(first posted 1/6/2017) I’ve been seeing a few 928s lately. Here in Melbourne, they appear to have found a band of (mostly well-heeled) loyalists who enjoy using them as daily drivers.
Not so much the 924 and 944, though. A couple here and there, but they’ve mostly dried up. I can’t even remember the last time I saw a 968. Until this one a few months ago.
In the early 1990s Porsche was spinning into disaster. A record high profit of $173 million for 1984/85 had come off the back of many a stockbroker bonus, but the global financial downturn from 1987 triggered a 40% drop in production. 1992/93 saw a staggering loss of $122 million.
These were the days of long ago when Porsche was but a wee sportscar maker with no family models to hedge the portfolio.
Sure, they’d thought about it now and then. But in the wake of the financial decline their most recent attempt, the 989, was left to wither. Handsome though it was, it wouldn’t have passed the golf-bag criterium.
They did have form in the discount field, though their involvement had always been somewhat inadvertent.
Max Hoffman cajoled them into producing a cheap(er) strippo from the 356 cabriolet.
The 912 came about because what else do you do with a superceded engine that still ran sweet? Unfortunately, 1966 saw twice as many 912s sold than 911s.
The 914 couldn’t decide if it was a Fiat or a Ferrari.
The 924 was a car they designed for someone else, then kept it for themselves when the opportunity arose. Smart move. Front-engined, water-cooled, anonymously-faced and soft compared with the 911, it won over many hearts and sales were great.
On the back of its success, Porsche brought us the 944 in 1981. The Audi-sourced 4cyl was replaced with one of Porsche’s own loosely derived from the 928’s V8. Performance became the focus with added aero for the body. As had the 924, the 944 earned a turbo model with a notable boost in capability. This period saw even the faithful warming to the idea of a front-engined water-cooled Porsche.
By the mid 1980s Porsche had started tinkering with another small car, possibly as a replacement for the 924/944.
It was another inadvertant foray, based on work done for SEAT. Porsche created a baby jet with a mid-mounted boxer 2 litre four. The 984 was posited as both a rag and hardtop convertible, and would have AWD for racing. Development was halted in 1987.
And so the 944 became the 1989 944S2. The engine was enlarged to 3 litres, helping the car deliver 0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds. The exterior took on the revised visage of the Turbo; an attractive upgrade but even more anonymous.
The 944S3 looked more like a Porsche. So they discarded the model name for another. The logical choice for the next number – 964 – had been already used on the 911. They went 4 better.
Porsche justified the new name with a claimed 80% new or modified content. The engine was still the 3 litre, though it was now hooked up to Porsche’s new VarioCam timing system and Tiptronic transmission. Induction and exhaust were modified, a dual mass flywheel and a 6 speed manual were introduced, and the platform tweaked.
In other words, a 924S4.
At first glance, the upgraded face was a rehash of the 928. However it does feature a small but significant difference.
Where the upper seam on the 928’s bumper was a straight line, the 968 featured lines that instead followed the trunklid seams and curved under the headlights. The language was used awkwardly on the 984, and perfectly on the 965.
It found its true home on the 911. A crucial element in helping the 993 (top right) overcome the heavy jaw of the 964 (bottom left) and sending this classic shell off in true style. This seamline also led to the much-derided (but loved by me) fried eggs on the 996.
It was first seen in public on the 968, plastered on in the name of consistency.
Though never intended to see daylight, the raised headlamps say much. Where the floating pods on the 928 were a superbly-crafted hidden gem, the 968 application demonstrates the presence of a significantly lower care-factor.
The rear lost its party; the disco floor was replaced with the smooth stylings of 928S4.
The whole styling exercise recalls the Jaguar 420. An older junior model updated late in its life with senior-looking sheet metal. But where the 420G and 928 have the visual breadth to support their expansive curvature, both the 420 and 968 suffer mostly for their relative narrowness.
Cars that looked decidedly less than the sum of their parts.
The public too was nonplussed about the 968. First year sales numbered over 5000 (a jump of 2000-odd over the final year 944), but declined for a four-year output of 12,776.
In contrast, 163,000 944s had been built over nine years.
Was the 968 the Beverly Hills Cop 3 of the 924 range? The collar-up cabriolet was seen briefly in that auspicious motion picture, being stolen by Axel pretending to be a parking valet (guffaw).
It wasn’t all sarcastic mirth. The 1993-95 Club Sport was a 100kg lighter strippo with a 0-60 of 5.6 – 6.3 seconds depending on your source.
In an episode mirroring the early 912; the UK created the 968 Sport model based on the Club Sport but with rear seats, electric windows, electric release boot and central locking. It undercut the standard 968 by £5500 and outsold it 306 units to 40.
