and other details. The bulging muscles on the fenders were a stroke of brilliance, as it lent the overly narrow and delicate 924 body a decidedly masculine profile. The 944 had been infused with a big hit of testosterone, and it was much the better for it.
The 944’s engine was essentially one half of the 928’s V8, comparable to what Pontiac and International had done to create fours from their v8s back in the early sixties. But those were both rough and tumble engines; Porsche paid Mitsubishi a license fee to use its patented twin balance shafts low in the block to tame the inherent bad vibes of a big displacement four. The result was the satisfying torque of a big four but none of the rough edges.
Power was right on the mark too: its 143 horsepower gave it very competitive performance in its class, besting even V6-powered Alfa GTV 6/2.5. And its handling was at the top of the class. A true Porsche.
The 944 was also something of a bargain when it first arrived, priced at $18,450 ($49k adjusted). Porsche would go on to sell almost 60k of them in the US before being replaced by the rather rare 968, after its price had escalated rather significantly over its production run. But in 1983-194, the 944 was a hot number.
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This is a sweet car. I cannot believe to this day that my father almost bought one of these for my sister as a high school graduation present. He was probably hoping he would get several turns at the wheel. I would have liked to do the same.
Dad came to his senses (fiscally and practically) and bought her a Nissan 200 SX instead. She was happy with the Nissan (probably didn’t realize or care what she missed) and it served her well through five years of college.
Sis managed to accumulate a fair number of speeding tickets in that time anyway and that is not counting the warnings she got from the highway patrol (she was a young and pretty woman with a very sweet disposition after all). Who knows how many more she would have garnered with the Porsche. 🙂
Having owned a 924S (the 944 drivetrain in the 924 body, low buck version of the line) I will forever consider it the best automobile I’ve ever owned. Decently fast, with precise, enjoyable handling, and an incredible amount of practicality. It was my favorite grocery getter of all time, that rear design was just made for a strap on bicycle rack, and despite being close to 30 years old by the time I bought with with 130k on the clock, it was very reliable, giving me one necessary visit to the shop per year to replace something, and only broke down necessitating towing once. The relay powering the fuel pump failed.
So, why don’t I have it still? Because, after my second wife’s death I got maudlin and overly worried about my future. I’d promised myself a real drop-top sports car for forty years at that point, and Patti’s passing left me with a real sense of “maybe you better stop putting off all those long term promises, while you still have the time and health.”
So I traded it in on a Pontiac Solstice. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Seriously looked at an available 968 cabriolet, but the Triptronic sucked all the joy out of the car. No, Triptronics are not an acceptable substitute for three pedals.
Within fourteen months the Solstice was gone, and I’d bought another motorcycle instead.
I still want one more four cylinder, rear drive Porsche.
I always loved the 944, particularly with the later style dash. It added so much of what was missing in the 924, going from “also-ran” to (arguable) class leader. These were a dime a dozen in Southern California, which was probably the biggest knock against them for some. They were relatively affordable to lease and rivaled the 320i as the prototypical Yuppy mobile.
Jake Ryan still seems to have his judging by the plate of this car I saw in Salt Lake City two weeks ago. I couldn’t tell if Samantha Ryan (nee Baker?) was in the passenger seat though.
So popular in SoCal and deservedly so. Absolutely nailed the looks and the performance was good as well, then raised to perfection upon release of the turbo for 1986 with the updated dashboard design
My father really wanted one of these when they were new, but for some reason he went with a 300ZX instead. I always thought there must have been a major price difference, but it seems that was not the case unless the Nissan was discounted. I would of liked to have seen what color of 944 he would have ended up with, as he is colorblind and back when a variety of shades were offered, usually got a deal on something in a strange hue, as it made no difference to him.
I would say the 944 was common both in Southern California as well as the Bay Area. Haven’t seen one in ages in the Bay Area but I do see a 968 every Saturday driven by a Vietnam era A4 driver.
I’m pretty sure these were good cars for what they were, but when they were new as of now my reaction is …YAWN.
Most people don’t know is the 924 came with the same Audi 4 banger used in the postal DJ-5 jeeps. Now you know.
