UKs most powerful 944! Apparently!!

[nick3814]

Anyone know this Turbo Cabriolet??

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/478210.htm

Quite a claim, and those brakes don't look particularly massive to cope with all that power [&:]

Not to mention the price of course!!!

 

[pauljmcnulty]

I think this is the car that Paul Smith was raving about. If so, it is a little bit quick! [8D]

With the highly modified cars the price won't have any relationship to a regular 944. These cars really are a match for a GT3 on track, and as such the values are pretty reasonable.

 

[Diver944]

Yes that's Nick Blakes monster. He is on the forum and we discussed it a little here:

http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=352453&mpage=5&key=416&#355868

It is a bold claim, but it is a frighteningly quick car. I suspect there are only one or two buyers in the country for that type of 944 but I wish I was one of them [8D]

.........and it has no roof []

 

[John Sims]

If you assume the engine is worth £7-8K (perhaps more - Paul could confirm one way or another) would a Cab without and engine be worth £7K?

If so, and anyone would like a Cab without and engine (or just a 300+ bhp engine) please don't hessitate to contact me. If Belinda picks up the phone however put it down and say nothing, well nothing about 400bhp emgines at least. []

Damn what am I thinking about? They say that as you get more power, additional power costs a lot more than the power you have already bought. But £7K for another 100bhp?

Unfortunately, with 2nd/3rd/4th hand Boxsters available for under £10K (what could you do if your poured £4K into a Boxster?) I don't think he is going to sell it for £14K His best bet would be to take my offer [] and sell a mildy tuned Turbo Cab, or even a standard Turbo Cab, and sell the engine by it's self.

 

[944turbocab416]

yes a bold claim indeed . all the power charts have been sent to rick cannell ,by john mitchell who did all the work on the car.dont forget he created pauls 3.2 944.
as to the price who knows what its worth,but who ever ends up with it wont be dissapointed.as paul will im sure confirm this is a very very fast car !!!!!!!! nick blake

 

[eastendr]

Jon did send me the charts some time ago, but the site hasn't been updated for a considerable time, the reason being that I have actually had to remove a large amount of data from the site because the navigation bars ceased to function altogether when I did the last upload which was over 1,700 pictures from a track day at Oulton Park in March.

A new site is currently being developed and is hoped to come on line during MAY at which time all the events covered so far this year (including Frontrunners, Cotswold Rally, Track days, Porsche Open & Cup, GT Cup etc) will be available first with the rest of the existing site migrated shortly afterwards.

Until that time there will be no updates to www.cannell.co.uk.

 

[John Sims]

Sorry to be a meanie Nick but tuning is a very personal thing. You frequently hear of people spending way over and above a cars value when tuning. To some it seems utter maddness. Unfortunately seldom, if ever, does the money spent on tuning add directly to the value of the car. You are in very exclusive market. Will someone who has £15K knocking around spend it on a tuned Turbo Cab? If you also note that they/you should also be spending another £1500 on brakes (which will also mean another £1000 on wheels and tyres) it looks even more of "A Beast ".

There are many 2nd hand cars with that much power for the same money - XKR (even comes as a Cab) and S Type R for a start. BMW and Audi will no doubt also provide competition.

Keep the car and enjoy it. It is the only way it will pay you back for what you have spent.

 

[333pg333]

That's cruel John. All this time I thought I'd be getting back every dollar that I have spent so far if I chose to sell my car. You mean I won't??? Ouch that smarts!![]

 

[John Sims]

Woudn't it be great if you could sell your car for all you have spent on it [] I could easily have bought a 2nd hand DB7 Vantage by now.

 

[944turbocab416]

this seems to be attracting all sorts of oppinions. if i wanted all the money back the car owed me it would be over 20 k including purchace . as to a jag xkr or s type r look at the power figures and the weight of these cars and also limited to 155 mph. i have encountered all sorts including a ferrari 360 maserati quatroporte,the maserati easily despatched.i will admit he may have beaten me on fuel economy!!!
tuning is of course a matter of taste but she still looks standard and is in fantastic condition.................

 

[John Sims]

ORIGINAL: 944turbocab416
..... and also limited to 155 mph. ....

In standard form [8|] []

 

[sawood12]

Its frightening what sort of cars you can get for relatively little money now - espeically if you don't mind petrol engines and high milage. I've been keeping an eye out for another family wagon but often drift onto other cars just to see what you can get for your cash. On that basis I think you don't stand a cat in hells chance of getting your money back on these cars. Even if you were in the market for a highly tuned 944 you'd play the game and offer way less than £14k and gamble that no-one else takes the bait. I'd be prepared to pay a few grand over the usual going price for a standard car in equivalent condition, but not much more than that - oh and only if it had a roof on it! Don't see the point in tuning up a drop top in the first place.

