1990 Porsche 944 S2

The Porsche 944 was an evolution of Porsche's successful 924 Carrera GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) racing program of the early 1980s. The 924 project had begun as a joint venture between Porsche and Volkswagen, and as a replacement for the 914 which was sold in Europe badged as both a Volkswagen and a Porsche. Initially code-named EA-425, it was to be sold as an Audi as part of the Volkswagen/Audi/Porsche marketing arrangement, and another version manufactured and sold by Porsche. Volkswagen management later canceled the program in mid-1974 due to financial losses, declining sales, increased development costs, and their recently introduced Volkswagen Scirocco was expected to fill the sports coupe market segment.

In the interim, Porsche re-introduced the 912 designation to anchor its lineup (the original 912 name had been used from 1965 through 1969). The 'E' represented 'einspritzung' or fuel injection. It used the G-body body and chassis of the 911 and a Volkswagen-based 2.0-liter flat four-cylinder engine (the same used in the 914 but with K-Jetronic fuel injection) with 86 horsepower.

After the cancellation of the EX-425 program, Porsche acquired the design and finished the development mule using a Bosch K-Jetronic mechanical fuel injection system from Volkswagen. The completed vehicle was known as the 924 and the production version came equipped with an Audi-sourced 2.0-liter engine. A turbocharged version followed in 1979 to silence the lack-of-performance critiques, but its high price fueled even more criticism. Instead of canceling the 924 altogether, Porsche forged ahead with further development, eventually resulting in the 944.

Porsche raced the 924 GTP LeMans in 1981 at the 24 Hours of LeMans where they finished seventh overall behind the race-winning 936 and a class win at the GTP+ 3.0 category. The production road-legal version of the race car followed in 1982, called the 944. It incorporated many of the technologies of its race-bred sibling, including the engine management system and the balance shafts.

power was from an all-alloy inline four-cylinder unit with a 2,479cc displacement, and was essentially half of the 928's 5.0-liter V8 engine, although only a few parts were actually interchangeable. The engine was given two counter-rotating balance shafts running at twice the engine speed, reducing the typical roughness caused by the unbalanced secondary forces common to inline four-cylinder engines. After attempting to develop a counter-rotating balance shaft system of their own, Porsche eventually paid Mitsubishi the licensing fee to use their tried-and-true system.

Porsche 944
The Porsche 944 was introduced for the 1982 model year and was more refined than its predecessor, with better-stopping power, better handling, nearly perfect weight distribution, and more comfort. Despite having a higher drag coefficient, it was slightly faster with zero-to-sixty mph accomplished in less than nine seconds. Vehicles destined for the North American market produced factory-rated 150 hp, and had larger bumpers with the front bumper having a larger rubber portion, replacing the auxiliary lights as dictated by North American regulations.

1985 Porsche 944
The Porsche 944 received its first significant update in mid-1985 with increased oil sump capacity, new cast alloy control arms and semi-trailing arms, revisions to the mounting of the transaxle to reduce noise and vibration, a 115 amp alternator replacing the prior 90 amp unit, embedded radio antenna, and a new dashboard and door panels. New 'phone dial' style wheels replaced the prior 'cookie-cutter' style wheels, and the front windshield was now a flush-mounted unit. Fuchs wheels remained optional equipment.

1986 Porsche 944
The Porsche 944 Turbo was introduced for the 1986 model year (known internally as the 951), featuring a turbocharger and intercooler adapted to the engine resulting in an increase in power to 220 hp (U.S. version had 217 hp). It was the first production Porsche equipped with a ceramic port liner to retain exhaust gas temperature along with new forged pistons. The 944 Turbo was also the first vehicle to produce an identical power output with or without a catalytic converter, and it had the widest turn signals ever fitted to any production car. Other improvements included an integrated front bumper, a different final drive ratio, standard 16-inch wheels, and improvements to the gearbox and suspension to cope with the additional power and weight. The stopping power was provided by 12-inch discs with Brembo 4-piston fixed calipers sourced from the 911.

1987 Porsche 944
The Porsche 944 received an anti-lock braking system for 1987 (requiring the wheel offset to be changed to 52 mm), along with airbags, and updates to its DME Motronic DME system. Fuchs wheels were no longer part of the options list. The 944 Turbo became the first production car in the world to be equipped with standard driver and passenger-side airbags. The 170 mph speedometer of the 1986 944 Turbo was replaced by a 180 mph speedometer.

The Porsche 944 S was capable of zero-to-sixty mph in 6.5 seconds and had a top speed of approximately 144 mph.

