Porsche 944 Guide Archives

Porsche 944 Model In Depth Porsche 944 Turbo Cabriolet

Porsche 944 Turbo Cabriolet (1991)

The last iteration of the 944 Turbo was the 944 Turbo Cabriolet which was the 944 Turbo Cabriolet. This was a 944 Turbo S with a special cabriolet body made by the American Sunroof Company (ASC) of Weinsberg, Germany, who also made the bodies for the 944 S2 Cabriolet. 625 of the 944 Turbo Cabriolet were made with 100 being built with right hand drive and the remaining 525 being left hand drive.

Porsche 944 Model In Depth Porsche 944 S2 Cabriolet

Porsche 944 S2 Cabriolet (1989 – 1991)

The S2 was also available as a cabriolet, a first for the 944 line. The Cabriolet, engineered by American Sunroof Company, was rumored to be two years late in arriving on the market due to unprecedented chassis flex problems. The finished article, despite being 70 KG heavier than the coupe, displayed no obvious signs of such problems, and its clean lines found a place in many hearts.

Porsche 944 Model In Depth Porsche 944 S2 Coupe

Porsche 944 S2 Coupe (1989 – 1991)

The covers were lifted off the 944's next-generation model in early 1989, the stunningly contemporary 944 S2. Porsche, as a company, were heading into tough times and were relying on the 944 S2 and the new 911, the 964, to make enough money just to stay afloat. Porsche upped the performance of the 944 S2 thanks to an upgraded engine, a 3.0 liter version of the DOHC double valve four cylinder that was good for solid 208 hp. The 16-valve engine was bored out from 2.5 litres to 3.0 litres.

Porsche 944 Model In Depth Porsche 944 S Coupe

Porsche 944 S Coupe (1987 – 1988)

In 1987 Porsche debuted the 944 S, the “S” standing for “Super”. This “Super” Porsche 944 was fitted with a more high performance version of the naturally aspirated four cylinder engine. This engine version had dual overhead camshafts to operate the four valves per cylinder and a revised Motronic 2 engine management system with dual knock sensors to best handle the 10.9:1 compression ratio. Power was a comfortably adequate 187hp.

Porsche 944 Model In Depth Porsche 944 Turbo Coupe

Porsche 944 Turbo Coupe (1985 – 1991)

It didn’t take Porsche’s engineers long to significantly improve on the base 944’s performance by doing the obvious and adding a turbocharger to the engine. The 944 Turbo entered production in 1985 for the 1986 production year and it made a significant difference to the stock 944’s performance. Power of the new turbocharged engine was 220hp and torque was 243lb/ft, a significant increase over the naturally aspirated standard 944.

Porsche 944 Model In Depth Porsche 944 Coupe

Porsche 944 Coupe (1982 – 1989)

The base Porsche 944 coupe was built between 1982 and 1989, essentially the same platform as the Porsche 924 (there was some overlap as the 924 was produced till 1988). The 944 was intended to last into the 1990s, but major revisions planned for a 944 S3 model were eventually rolled into the Porsche 968 instead, which replaced the 944.