You could get to 60 in 4.7 seconds in one of the sixteen 1993 Turbo S examples. Or even faster in one of the four 337/350 bhp Turbo RS racers.
There’s no doubt the 968 was a capable car.
But it emerged at a time when the Europeans were showing signs of lag. Japanese performance had taken a quantum leap, the shapes were fresher, the experience refined and the sticker more pleasing.
Despite it being a Porsche, the 968 couldn’t meet this value-proposition.
And so it was to the Japanese that Porsche turned to help them out of their financial mire in 1992.
With Wendelin Wiedeking leading the charge, Porsche implemented lean production and continuous improvement under their own label of ‘operational excellence’. It was an enormous undertaking shepherded through by the then 40-year old Wiedeking’s blunt drive.
By 1996 profits were returning and the amount of hours spent building a 911 had nearly halved.
The 968 was likely a hindrance to Wiedeking during this period. After 17 years of having Audi build the 924/944 for them, Porsche took production of the 968 in-house at Zuffenhausen – a decision made before the losses arrived. Accommodating this new but dead-end model into a rapidly evolving line system would have felt like an exercise in futility.
In 1995, Porsche canned the 968 along with the 928.
Waiting in the wings was their first bespoke junior.
One might say the 968 was Porsche by-the-numbers.
On the other hand, this is the ultimate refinement of a model from a company that has earned its stellar reputation by consistently and brilliantly developing a base model over long periods of time.
Your call.
I’m one of few people who have fond recollections of the 968 – and this is for one reason: I actually drove one. It’s the only Porsche I’ve ever driven, and I was very impressed, but even at the time it was obvious that the 968 itself was a stop-gap measure, and had I really had the resources in the early 1990s, I’m not sure I would have bought one.
My drive in a 968 was a test drive – what prompted my father and I to walk into a Porsche dealer in 1994 or so and take one for a spin has long been lost from my memory. But I definitely remember the drive.
The dealer had a good route for test-drives – a combination of curvy narrow roads, and 4-lane highways. I remember driving at speeds that would have been reckless in my own car, but seemed casual in a 968. The steering and suspension were near perfect in my opinion, giving an increasing sense of confidence as I became accustomed to the car. And then there were the brakes. I remember approaching the dealership at the end of my drive, I was going about 80 mph (on a 4-lane), and hit the brakes to slow down rapidly. It was completely undramatic – the only time I recall being impressed by a car’s deceleration.
But even with this positive experience, the 968 soon faded from memory. In fact, I’d forgotten, until reading it here, that Porsche billed it as having 80% new content. I guess the remaining 20% contained all the visible parts, as everyone called it the new 944. And that’s how I remember it today.
The analogy with the Jaguar 420 is a good one… the 968 did appear as less than the sum of its parts, and both cars are remembered in hindsight mostly for filling in the gaps between better-known models.
The 924 had a 52/48 weight distribution that went a long way to underpinning this car’s capability. I’ve read or heard the 968 was even more balanced.
I, too, had the good fortune to drive a 968.
This was during the time when I still had my 924S, absolutely loved it . . . . . but . . . . . having just buried my wife I was looking at life and realizing that maybe I just better stop putting off some long term promises to myself. The first of which was finally owning a roadster (first made back in 1969). And my beloved 924S only came as a hatchback coupe.
A friend of my wife’s had a 968 cabriolet available, gorgeous blue, in at least as nice a condition as my 924 if not better, and the price was reasonable. Better yet, he was willing to take my 924 in trade. I was interested. I went over to do a test drive.
It was a Triptronic. Sob!
I was still willing to give it a serious look, so out the road I went. As a driver, it was as nice a car as my 924 (which to this day is still the finest driving car I’ve ever owned), but hobby hobbled by that damned automatic. And I don’t care how manually selectable the transmission was, a Triptronic is not a three-pedal 5-speed. And was completely unacceptable to me.
With a heavy heart, I returned the car, relinquished my interest, and within six weeks had bought a Pontiac Solstice.
I should have bought the 968, Triptronic and all. A truly lovely car, and I’m still completely in love with the front engine/transaxle Porsches, more so that the mid-engine or rear engine versions. And I’m always keeping my eye out for another 924/944/968 that I can afford.
I don’t know much about Porsches to say anything intelligent, but this was one of the first things I read start-to-finish this morning, and I loved it. Truly informative, well-written piece that I may have to bookmark for future reference.
I do remember the 968, as it was new when I was starting college. My initial impression was, “Are they trying to give this bodystyle the longevity of the 911?”
