How special is the 944 Turbo S from '89 ??

[PAUL RUDDY]

I have a 90 turbo. First one made. It has the CS wheels and no sunroof. I can't see what makes it different from a turbo s except it came with a bridge spoiler. It is not a turbo s though although I reckon it is far rarer than a turbo s!

Stuart

Some will look at your car as simply another 90 spec turbo with sunroof delete, whereas a Turbo S is a Turbo S, it boils down to collectability again, although your car is odd in its spec it's not significantly special like a Turbo S which is designated 'special' by the factory.

 

[Neil Haughey]

Thing is the turbo S is only 'special' IMHO if it comes in that horrid paint and interior tartan check scheme associated with the car. That is the other problem with collectors, they will always want all of the characteristics/spec associated with the model.

 

[scam75]

I have a 90 turbo. First one made. It has the CS wheels and no sunroof. I can't see what makes it different from a turbo s except it came with a bridge spoiler. It is not a turbo s though although I reckon it is far rarer than a turbo s!

Stuart

Some will look at your car as simply another 90 spec turbo with sunroof delete, whereas a Turbo S is a Turbo S, it boils down to collectability again, although your car is odd in its spec it's not significantly special like a Turbo S which is designated 'special' by the factory.

I do agree Paul on most of that except just another 90 spec turbo with sunroof delete. There are no others anybody seems to know of in the UK. We think there may have been a black one but this has never been confirmed or denied. So on a point of rarity mines is as rare as it comes especially with factory bridge spoiler and CS wheels. Is it more special or worth more? That all depends on the buyer.

Stuart

 

[blade7]

I view the Turbo S in the same light as the original Clio Williams, they were special when they came out as a "limited edition" but Porsche and Renault are in the business of selling cars and when they realised they were onto something good special went out of the window. If you want properly limited buy a Turbo or 968 Cab.

 

[RSsimon]

Thing is the turbo S is only 'special' IMHO if it comes in that horrid paint and interior tartan check scheme associated with the car. That is the other problem with collectors, they will always want all of the characteristics/spec associated with the model.

That is exactly why I love mine! Silver Rose paint and Burgundy checked interior

 

[Neil Haughey]

It does stick in ones mind though and if you like it that is all that matters. Its like when the 964RS came out in Rubystone, a true die hard collector would I think ignore the fact its sort of pink and just go for it on the basis that it was 'the' colour of that period. My personal favourite is the light yellow Porsche used in the early 70's, that and of course Maritime blue.

 

[944Turbo]

I have a 90 turbo. First one made. It has the CS wheels and no sunroof. I can't see what makes it different from a turbo s except it came with a bridge spoiler. It is not a turbo s though although I reckon it is far rarer than a turbo s!

Stuart

Some will look at your car as simply another 90 spec turbo with sunroof delete, whereas a Turbo S is a Turbo S, it boils down to collectability again, although your car is odd in its spec it's not significantly special like a Turbo S which is designated 'special' by the factory.

I do agree Paul on most of that except just another 90 spec turbo with sunroof delete. There are no others anybody seems to know of in the UK. We think there may have been a black one but this has never been confirmed or denied. So on a point of rarity mines is as rare as it comes especially with factory bridge spoiler and CS wheels. Is it more special or worth more? That all depends on the buyer.

Stuart

https://www.porscheclubgb.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=225383&mpage=1&key=1990%2Csunroof%2CMatt%C3%B0
6th post down, wonder if it still exists?

 

[George Elliott]

My 2p re the original question;

if you want a quick, fun, reliable, practical car, for modest money, then the 44 turbo is (was?) that - the 88/89 turbo S? they are the model development sweet spot, reasons being LSD, big brakes, no cat, and no sunroof.

Today a standard car (if there is one left) would have little edge over a 2.0 tdi, but as the 44T is digital and has a bulletproof bottom end, they can be made really nice again with little effort. I have experience of Promax L2 on one car, and the Augtronic Automotive ECU on another and with those minor mods taking the car to near 300hp, the 944T is brilliant. There is no modern equivalent with the same dynamic - unfortunately.

The boredom created by modern Porsches with DSG and ESP and variable ratio racks etc, have awoken an interest in the market for a proper Porsche, with a gear lever, that responds to driver inputs without commuter screening the input, and handles really well - then there is no-where else with forced induction to go. Which leads on the all the values & investment chat.

George

 

[JM1962]

I have a 90 turbo. First one made. It has the CS wheels and no sunroof. I can't see what makes it different from a turbo s except it came with a bridge spoiler. It is not a turbo s though although I reckon it is far rarer than a turbo s!

Stuart

Some will look at your car as simply another 90 spec turbo with sunroof delete, whereas a Turbo S is a Turbo S, it boils down to collectability again, although your car is odd in its spec it's not significantly special like a Turbo S which is designated 'special' by the factory.

I do agree Paul on most of that except just another 90 spec turbo with sunroof delete. There are no others anybody seems to know of in the UK. We think there may have been a black one but this has never been confirmed or denied. So on a point of rarity mines is as rare as it comes especially with factory bridge spoiler and CS wheels. Is it more special or worth more? That all depends on the buyer.

Stuart

I have a 1990 turbo in Glacier blue with no sunroof.

 

[George Elliott]

What model year, month registration Jim, with Cat?

Nice colour btw

George

 

[JM1962]

It's August 1990 so I guess it's 1990 MY. No cat but it has a Haywood and Scott exhaust so don't know if it had one originally or not, I suspect not.

 

[blade7]

Cat delete was a no cost option. According to what I read on the internet once.

 

[scam75]

Yeah the panther black one was the one I was aware of. Lovely car Jim. Yours may be MY91 unless it stood for a while unsold? Actually was there an MY91 spec, not sure? Did yours come standard with CS wheels or D90's? Mine was registered Aug 89 and seemingly built June 89 but it's MY90 with VIN ending 100017. According to Olli from Finland who sometimes posts here the first 16 in any year are reserved for prototypes so 100017 would be the first.

Stuart

 

[JM1962]

Vin ends in 101089. Looking at the options sticker there was nothing for wheels so probably had D90's fitted. Not sure how to find the exact date of manufacture.

 

[George Elliott]

Just looking at that reminds me of another reason these cars are special, the interesting colour range, and the interior colour selection. Today..black, or charcoal, or anthracite, very simple for mass production, but the monotony...

 

[944 man]

Cat cars have an 'unleaded fuel only' plaque. 1991 cars didn't start being built until September 1990 (Stuarts car acknowledged, but that was a regular build).

 

[blade7]

How can the build month be determined, the VIN checkers I've seen only give the year.

 

[scam75]

I was enquiring about a certificate of authenticity and made a few phone calls to Porsche Reading, where my car arrived in the UK at, and they were able to tell me bits and pieces including the option list and the build date.

Stuart

 

[scam75]

Vin ends in 101089. Looking at the options sticker there was nothing for wheels so probably had D90's fitted. Not sure how to find the exact date of manufacture.

Thanks Jim. One of the last MY90's then. The D90's were standard for that year, I don't have an option for the CS wheels on the sticker so can only assume due to my build date they were lying around at the time or had been requested by the Porsche Reading director who specced the car which was then used by Porsche Reading for 18 months before its first civvy owner.

Stuart