Sunday, March 29, 2009

What Was The Porsche 944 All About?


If you are already a Porsche buff I don't have to tell you how popular the Porsche 944 was and still remains today. If you are knew to Porsche's your about to meet with some fascinating reading. So what was the Porsche 944 all about?

Porsche has been building great cars for years but in 1982 it came up with what was going to be a real winner. This was the year the first Porsche 944 hit the market. It was originally introduced as a replacement for the Porsche 924.

This eventually did occur but for a few years both cars were actually on the market side by side. From the get go the Porsche 944 was immediately a very popular car available as either a 2 door coupe or a 2 door convertible.

So what was it that made the Porsche 944 such a hit? Well there were a few things but mostly it was the high performance and look of this sports car. It was a success right from the beginning but over the years several models become available including the Porsche 944S, Porsche 944S2, and the Porsche 944 Turbo.

When first produced it had only the 2.5 liter engine but over time there were options which also included a 2.7 liter and 3.0 liter engine. Both the 94 inch wheelbase and the 2932 curb weight also made this car very appealing to the sports car enthusiast.

When the Porsche 944 first hit the streets it had a straight 4 cyclinder 2.5 liter engine an it had Mitsubishi's patented balance shaft technology. And of course it had the look of a sports car too.

It wasn't until 1985 that it had any major changes done to it. Those changes included some ergonomic changes to the interior, the movement of the antenna, and some improvements to the air conditioning. Optional heated seat were also added, as were powered seats, a larger fuel tank, and some technology to reduce noise.

They also introduced the Turbo model in 1985. Within the Porsche Corporation it was referred to as the Porsche 951 but the world knew it simply as the Porsche 944 Turbo. It had the same basic engine but it was the intercooled version and of course it was turbo charged so you got a whopping 220 BHP at 6000 RPM.

1987 saw the introduction of the Porsche 944S - S standing for Super. This model had dual air bags and anti lock brakes as standard equipment. It also had the first 16 valve engine with 250 BHP.

1989 The S was no more to be with the equipment from the S model becoming standard on the Porsche 944 model. The engine was replaced to a 4 cylinder 2.7 liter engine.

In 1990 Porsche released the Porsche 944 Series 2 known as the S2. It was a revision of the Porsche 944S which had the aerodynamics of the Porsche 951. It was also the year the 16 valve 3.0 liter engine was introduced becoming the most popular engine ever in the Porsche 944. This 16 valve engine

From 1982 to 1989 113,070 were produced and 25,107 Turbo engines were produced. The Porsche 944 S saw a total of 12,936 cars produced and the Porsche 944 S2 had only 6,439 produced. In the big picture that's not a lot of cars which is probably one of the reasons demand remains strong.

Late n 1991 the Porsche 944 Series 3 was released but the model number was changed to the 968. It was originally called the Porsche 944 S3 but then marketing opted for a name change in the hope of increasing sales. Technically the Porsche 968 was the refined version of the Porsche 944 offering the best of the best. It also offered a new nose and rear end as well as circular headlamps. The 3 liter engine had a horsepower increase of 240 HP and performance was optimized using the Variocam. The Porsche 968 was built up until 1995.

Even though the Porsche 944 designation was retired in 1991 it didn't mean this was a car of the past and it certainly didn't result in the sales dwindling. Instead it remains more popular than ever. In fact today it remains a "must have" car in the Porsche world.




By : Wayne Treister

Wayne Treister has been owned and ridden Porsches for 15 years. Visit his Porsche site at http://www.porschesworld.com to learn more about the different models.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Porsche 968

The Porsche 968 simply means the legacy of the Porsche 944 gets to live on. In 1991 the Porsche 944 S2 was discontinue but the Porsche 968 was waiting in the wings to make its debut.

Porsche has been busy working on a replacement model for sometime which originally was going to be called the 944 S3 but with so many new features they thought it was better to actually give it an entire new image.

It hit the market retaining all of the great things of the 944 and added all the great new features. If you thought the Porsche 944 looked great, the Porsche 968 is even more impressive with its sleek new lines while still clearly keeping its 944 image.

It has fully integrated bumpers that are actually an extension of the Porsche Carrera 2, the air intakes have been rearranged, and it comes with pop up headlamps, red lenses neutral dense taillights, with the 968 lettering on the rear deck lid.

The 16 valve DOHC inline 4 cylinder aluminum block has plenty to offer with an amazing 236 HP at 6200 RPM. It has a compression ration of 8.3:1 and 13.1 lbs per horsepower. You can choose from a 6 speed manual transmission or 4 speed tip-tronic.

The independent front has lower control arm, spring struts, and anti roll bar while the independent rear has semi trailing arms, anti roll bar, and transverse torsion bars.

Fuel consumption isn't really great but there are worse. It gets 17 MPG in the city and 25 MPG on the highway. Of course this is the type of car you want to get out on the road and let loose.

You'll get ¼ mile in 14.4 seconds with the 6 speed or 15.1 with the tip-tronic transmission. You get 0-60 MPG in 5.9 seconds with the 6 speed or 7 seconds with the tip-tronic.

The Porsche 968 coupe has the best balance of any of the Porsche bodies and it has more power than the 944 with the 240 HP off the 3.0 liter engine. The increased HP is partially a result of the Vario-cam which is a camshaft chain drive that has an adjustable tensioner.

The Porsche 968 was produced from 1992 to 1995 and it truly is a classic sports car in both the 2 door coupe and 2 door convertible versions. It was sold in Germany right up until 1995 and when production and sales ceased it really was the end of a Porsche era.

The Porsche 968 engine was the second largest 4 cylinder engine that was ever put into a production car and it had the second highest output of power passed only by the Acura.

The Porsche 968 borrowed the Brembo 4 piston brake caliper system and you'll find it on all four wheels. You'll also find a Macpherson strut front end, steel uni-body structure, and aluminum front A arms.

Now here's something else to think about. How often do you get to put this kind of power on the street and stay legal? Well here's your chance. The Porsche 968 CS is street legal but it truly belongs on the track. It's been stripped out to lighten it up and it's got plenty of power to impressive them all.

Porsche is a company that's smart! They keep the great components, have no trouble with innovative changes, and they have a way of putting it all together to provide a performance car that's high in demand.




By : Wayne Treister
Wayne Treister has been owned and ridden Porsches for 15 years. Visit his Porsche site at http://www.porschesworld.com to learn more about the different models.