Thanks Joseph
You still have pay phones? I’m impressed!
hehehe. The pink one is also a wifi post.
And they work! Have been using them myself
This is one of the few “forgotten” Porsches and while I like the styling from certain angles, from others I actively dislike it. It’s certainly capable enough but suffered from too high a price during its lifespan and from being overshadowed by high praise for both its predecessors as well as the “next big thing”, that being the Boxster, high praise that it iself was not really imbued with.
Nowadays, if searching for a watercooled front engined Porsche, I think I’d be looking at 944 Turbo (951) or as late a 928 as would be affordable. Or somehow suck up the huge jump to Panamera that, while also something of a misbegotten shape, at least advanced the game a bit more and is extremely capable. Or, even more likely and the reality, just forget about the front engine and keep my 996 as it’s still a significantly better value and easier to maintain.
Interesting article though, I just saw a 968 after Christmas in Orange County in that fairly common dark Blue-Green color and was thinking many of the thoughts I put in writing above…
And lastly, that Wendelin Wiedeking photo is a classic, it’s regularly used in the Porsche forums although I suspect it is heavily out of context – I think he is merely beckoning someone with the not-so-normal finger, much in the way that Sebastian Vettel used his index finger to make the same point that many others would use their thumb for.
Reminds me of that cellar bar scene in Inglorious Bastards where the Englisher is caught out by the way he uses his fingers to count to three.
Yes, the evolution of the 944 was a bit painful to watch, stylistically. But then these later developments were always quite rare in the US. The 944 had been a huge success, because it offered a quite good value proposition for being a Porsche. But when the dollar started going down again, so did the sales of the 944 and its successors. I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but the drop in sales was probably much more amplified here compared to the rest of the world. It just…evaporated. Which only exacerbated the pain in watching its endless new body work.
In its defense (and as you pointed out) it was a superb performer, and essentially comparable to the 911. Which of course didn’t make any sense anymore. it cost almost as much as “the real thing”, but it never was quite in terms of public perception, which was still used to the idea of a 944 being a cheap Porsche with corresponding performance (and image).
I hear that the 968’s 3 liter four had a wonderful torque curve, though. And it did develop a small but loyal following.
I think it also goes to the point that too much perfect might not be so desirable. The 911 will always have its tail-out risk/potential which for the driver is part of the high-functioning fun.
Interesting, I don’t think I’ve ever seen (or noticed) a 968.
I had to look up “porsche fried egg” but don’t quite get it, it is because of the amber turn signal built in or the round projector in in the middle?
It’s commonly referred to by that due to the amber bottom portions. The whole thing is sort of fried egg looking with the yolk accumulating at the lower edge.
It seems to be less of (if at all) a contentious issue with Boxster owners/fans and more so with early 996 people, some of which apparently take umbrage at the fact that their cars shares the frond end with a “lesser” car. So the factory for 2002 changed the front of the 996 to incorporate the headlights from the 2001 Turbo which has a different shape and removes the orange portion entirely. In general this style is somewhat more popular than the early style (although now Turbo owners are miffed that “their” new style headlights are shard with “regular” 911’s, mainly due to not being shared with the Boxster.
The issue was completely resolved when the 997 appeared for 2005 with a return to a more or less genuinely round headlight (or more like the earlier 993 at least). Along with a slightly better quality interior, this new front end makes the 997 in general more desirable even though for the first few years, the engine design was identical along with the attendant possibly problematic bearing although the later (big bearing) style is much less susceptible to ruining the engine.
Jim is referring to the IMS ( Intermediate Main Shaft) bearing flaw of the water cooled engines introduced with the 986/996 models which underwent varying unsuccessful fixes by Porsche until elimination of the intermediate shaft as a design feature of the 6 cylinder water cooled engines beginning in 2009. Up until that important redesign, the IMS flaw would allow for catastrophic engine failures. Porsche had to deal with a class action lawsuit to address this problem by owners affected by the flawed design. There have been multiple aftermarket “fixes” to address this IMS bearing problem with varying degrees of success. Interestingly, by anecdotal reports and evidence, cars with the IMS roller bearings that have been driven hard, such as track drive cars, are less likely to suffer catastrophic bearing failures compared to lightly driven cars which are typically driven at street typical low RPM ranges inducing roller bearing lugging bearing overloads with subsequent bearing roller and bearing cage galling. In short Porsches are meant to be driven hard , not gently, to preserve the IMS roller bearing and prevent failure. This recapitulates the 1950’s Porsche advice regarding the Hirth Crankshaft roller bearings: keep the RPM’s high to preserve the bearings. So it seems, the more things change, the more things stay the same for Porsche.
I’m not convinced by the overly elongated bare ellipse on the current models. I hear they drive well though.
