Even among Porsche fans, the 968 has always been considered as a proper Porsche whereas its counterparts 924 and 944 models have often been viewed as outsiders even though these models offer lots of similarities.
For starter, the in-line 4 engine which was an outrage for a few Porsche aficionados who consider “real” Porsches to be offered with air-cooled flat-six only. The 968 was not supposed to be a new model, but the S3 variant of the 944. However, after noticing that more than 80% of the components were new, Porsche decided to introduce it as a new model known as the 968. Other notable difference is that he 968 was assembled in the Porsche factory whereas the 924 and 944 were put together by Audi, making the 968 a “real” Porsche for the brand fans.
As stated, many components came from the 944, including the updated 4 pot engine which had an upgraded 3.0L displacement and power output of 240hp. To achieve this, Porsche used many new components for the engine internals including a variable valve timing system and bolted a new 6-speed manual gearbox (the Tiptronic was also available).
It featured many similarities with the 944 S2, especially the chassis elements and can easily be seen as the logical evolution of the 944 model. In terms of interior and exterior design they remain rather similar with the same type of boxy 90’s look, with the novelty of round headlights later adopted on the 993 911. As for variants, the 968 was available as a coupe and convertible just like the 944.
The 968 became ever more interesting and desirable when Porsche decided to produce its light-weight Club Sport version from 93 to 95. As for modern more track oriented equivalents such as the Cayman GT4, or the 911 GT3, the 968 adopted the same model by getting rid of some of its luxurious elements in order to shed a few kilograms. This included manual windows, Recaro racing seats, 17 inch wheels with wider tyres, sport steering wheel, lighter battery, rear seats suppression, and even the rear windscreen wiper among other items! Air conditioning and sunroof were still available as options.
Performance-wise, the diet translates in a car that is 100kg lighter with improved behaviour and cornering speed on the track, which is what it was designed for. The UK also got an exclusive version simply named Sport which was a essentially a CS with a few luxury bits added back such as electric windows, central locking and model specific seats.
Two final and more extreme versions were produced, the Turbo S (305hp and 16 units produced) and the Turbo RS (337hp and 4 models produced) but due to their extreme rarity, and very high prices we just wanted to mention them to complete the story.
Prices depending of condition, history, mileage, etc… range from £15K to £40K+. If you were to go for one of these, we would highly recommend the Club Sport for its improved performance and driving sensations, as well as rarity and desirability. But the regular one is an awesome car too!
