Porsche 924-944-968 1976-1995

Cliff ChambersMay 8, 2025, 7:30 amMay 5, 2025

Bob Dylan’s depressingly accurate lyric ‘He not busy being born is busy dying’ could well apply to the battle within Porsche to replace its 911 with something more modern and less confronting.

By 1976 Porsche was so desperate to wave its rear-engined mainstay goodbye that it rushed into production two models it hoped would accomplish the task.

The front-engined 924 appeared first, followed a year later by the V8-powered 928. Neither was well received and while the 928 slugged away with only minor changes until the 1990s, Porsche had a harder job creating a niche for the smaller cars.

The basic 924 was underpowered and didn’t feel at all like a Porsche. The 924 Turbo and limited-production Carrera did their jobs better, paving the way for the excellent 944 and its derivatives.

Appearing in 1982, the 944 gave the impression of a proper Porsche, albeit front engined and without the 911’s taily behaviour. The 2.5-litre engine with 120kW initially felt underdeveloped, but help was only a few years away.

The year 1987 saw the 944S with 140kW and two years later the restyled 944 S2. It was still four-cylinder and without a turbocharger but delivered 155kW from its enlarged 3.0-litre engine.

Australia’s adoption of Unleaded Fuel prompted Porsche to configure for our market the 944 Turbo. It still displaced 2.5 litres but came from the outset with 162kW and over the years would grow more powerful.

In aspirated form, the 944 had sustained an almost doubling in price from $51,000 to $90,000. Therefore the 944T when it arrived in January 1986 with more power, bigger wheels and spoilers looked like a bargain at $115,000.

Local sales of Turbos were strong, ensuring ongoing supply to the used market and making them a target in the $55-65,000 price bracket.

Front-engined Porsches serve as show ponies too, evidenced by 944 S2 and 968 cars in Cabriolet form. Both used 3.0-litre engines, with 155kW and 176kW respectively, but the mainstream market today seems disinterested and these cars can cost less than fixed-head versions.

Finally in 1993 the 968 Clubsport arrived. It was powered by the standard 176kW 968 engine but weighed less because much of the standard car’s standard equipment had been deleted. Despite costing $15,000 less when new than a standard 968, the used market appreciates the scarcity of a Clubsport and cars that appear today will typically be priced above other versions of the 968.

Current values have generally retreated from the benchmarks set during the COVID-19 price surge, with Turbos and Clubsports seeing the most significant declines.