Sort of but not exactly – while the original 924 2.0l engine was VAG sourced and similar to the engine in the Audi 100 and VW LT van since the 924 was originally supposed to BE a Volkswagen, but with a Porsche designed cylinder head I believe the Postal Jeep only used a variant of it in 1979 (DJ-5G) and while it was the VAG design it was built under license in Indiana and even has a different valve cover (and not the Porsche head). The license fees apparently prompted AM General to keep looking and eventually led to the Iron Duke underhood. In short the DJ-5 used a large variety of different powerplants during its life with different units both before and after the VAG one. There are surely similarities between all of them and perhaps even some parts interchangeability but they are not the same units as if Audi was producing them all as identical on the same line and sending batches to their own plant, VW, Porsche and AM General at random.
The 2.5l in the 944 though was quite different and while based on half a 928 engine isn’t the same either, most obviously since the original 928 engine wasn’t a 5.0liter.
And lastly the later 924S (’86-87 in the US) didn’t use the 2.0l either (for clarification, not saying that anyone implied such)
Of all the cars I’ve owned, I’m not sure that any has handled as well as my 944 did.
Had it been built to the Japanese level of quality that I was accustomed to at the time – and had similar maintenance costs – I’d have likely held onto it.
I owned an early ’85 (still had the 924 interior) for many years and put 250K miles on before selling it and that included numerous track days with the Porsche club. I think it was a well engineered car with great looks and handling but that 924 dashboard was awful to look at (and they always cracked). It was pretty reliable but I always kept up with the maintenance (which I did myself). It wasn’t bullet proof though; I did put in a 2 or 3 clutches (no easy job) and rebuilt the engine after blowing the head gasket on the track and scoring a cylinder (I had a chip in it and not enough octane; the normally aspirated engines at that time had no knock sensor). The transaxles had a ring/pinion problem where it wasn’t unusual to loose a gear tooth at high mileage (mine went at around 175K).
GREAT Sportscars ! Stellar handling, tremendous brakes, reliability (if properly maintained), and good power to weight ratio. Even more so with the availability of the 951; the turbo variant and first of several permutations of the original 2.5 liter four.
I bought my first one in the summer of 1984 after nearly a year long wait. Demand was high, waiting lists long, deposits were required and if you chose not to take what came in, your name moved to the bottom of the list. Unless you special ordered it the way you wanted and paid the upcharge for ‘market value correction’. My Guards Red M456 optioned beauty was built in February, was held up due to a German Assemblers strike and never got to my driveway till July 10th, 1984. The market adjusted value was an extra $1,000 and a non negotiable item )-;
I still own it today and it appears as nearly new with it’s quite low miles. It has been a faithful friend, created many human bonds and friendships, and led to my purchasing 9 more. Including a quite rare ’89 – 951 with M030 options, very low mileage, tremendous previous care, and a bagful of torque on tap. On a closed course that black beast has tripped the radar light at 172 mph.
I am still looking for a proper and well cared for 944S2 cabriolet with low mileage to add to the group. Something in a color other than Guards Red, white, or black (of which the others are) would be perfect …… let me know if any are out there and available !
the ’89 – 951….. only an amount of 1400 or so were built; it has been speculated on some Porsche Forums, less than half that number remain today.
I just bought this beauty. 73,000 miles. It’s going through some mechanical restoration and then it’ll be my daily driver around town.
944 is one of my all time favorite vehicles. Basically I like everything about this vehicle and dream to own one. Few years back, I almost got one but other side of my brain stopped me. Before this pandemic, its price on the used car market was quite affordable, I assume it is not as expensive as other Porsche to maintain. I often notice people use this car on the vintage race rack.
I have a question about its engine. This article stated it was half block of 928 V8 — source from R&T. But I have been under impression that engine used in the first introduction was somehow related to Audi which had been used in 924.. Only after 1987 when Porches introduced 944s, it started to use the engine from half block of 928 V8, and 944 Turbo also used a 4 cylinder engine beside the additional turbocharged device.
Your impression was incorrect. The 944 used the new 2.5 L four, essentially half of the 928 V8, from the get-go. This was clearly pointed out in the R&T article, and every other source out there on the 944. The 944S just had a higher output version of the same engine.
The new engine was a key element that defined the 944. Otherwise it would have just been a 924 with fender flares.
Paul is correct and the original writer for R&T had it right. Jeff Zwart, the original writer of the article was the influence in 1982 for me to seek to buy one.
