944 Turbo S
 

Those of you who know the fundamental differences between the 944 Turbo, and the Turbo S (or '89 Turbo) don't need introduction. You may skip the following paragraph...

In short (and I mean really short), the 944 Turbo S was Porsche's introduction of the Turbo Cup spec 944 to the 944 Turbo lineup. A fairly small number of 944 Turbos with the "S" option were produced and sold as '88 models, and then in '89 all Turbos were brought up to "S" specifications. A quick comparison: 944 Turbo [217 HP], 944 Turbo S [247 HP]. Its virtue, however, was in the beefed up suspension and transmission components. As if the 944's handling wasn't already superb, they decided to outdo themselves with this one.

I'm a Porsche fan... The kind that dreams of one day owning at least the following 3 cars: (993) 911 GT2, 968 Turbo S (not US), and the 944 Turbo S. The list is prioritized in order of less likely I'll ever own, to more likely. :D This weekend, I had the chance to test drive the last car in that list, the 944 Turbo S. This wasn't your typical "drive around the block" test drive... I actually had the car for a little over an hour, just me, my girlfriend, and my right foot, and we drove through backroads, twisties, open freeway, and city. It may not seem like an hour would be quite enough to truly appreciate this car (and after falling in love with it, it seemed more like a fraction of a second), but what I experienced will now serve as my baseline for any future sports car purchases.

I'm not here to write a thorough review, as I had no way of measuring performance with any tool other than my gut, but I'm here to relate and share my experience, instead.

It all started when I e-mailed a local dealer on Friday to inquire about a 944 "Turbo" they had listed, which surprisingly was about 2 ~ $3k lower than the national average for Turbo S's, but its VIN number and "Silverrose" color gave away its true identity. I received a call from a sales person later on that afternoon and we set up my date with the 944TS for Saturday around noon. The suffering begun.

I woke up bright and early on Saturday (11 am...it was Saturday!) with that anxious, almost nauseating feeling in my gut that I used to get on Christmas morning as a child. I had been patiently waiting for this moment an agonizing, hmmm, half a day. Rolled out of bed and crawled to the bathroom, got ready, and headed on to the dealer. As my girlfriend and I pulled into the dealer in the SVX, the sales man greeted us and instructed me to park in front of a specific building (it's a fairly big dealer) while he goes get it out of their garage. I do so then begin to walk towards the side of the building... I suddenly hear this very passive (almost whiney) engine roar, following by a deeper breathing-intake whip... Maybe I'm bad with analogies and metaphors, but the point is the sound was one I had never heard before, and it made me look... Down this slight hill comes the 944TS rolling in all of it's Silverrose glory...

The salesman simply asks for my driver's license and fill out some insurance disclaimer... Then hands me the keys (just like that!). I quickly look around to see if I could spot any flaws, checked under the hood, then promptly headed for the driver's seat. As soon as my girlfriend shut the door on her side, I peeled out of there like a bat out of hell, leaving burnout marks behind me and quickly drifting through a corner between brand new lot vehicles...

Nah, just kidding. It took me about 5 minutes just to figure out where all the buttons where to adjust mirrors, etc, then finally I slowly (and gently) rolled out of the dealer and into the blissful drive of my life (I'm young, I'm allowed to say that).

My first impression (and probably first word I spoke since the sales person handed me the keys) was how amazing the shifter/transmission felt. I then commented on the steering, with no play or mushiness, just perfect. This specific car has 18" 911 Turbo wheels (the swirl kind). As I drove into one of the backroads I begun playing with the throttle a bit more. First, allowing the turbo to spool up slowly, just to get a bit of a taste as to it's predictibility, but as soon as I got comfortable (5 or 10 seconds later), the real fun began. The roads were wet, so I knew I had to respect the machine and weather quite a bit, but c'mon, it isn't every day I have an opportunity to drive a 944TS! I'll skip 1st, and 2nd gear stories... But 3rd, now that was the one that surprised me the most... Cruising at about 35 ~ 40 MPH, decided to floor it and as soon as the turbo spooled up all the way, the car broke loose and begun to slide sideways... And to an even bigger surprise, instead of needing to let off the throttle, all I had to do was gently adjust the steering until the car was straight again! I did not lose speed, and the car felt like it was on rails. Amazing what a near 50/50 weight distribution can do to keep your heart from spitting out of your mouth... My girlfriend, however, was a different story (she denied getting scared, but her eyes almost popped out a couple of times).

I then decided to go on the freeway. It was time to do some high speed runs. Now, before anyone begins any ethical, moral, or law discussions... Clear your minds, relax, and let's all pretend you're reading a review on Car and Driver with professional test drivers and closed circuits. You with me? Ok, good...I'll go on then.

I chose to exit on a specific segment of one of the local freeways. This one is not only wide (4+ lanes), but it has the least amount of traffic, good visibility for other cars (and cops), and fairly long straightaways. So I started out by doing your typical "drop into 3rd and gun it" runs... The seats were probably engraved with our ribcage figures already, still I couldn't help but do that over and over again quite a few times... "Whoa..." I said that every single time. I've driven very many cars, some with substantially more HP than this 944TS, but never have I felt the rush and chill to my bones I felt everytime I did that in this car.