Porsche offered a Club Sport touring package (M637) during 1987 and 1988, superseded in 1989 by the 'S2' version. This version was raced in Europe, Canada, and in the IMSA Firehawk Cup Series held in the U.S.

1988 Porsche 944
The Porsche 944 Turbo S was introduced in 1988, gaining a more powerful engine, designation number M44/52, with a larger KKK K26-8 turbocharger housing, revised engine mapping, and delivered 250 horsepower at 6,000 RPM and 258 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 RPM. Zero-to-sixty mph took 5.5 seconds and the quarter-mile was achieved in 13.9 seconds at 101 mph. The factory-rated top speed was 162 mph.

Along with the more potent engine, the 944 Turbo S gained chassis stiffening brackets in the front frame rails and the air conditioning dryer lines were re-routed to clear the driver's side front brace. The suspension was upgraded to the 'M030' option which included Koni adjustable shocks. The front struts received ride height adjusting threaded collars, larger hollow anti-roll/torsion bars, larger hollow rear anti-roll/torsion bars, progressive rate springs, and harder durometer suspension bushings. The manual transmission gained a higher friction clutch disc setup, a limited-slip differential, and an external cooler.

The 16-inch Fuchs forged and flat-dished wheels, known as the Club Sport design, were wrapped with Z-rated tires measured 225/50 in the front and 245/45 inch in the rear. The front wheel widths were 7-inches while the rear measured 9-inches. Behind the front wheels were larger Brembo GT 4-piston fixed calipers and 12-inch disc brakes borrowed from the 928 S4. The rear Brembo brakes remained the same as a standard 944 Turbo, and the anti-lock braking system (ABS) was standard.

Most of the 944 Turbo S interiors had a 'Burgundy plaid' (Silver Rose Edition) interior color, and front power seats. A popular option was the 10-speaker sound system and equalizer + amp.

1989 Porsche 944
Just prior to the introduction of the 944S2 (introduced in 1989), Porsche increased the engine displacement from 2.5 L to 2.7-liters by increasing the bore to 104mm and the stroke of 78.9 mm, resulting in a slight increase in power to approximately 164 hp (an increase of roughly 4 horsepower over the 2.5-liter version powering the 1988 Porsche 944). Although horsepower rose only slightly, the increase in torque was significant. Along with the larger displacement, the engine received a different cylinder head with larger valves and a siamese-cylinder block design.

The 'S' designation in the 944 Turbo S was dropped, and all of the 944 Turbo models received the previous 944 Turbo S features as standard, except for the Club Sport wheels and the 'M030' suspension system.

The Porsche 944 S2 was powered by a 3.0-liter version of the 944 S engine, with dual-overhead-camshafts, 16 valves, and natural aspiration. Its bore measured 104mm and its stroke of 88mm, making it the largest production four-cylinder engine of its era. It developed nearly 210 horsepower and was backed by a strengthened transmission with improved gears to better cope with the power of the M44/41 3.0-liter engine. In the front was the same rounded nose of the Turbo model, along with a rear valance. The Club Sport touring package (M637) was still available, and Design 90 16-inch cast alloy wheels were standard. An anti-lock braking system (ABS), a limited-slip differential, and dual airbags (in left-hand drive examples) were optional equipment.

1989 was the first year of a convertible body style on the 944, known as the 944 S2 Cabriolet. These body styles were manufactured by ASC (American Sunroof Company) in Weinsberg, Germany and production was limited, with just 19 examples manufactured for the United States in 1989, followed by 3,938 examples in 1990 for all markets (including right-hand drive).

1990 Porsche 944
The 1990 Porsche 944 was offered as both a coupe with 2+2 seating priced at US$41,900 and a 2+2 cabriolet priced at US$48,600. The four-cylinder engine had dual overhead camshafts, 16 valves, a water-cooling system, five main bearings, DME ignition/fuel injection, 10.9:1 compression, and developed 208 (SAE) hp and 207 ft-lbs of torque. Its wheelbase measured 94.5-inches, a height of 50.2-inches, a width of 68.3-inches, and an overall length of 168.9-inches. Disc brakes were in the front and rear and a five-speed manual transmission was standard.

Porsche engineers were working on the next iteration of the 944S2, to be known as the S3, but it involved numerous and drastic changes that Porsche consequently shifted developed to the 944's replacement, the 968.

1991 Porsche 944
1991 was the final year of production of the Porsche 944 and over 4,000 examples were built and sold. Nearly a decade had passed during the 944s production during which time 163,192 examples (of all 944 types) were built making it the most successful sports car in the company's history. It later lost its title to the Boxster/Cayman and the 997 Carrera.

Porsche introduced the 968 in 1993.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2021