The Rarest Porsche you Never Heard Of!

October 29, 2008

I like to consider myself a Porschefile. What’s that you ask? I define it as someone who is knowledgeable about the brand with a good handle on the cars offered, the company history and most things Porsche related. I know I’m not a Porsche expert, not yet anyway (not compared to guys like Pete Zimmerman, Bruce Anderson and Sam Cabiglio.) Even still, it came as no small surprise the other day to find a Porsche that I knew little to nothing about and that was even more rare (in terms of production numbers) then certain famous Porsches like the 550, RS 60, ‘73 911 RS, 993 Turbo S, and of course, the Porsche 959. What is my super sensational find?

The Porsche 968 Turbo S.

Front-engined, water-cooled Porsches were first introduced with the 924 in 1976 as an entry level replacement to the Porsche 914. The model line continued and improved in 1982 as the Porsche 944 and again in 1992 with the 968.

The Porsche 968 was produced from 1992 to 1995 with total world-wide production numbers (across all models) just shy of 13,000 units.

Here’s a quick Porsche Factoid for you. The 968 went out of production at the same time as the 928 (the only other front-engined Porsche of the time.) Both the 928 and the 968 were the last front-engined Porsches produced until the introduction of the Cayenne in 2003.

Hidden within those 13,000 normally aspirated 968s are fourteen to sixteen (the numbers vary by source) 968 Turbo S cars built by Porsche’s Customer Sport department in Weissach.

The Car Itself

The 968 Turbo S is a forced induction version of the normally aspirated Porsche 968 Club Sport. Visually similar to the lesser 968s, the Turbo S is easily identified by the two NACA front air ducts in the hood, the adjustable rear wing with Turbo S script, 3 piece 911 wheels from the 964 model, with the same name, and the aggressive front spoiler.

The 968 Turbo S was 20mm lower than the Club Sport, had firmer springs and dampers and thicker anti-roll bars. Not only did the 968 Turbo S borrow its wheels from the 964, it also adopted its four-piston alloy calipers and cross-drilled rotors. This extra breaking power was needed to help manage the increased power derived from the single KKK turbo charger.

In order to mate this beefy turbo with the 968s normally aspirated engine, Porsche utilized an old eight-valve head from the inter-cooled 944/951. With the turbo charger set at 1.0 bar horsepower was increased to 305, almost 70 HP over it’s forced air deprived little brother.

Like most Porsches purpose built for speed and performance, luxury and comfort items were ditched in an effort to save weight. The lightweight ME30 Club Sport interior was used in lieu of the heavier and more luxurious interior on the base 968. Most electric convenience equipment was ripped out (gone were the power windows, central locking system, stereo, alarm, etc.) Porsche even went so far as to remove the rear seats and replace the steering wheel with a lighter, 3 spoke wheel from the Club Sport.

Porsche’s weight saving efforts paid off. Coming in at 1300 kg or 2865 lbs, the Porsche 968 Turbo S was 44 lbs lighter than the Club Sport and more than 70 kg (154 lbs) lighter than the standard model. Combine the lighter weight with increased horse power and the performance specifications are nothing less than spectacular.

Performance of the 968 Turbo S

0-60mph: 4.5-4.9 seconds
0-1/4 mile: 13.0 @ 112 mph
Top Speed: 175 mph, at least

With these types of numbers it is no wonder Porsche made so few of them and never imported them into the US. Forget about costs, forget about safety factors, Porsche could never have a lesser model upset and outperform the flagship 911. This same problem runs true today and is evident in the frustration of many Cayman owners just begging for a Turbo version (more on this later.)

While researching for this post I spoke to quite a few 924/944/968 fans and owners on rennlist and other on-line forums. I want to thank all of them for their input. Also, a special shout out to Elie Arab from my Porsche facebook group who gave me the idea for the post in the first place.

One of the data points I was searching for was current pricing on one of these elusive beasts. The most recent sale I could find was from 2003, so I’m not sure how relevant that is. However, there is currently both a 968 Turbo S and Turbo RS for sale at a dealer in Germany for EUR 89,900 and EUR 159,900.

If you’re looking for one in the states, I would highly recommend reaching out to Richard Sloan of SloanCars.com as my previous talks with him have proven he has a good handle on rare cars like the 968 Turbo S.

Besides this car, what other rare Porsche models are out there that I may not know of? I would love to hear from any of you on Porsches you would like me to know more about.

Written by 993C4S · Filed Under Porsche 968 | Leave a Comment

A Quick Look at Porsche’s Motorsport Accomplishments

October 27, 2008

When Ferdinand Porsche first said “I couldn’t find the sports car of my dreams so I built it myself, he couldn’t possibly have known how well that statement would stand the test of time. Today, more than 60 years later, I find myself more and more entrenched in the world of Porsche motorsports each and every day. I’m fascinated with the history of a company that has consistently produced some of the most winning race cars in motorsports history.

Here’s a brief look at some of the combined accomplishments of Porsche’s motorsport efforts.

Makes and Team World Championship	14
Long Distance World Championship	8
IMSA Supercar-Series	3
German Racing Championship	6
European Hill Climbing Championship	20
Formula 1 Driver-World Championship (McLaren with the engine designed and built by Porsche for TAG)	3
Formula 1 victories (McLaren with the engine designed and built by Porsche for TAG)	25
Formula 1 victories (together with the victory in Rouen in 1962)	2
Daytona (24 Hour Race)	20
IMSA Supercar-Race (USA)	15
Le Mans (24 Hour Race)	16
Sebring (12 Hour Race)	18
Targa Florio	11
Rallye Monte Carlo	4
Paris-Dakar Rallye	2

I’ve been fairly vocal about my choice for a favorite Porsche race car: The Porsche 917 and it’s many variants. What about you? What are your favorite Porsche race cars and why?

Related Posts
Porsche 917, Possibly the Best Race Car of all Time
Porsche 917 and Making History at Le Mans
History of the Porsche 917 Part II
Video History of Porsche Racing
Porsche 962 and PDK Transmission
Porsche Wins 12 Hours of Sebring

Written by 993C4S · Filed Under Motorsports | 1 Comment

Introducing Porsche Factoids

October 24, 2008

Drum roll please… Okay, that might be a bit much. Introducing the Porsche Factoid segment on 993C4S.com. This new monthly segment will be a list of unique and hopefully interesting facts exclusive to Porsche and various Porsche models. For a few of you Porchephiles in the audience some of this information may be as familiar to you as the build sheet/specs of your favorite Porsche. For the rest though, this is a great way to learn interesting and fun facts that contribute to the exceptional history and heritage that makes Porsche so special to all of us.

If you have a Porsche Factoid that you want to share, please email it to me at porschefacts@993C4S.com. Let’s get things started.

Porsche Factoid: PDK Transmission is over 20 years old.

Earlier in the year, Porsche announced the introduction of the PDK transmission to the new 911 line up. What many of you may not have realized is that not only is the PDK transmission not new, it’s been part of the Porsche racing heritage for more than 20 years.

While today’s 911 PDK transmission is a far cry from the original, the technology is a direct descendant from the PDK transmission introduced as an option on the factory race prepped Porsche 962 C in 1985. Derek Bell, who won the World Championship in a 962 with PDK in 1986, gave a great interview at automobilemag.com about his experience with the car the the transmission.