I then decided to emulate a more common task... Passing cars. Well, actually, it wasn't emulation, it was the real deal. There was a truck in front of me holding me up by only doing 5 over the speed limit... Like if people behind him have nothing better to do, sheesh! So, instead of downshifting, I decided to leave it in 5th gear and simply pass him... The car jumped from 65 to 80 MPH in roughly 2 to 3 seconds or so. I know that may not seem like the quickest thing, but remember, I was in 5th gear! After this I exited the freeway and took a few backroads close to my apartment, to have a little fun. The car exhibited virtually no bodyroll and stuck to the ground like the tires had fresh hot tar on them. Won't go into too much detail, I want to keep this an "Impressions" type review. My impression here... Let's just give it another "Whoa!".

Finally, on my way back to the dealer, I decided to exit back onto the freeway and take a tunnel underpass... I asked my girlfriend if I could roll the windows down (it was in the 50's outside, hehe), and as I approached the tunnel I downshifted and allow the turbo the spool up to full boost... Oooooh, I love that sound! Let's do that again! (ahh, she didn't let me).

I'll leave you all in suspense as to how it ended, but the one thing that I will tell you is that Saturday's test drive was a reminder that sometimes material things can be a sole source of happines, and those who tell you different have never driven a Porsche. :cool:

What would one of those run you? I have been doing some research on regular 944 turbos lately....This is very intriguing.

For 60k ~ 90k miles specimens in near-mint condition, the national average is around $17,000. There are some as low as $13k, and some as high as mid 20k's.

The regular 944 Turbos are not difficult to bring up to spec (you'd be missing the beefed up transmission, but all other components such as suspension are easy swaps or aftermarket replacements). They're also easily modifiable with an aftermarket chip that will give you a 30+ HP increase (the kit comes with some sort of replacement shim or something, I forget, to allow the turbo to hold peak boost to redline). If you can find a decently priced regular Turbo, it is still a great car.

I love the design of those 944's. Awesome story!!! :cool:

I hope to have the JDM version to that story in the next 6 months when I go twin turbo shopping... ;)

-Chike

There isn't a single Japanese TT vehicle that I do not like. So I'm looking forward to your story. :)

The Japanese produced some awesome sports cars in the early to mid 90's that are still timeless in their designs.

In particular the 300ZX TT and RX-7 R1 stand out the most for me, with the edge going to the Z... ;)

-Chike

the TurboS is an awesome car. Performance Products makes a MAF upgrade kit that will put the TurboS at 320hp for less than $1800. :)

if you're going to spend that kind of loot take a 928 S4/GT/GTS for a test drive as well - you may like it even more ;) - its like a V8 powered Uber-SVX with RWD.

Love that description! :cool: Those 928's are awesome...

-Chike

one of my best memories was cruising at 130mph, flooring it, and feeling the rear squat down and launch forward like i was taking off from a red light! :eek: (all in the safety of a race track, of course.) it was soooo easy to drive at speed - 150 felt like 55. no shaking or twitchiness, just smoooooth. :)

if you've never driven a 944 or 928, go do it, even if you have no intention of actually buying one. you'll understand why they cost so much new! :D

I have read and heard very good things about the 928. And the fact that Tony Montana bought one makes it even more intriguing... hehe

Scarface rules. :)

But I love the looks of the 944 Turbo, Turbo S, and S2. There's just something about that front end...

But, like you said, to those of you who haven't, if you ever have an opportunity to do so you owe it to yourself to test drive one of these magnificent pieces of German engineering.

:)

Re: 944 Turbo S
 

That was great:D




Cool cars I guess but all I ever see around here are beat to death 944's and 928 uncool models. :(

Re: Re: 944 Turbo S
 

Funny thing is, every non-turbo 944 I see looks like your typical mid-80's CRX... All beat up. The 944 Turbos are pretty well taken care for. non-turbo owners should appreciate their cars a little more. :rolleyes:

Re: Re: Re: 944 Turbo S
 

Tell me about it. There was one at the bottom of my driveway (nextdoor) that sat on blocks, in primer, with no windows for 3 years befor the town made him move it. (supposidly he was working on it) Acctually it was gone shortly after that incident when the SWAT team flash bommed his house and draged him out in hand cuffs.( I new neibors are much better):D


There is also this guy that lives behind the shop I work at that bought a 944, and the thing sounded blown up the whole time he was driving it around. It finnaly broke the water pump:confused: so now it just sits down back.

I have been avidly looking for a NA 944 and there are some good examples out there. Seems a decent 86-89 can be had for around $6k.

I really want one, anyone know of some more good sources? I have been checking rennlist and a couple of other places. I think this would make for a phenomenal autocross car and all around fun to drive vehicle.

The 944 NA's go for way cheaper than $6k around here (Seattle area). I guess there's an overabundance. Check out AutoTrader.com and plug in any Seattle area zip code (I generally use 98052 for Redmond, just expand your search 50+ miles).

And yes, it is an excellent auto-x car.