Peter Empson
PCGB Member
Apart from the occasional blat I've not had much time for fun in 944s recently, so when the opportunity arose today I thought I'd write a few words (which in the end became quite a lot of words).
I'd only dropped into RPM at short notice this morning for them to have a quick look at a cold start problem on my 944S. Whilst I was there Ollie asked if I'd like to give their latest track car a go, I couldn't think of a polite way to say "do bears defecate in the woods" so settled on a simple 'yes please'.
Moments later I was sat in one of the comfy Recaro bucket seats that had been retrimmed in pinstripe to match the doors cards (which is much more tasteful than it sounds). The original 3 point belt made life easy although the half cage behind me reminded me of the cars intentions.
The centre piece of this car was that in place of the S2 engine nestled a well sorted 968 lump. But the mods go far beyond this as I'll try to cover below (but even then I'm only skimming the full spec).
I always hate the first few moments of a drive in a strange car, especially one where you have high expectations and where the owner is sat next to you, partly in case you have to think of something nice to have to say but also in case you do something silly like stall or more embarrassingly jolt up the road in a flurry of unintentional wheel spin.
I shouldn't have worried, this felt like a very well sorted 944 and a very docile and manageable one at that. First impressions where that the steering was light, so was the clutch, the former undoubtedly due to the large amounts of negative camber, the latter probably because being new it was the opposite of the well used ones in my cars. The gear change was a real joy too, no short shift here but the new bushes meant it had great feel and was simply a joy to use. In fact as almost everything on the car was fresh it had a tightness to it that made it feel like a new car and not one that was in fact two decades old.
Due to my woeful sense of direction the test route was a bit longer than intended, taking in all sorts of road surfaces and everything from country lanes to fast A roads. The roads were wet and dense patches of fog lurked on the longer straights so I wasn't going to be able to push on too much, but given that these should be the least suitable conditions to try a track car on I think it was a pretty stern test.
Of all the KW equipped 944s I've been in this felt the most complete, I suspect it's in part thanks to the poly bushes that are everywhere, I struggle to describe it but I'll simply say there was a great sense of 'togetherness' to the way the car reacted to the road. The damping is very firm but the ride was never harsh - remarkable given how low it rides on those black crackle finished wheels. Ollie suggested that he had considered changing to solid top mounts but I couldn't help thinking this might spoil the suppleness. The car was also silent on its suspension, unlike the cacophonous racket made by my white car.
Whilst I couldn't really lean on the car in the corners I was determined to try to get a feel for what the Quaife diff was doing as this is high on my 'to do' list for my own car. I tried being slightly aggressive coming out of a roundabout but the tail steadfastly stayed where it should have despite the slick conditions, even with the steering wiggled on exit to try to gently unsettle it. It was clearly going to take a slightly more determined approach, so the next roundabout I had the taps opened much earlier and the tail slipped a few degrees - completely controllably and served to give me greater confidence given the conditions.
I haven't mentioned the engine yet, the thing that I expected to be the most memorable aspect of the car. It's so long since I've driven a standard S2 that it's difficult to compare, but I have no doubt that the car is producing the 250 bhp that it was recently mapped at. It had a great top end and felt very responsive and alive, the mapping is clearly very good with no flat spots, being equally happy to plod through villages at 2k rpm as it is chasing the red line once out in the country.
I suppose I was expecting a near no compromise track day monster, and I have no doubt it will lap very quickly, but what surprised me was how completely useable and easy to drive it is. It was quiet, refined and comfortable, in fact I'd have no qualms about using it everyday and as an only car it is quite possibly the most complete dual purpose '944' I can think of. The car is for sale (I've nicked a pic from the advert below) and must be amongst the more expensive 944s on the market, but it must also be one of the most complete for its intended role and having done the sums can't help thinking that it actually offers good value.
Lastly I must say a big thank you to Ollie for trusting me in his latest toy.
I'd only dropped into RPM at short notice this morning for them to have a quick look at a cold start problem on my 944S. Whilst I was there Ollie asked if I'd like to give their latest track car a go, I couldn't think of a polite way to say "do bears defecate in the woods" so settled on a simple 'yes please'.
Moments later I was sat in one of the comfy Recaro bucket seats that had been retrimmed in pinstripe to match the doors cards (which is much more tasteful than it sounds). The original 3 point belt made life easy although the half cage behind me reminded me of the cars intentions.
The centre piece of this car was that in place of the S2 engine nestled a well sorted 968 lump. But the mods go far beyond this as I'll try to cover below (but even then I'm only skimming the full spec).
I always hate the first few moments of a drive in a strange car, especially one where you have high expectations and where the owner is sat next to you, partly in case you have to think of something nice to have to say but also in case you do something silly like stall or more embarrassingly jolt up the road in a flurry of unintentional wheel spin.
I shouldn't have worried, this felt like a very well sorted 944 and a very docile and manageable one at that. First impressions where that the steering was light, so was the clutch, the former undoubtedly due to the large amounts of negative camber, the latter probably because being new it was the opposite of the well used ones in my cars. The gear change was a real joy too, no short shift here but the new bushes meant it had great feel and was simply a joy to use. In fact as almost everything on the car was fresh it had a tightness to it that made it feel like a new car and not one that was in fact two decades old.
Due to my woeful sense of direction the test route was a bit longer than intended, taking in all sorts of road surfaces and everything from country lanes to fast A roads. The roads were wet and dense patches of fog lurked on the longer straights so I wasn't going to be able to push on too much, but given that these should be the least suitable conditions to try a track car on I think it was a pretty stern test.
Of all the KW equipped 944s I've been in this felt the most complete, I suspect it's in part thanks to the poly bushes that are everywhere, I struggle to describe it but I'll simply say there was a great sense of 'togetherness' to the way the car reacted to the road. The damping is very firm but the ride was never harsh - remarkable given how low it rides on those black crackle finished wheels. Ollie suggested that he had considered changing to solid top mounts but I couldn't help thinking this might spoil the suppleness. The car was also silent on its suspension, unlike the cacophonous racket made by my white car.
Whilst I couldn't really lean on the car in the corners I was determined to try to get a feel for what the Quaife diff was doing as this is high on my 'to do' list for my own car. I tried being slightly aggressive coming out of a roundabout but the tail steadfastly stayed where it should have despite the slick conditions, even with the steering wiggled on exit to try to gently unsettle it. It was clearly going to take a slightly more determined approach, so the next roundabout I had the taps opened much earlier and the tail slipped a few degrees - completely controllably and served to give me greater confidence given the conditions.
I haven't mentioned the engine yet, the thing that I expected to be the most memorable aspect of the car. It's so long since I've driven a standard S2 that it's difficult to compare, but I have no doubt that the car is producing the 250 bhp that it was recently mapped at. It had a great top end and felt very responsive and alive, the mapping is clearly very good with no flat spots, being equally happy to plod through villages at 2k rpm as it is chasing the red line once out in the country.
I suppose I was expecting a near no compromise track day monster, and I have no doubt it will lap very quickly, but what surprised me was how completely useable and easy to drive it is. It was quiet, refined and comfortable, in fact I'd have no qualms about using it everyday and as an only car it is quite possibly the most complete dual purpose '944' I can think of. The car is for sale (I've nicked a pic from the advert below) and must be amongst the more expensive 944s on the market, but it must also be one of the most complete for its intended role and having done the sums can't help thinking that it actually offers good value.
Lastly I must say a big thank you to Ollie for trusting me in his latest toy.
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