The 944 had been developed off the body styling of the successful 924 GT, GTS, and GTR. It had an engine which was Porsche inspired and not Audi sourced which the 924, 924 GT variants, and the 931 (924 turbo) used in their engine bay. Furthermore, developments in braking, handling, interior design, and a more robust transmission from ZF (a 5 speed) with an option of Limited Slip gave the 944 a more spirited drive.
The basic engine design was utilized thru all 2.5 liter applications in the normally aspirated series one and two cars, with it seeing change to the head in the 944S and 944S2. It got boosted by turbo pressure in the first 951 to 217 h.p. and again in the higher h.p. second series 951 (in North America). Other continents had varieties with variations such as forged Euro pistons, no catalysts, 16 valve turbo heads, and other specifics allowed in those countries. But those which came to North America never sourced the Audi engine or used it again after being seen in the first generation 924. Many believe the Porsche branded engine in slant/four configuration we know powered the 944s and 951s, to be robust and well thought out engineering. Delivering excellent torque, fuel economy, and durability. Keeping the t-belt regularly replaced was nearly the only stringent requirement to long and healthy lives
The 944 was just enough sizzle over the somewhat soggy 924. Well, the 924 S with the 944 motor was kind of a sleeper. The blister fenders look particularly good on this body, and became something of a fad, even my ’96 Mustang shows that influence. I’ve had several Datsun and Nissan Zs and I really wanted a 944, especially the Turbo model. However every time I sat in one I just couldn’t get over how the steering wheel rubbed against the top of my legs. I wasn’t even fat in those days!
My Son has an older Boxster and I figure that those are the enter level Porsches of Today. The 944 was pretty cheap for a long time but prices have been rising. In many ways the 924/944 models are more practical than a Boxster. The tiny rear seats can be used for luggage and cargo, or children, but being a hatch back it will be so much more useful.
The Mitsubishi 2.6 four was a cracker of a thing in RWD and manual like the Galant, and made me realize the value of a big four for torque. With the balancers, it really was as smooth as a six too. However, it was pretty much all done by 4,500 rpm, so I longed for a drive in a 944 when they appeared. All the torque you want plus 6,500 revs (and rwd and a sporty handler). Still haven’t had that drive, btw. Only a brief sit. Ah well.
Oddly, I prefer the skinnier 924 original. Loved the 944 look at first, but then the bodykit explosion of the ’80’s exploded, and I couldn’t shake that image from its image.
One thing not criticized here but certainly elsewhere was that dash: it’s awful, barely above a kit car. The later one was vastly better, if a slight crib of the later dashes in Audi 100’s.
Couldn’t tell a Porsche owner that, ofcourse, because you can’t tell them anything. The one negative to owning a Porsche would be being mistaken for being the owner of a Porsche.
(Yes yes, I know, not all. Not quite).
Justy,
you need that drive. In both Series one (’82-mid ’85) and Series two (mid ’85-90) and do a comparison that way. As an owner of both series I can find positives and negatives of each. The beauty is within the total experience of braking, handling, and dissection of the road ahead. The apexes carved with knife like precision. The braking with no fade or linear misdirection.
I once heard a proverb regarding the joys of Porsche ownership. “Resist the urge to criticize the less fortunate, who know nothing of love for such an inanimate yet living object of desire. I once was such a lad myself and was convinced by those around me to mock what I had not yet experienced….. then came the drive and my heart was renewed”
so……. the obvious may also be reasoned. The one negative to NOT owning a Porsche would be being mistaken for being the owner of something posing as one
Hehe! Fair enough.
I’ve only ever driven a Boxster, 2.5, automatic, and about 100,000 miles (so hardly a perfect RSR or somesuch) and it was still a very sweet thing indeed.
the essence of passionate involvement is to gaze at the beauty, open the door, and throttle down the twists and turns of the road ahead
I bought an 83′ 944 Euro Spec in 2020 and the selling point was something I read to the effect of “the steering is like poetry.” After 3 years of wonderful driving, my only criticism of the car is that at certain angles- particularly the direct side and direct rear views- the styling looks extremely dated and uninteresting. However, from the upper aerial angles (like the ones in the old photos above), particularly along the wide fenders, and the direct-front angle of the hood- the elegance of the vehicle really shines. 😉
(btw I understand the car is 40 years old).