 

[333pg333]

S'pose if you had enough money, you could buy a well kept 951 AND Nick's car. Do the engine swap and sell the droptop and have yourself a nice little coupe to trundle about in. Think someone else suggested that before. What does a droptop go for anyway?

 

[pauljmcnulty]

What does a droptop go for anyway?

£5-7k for an S2 in good condition. Approximately!

I disagree with you all here. One thing I still miss about my Volvo 740 Turbo is the look of surprise on the faces of people in decent cars as I wafted away from them at the lights. Childish, but always fun. Yes, a 944 cab is seen by some as a cruiser, but I really like the idea of it as a sort of drop-top muscle car. And, there's no space for a helmet in a 944 coupe so a cab makes far more sense as a track car. You can't see F1 changing the rules to require coupe bodywork with a lift-out sunroof, can you? []

 

[Indi9xx]

I happen to think his car without the modifications is worth a solid 12k, just my oppinion... But with the 18 inch wheels, the general mint condition of it all, the money no object attitude he has had to maintainance and improvement, and the sheer performance in my book is worth every bit of an extra 3k all day long.

Nick has spent a lot of money with me, so maybe I am not too objective, but really, its an awesome all round car, not a heavily modified spitting unsociable monster.

 

[John Sims]

ORIGINAL: Indi9xx

.....I happen to think his car without the modifications is worth a solid 12k, just my oppinion...

Hi Jon,

I would dearly like to agree with you but, from what I have seen, that doesn't seem to be the case. As noted previously, cheap Boxsters don't help and there will be lots of them about as original owners are now perhaps looking to newer versions.

The pictures don't demonstrate 18" wheels, so that would be one concern covered - just the brakes now then.

I have, in one of my 944 books, pictures of a racing Cab. This had a full cage which no doubt added to the rigidity. I agree that a Q car can be great fun but still think 400+ bhp would be better employed in a Coupe (mine for example [])

Either way the car is being discussed and, as they say, "Any publicity is good publicity"

 

[charles.y]

Its always a fact that a 944 cab costs more than its coupe siblings and the 944 cab (in S2/turbo form) is the best looking one in the whole 944 line-up and I don't think anyone with some styling sense will challenge that.

A good S2 cab can easily fetch £7k and £10k for a good turbo cab nowadays. And IMO Nick's turbo cab asking price is not unrealistic and to my opinion it worths every single penny for someone who is interested in the very rare turbo cab with the extra performance.

It always seem to be me that the posters in this forum has a bias on 951 'hardtop', anything else is less significant. To be honest, if I want a hardtop Porsche I will consider other models rather than a 944 coupe which I think the styling (particularly in the rear) is a bit dated where the cab has a more modern and also a rather timeless shape IMO (which will still look great in 20 years time). Before I bought my S2 cab 2.5 years ago, I nearly spent £20k on a XKR cab but the handling (yes the balance and steering) of the 944 won my heart.

We have already heard enough say about the 924/944/968 are not being real Porsches, please don't discount other 944 models. For those who may not already know, Steve Kevlin defended and won his PCGB racing champion title in 1990 in a S2 cab (he won the title in a coupe in 1989). Hey, who said you need a rollcage in a cab [].

 

[Wigeon Incognito]

I have to say I think it looks fair value especially compared to other Turbo Cabs on sale (I'm thinking of one particular white car in Edinburgh).

As for the Boxster problem - I for one wouldn't want a Boxster compared to a 944/968. Too common, too modern, wrong image. It's a bit like (maybe not quite as marked) asking why you would buy a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 when you could have a 599 GTB for the same money. They're completely different cars.

 

[AndrewS]

Hi All,

I am just curious as to where the statement 'most powerful 944 Turbo in the UK' came from?. Another car has been running with 441 bhp and 391 lbft torque for over two years now (dyno tested May 18th 2006). There is also another 400+ bhp car. Unless these cars are all tested on the same day on a provenly accurate and correctly calibrated dyno - it is not really fair to make such a claim? What do you think?

Regards,
Andrew

 

[chrisdenton]

As the previous owner I feel its appropriate for me to comment.

Andrew I think its fair to say the ad should read "most powerfull 944 Turbo Cab"

With regard to the value: I know what Nick paid for it and how much work he has had done and if you add the two they add up to a lot more than £14k. So to my mind it's worth every penny. I can also vouch for the condition and history of the car (god knows it cost me enough).

But the real bottom line is it's only worth what someones prepared to pay.

I think your mad to sell it Nick but I think you'll get what your asking.