Having driven many Porsches over the years, and a 968 at speed at Mid-Ohio, I would characterize the 968 as very capable, but comparatively “soulless”. No question that variations of the 911 through the 993 ,for me, are vastly more entertaining and enjoyable. The subsequent 986 Boxster, and especially the Boxster S variant, were, also for me, more pleasurable to drive compared to the 968, due to the low polar moment mid engine characteristics compared to the higher polar moment transaxle designs of 924/944/968 and 928 design families. It really boiled down to a matter of preference in driving characteristics. De gustibus non est disputandum, in matters of taste there is no dispute.
The drop off in sales of the transaxle Porsche designs especially the 968 and the last versions of the 928 suggests that other Porsche enthusiasts preferred the more entertaining successor rear engine 911 ( 993/996/997) and mid engine Boxster(986/987) type designs. However, the real savior of the Porsche brand has been the introduction of the Porsche SUV’s which have been the real cash cows for the brand.
That latin quote is gold. I’m stealing it.
For the longest time I thought the few 968s I ever saw were 944s with aftermarket bodykits, like the slopenose conversions on 911s.
I’ve only ever ridden in one Porsche, a 944. I don’t recall much about it.
I’m not sure I’ve ever SEEN a 968. I do know that personally, a Boxter, 911, or 356 do more for me than any other Porsches.
I still have a 1992 968 Cabriolet; unfortunately, it has an early Tiptronic transmission, and not the 6 speed manual.
My family went on a tear with the 944/968 platform for almost 20 years. Each car we owned was second-hand; the values fell precipitously from new, compared to air-cooled Porsches.
Once I got used to the 6 speed manual, I actually enjoyed the 968s I drove even more than the 944 turbos. The little refinements of the 968 over the 944 – in typical for the time Porsche fashion of incremental changes – were very pleasant to live with.
Labor costs for repair were outrageous and still are except now parts like the torque tube are NLA. At least for the cab tip 968 I’m currently engaged with. The rubber damped flex plate is also fragged and is $1800 just for the part let alone the 25 hrs of labor. The evaporator core is also leaking. About 23hrs labor. But you do get a good Toyota Celica like feeling (read soggy) while driving it.
A superb read. Thanks
Yes, 928s are seen around. Also some of the air cooled 911s. There’s a 964 that is DD close to where I live.
Interestingly, that sedan concept looks a lot like the 1st gen Panamera. They brought it mostly intact.
Regarding the IMS bearing mentioned above, there’s nothing a LS swap cannot cure
It’s crazy for the G-series around here. I’ve caught green, blue, brown and (finally after a few sightings) an almost luminescent yellow one driven by a beautiful woman. More 993s than 964s for me.
Thanks Don – a good read.
I believe that in Australia Fitzgerald Racing made a handful (4?) of 968 Turbo S models with factory supplied parts. I’ve seen one or other of them for sale occasionally over the past few years. They’ve taken a while to sell (at quite a premium over the lesser versions) but that may have changed with the general hike in torque tube Porsche collectability (and prices) that seems to have occurred over the last year or two.
Like you, I prefer the early 996 “fried egg” headlight shape. All in all a very handsome car and much cheaper (though still out of my price range) than the crazy amounts being paid for (often very average condition) air-cooled 911’s – which can be fun for a while but they’re not that great (during a brief burst of affluence I had a 1981 911SC for a few years in the late ’90’s).
Good read on an often forgotten Porsche. They’d almost slipped from my mind until I saw one on the road sometime last year. This is in contrast to the 944, which isn’t really all that rare around here–I don’t see one every day or even every week, but sightings aren’t terribly uncommon.
924? It’s been a hot minute since I’ve seen one of those, unless I mistook a late one for a narrowbody 944 from a distance. Basically extinct in these parts.
See one every weekend
I think the trajectory of the 968 had less to do with its virtues or faults and more with the fact that it appeared after the ’80s boom that had done so much for the 944 had cooled and as the coupe market was collapsing. It was competing against a bunch of high-end Japanese competitors, some of which were more compelling for somewhat less money, but none of those sold well either and the whole segment was looking quite terminal by 1994–95.
I have taken more than a few rides in a friends 968 cabriolet (which his father bought new). It impressed me about the effortless performance and lovable gear change. And the capability to function as an everyday car (not just the weekend car). Enough room for luggage and shopping, easy to get out and in to, simple top, modern enough to have problem free engine management. A perfect daily driver then. I even looked at cars for sale but then reality kicked in. It just is not pretty enough, for a car that is supposed to be a dream car for many (a real Porsche!). I cannot live with that, it should have better looks..