1992 Porsche 968 - Reader Ride

By: Jed Davis with Guy Allen, Photography by: Guy Allen

Date: 10.02.2019

One of the first jobs for Porsche's prodigal designer

Ged Davis' 1992 Porsche 968

This was one of those projects that seemed to develop a life of its own within Porsche. What started as an upgrade of the 944 (itself a derivative of the 924) seemd to take on a life of its own and became what Porsche insisted was a new car.

There was some truth to that, as something like 80 per cent of the components were claimed to be new or significantly reworked. You can see where the factory was coming from.

When you look at the lines, there is a mix of influences, such as 944, some elements of its upmarket sibling the 928 and even headlights inspired by the exotic 959 and later adopted on the 993. Much of that was the work of Dutch designer Harm Lagaay, who had worked for Porsche decades before on the 911 and the original 924.

He returned in 1989 as head of design, going to work with the 968 and 993, among others.

One of the things that attracted me to this car originally was it was a lively Porsche, but not at the ‘drug money’ prices demanded for the rear-engined cars.

The 968 series had a couple of claims to fame: first production car with variable valave timing and the biggest in-line four in production at the time at 2990cc. It may not be an absolute fire-breather, but it claims a pretty strong 176kW (236hp) and 305Nm max torque.

I bought it on the Gold Coast in 2000 and drove it home to Victoria with my then 13-year-old son – great memories. I ended up doing a few upgrades over the years that included the 18-inch Cup style wheels, better brakes and sound system.

It’s been a lot of fun to own, but the reality is I don’t use it as a daily driver any more and will probably let it go. I’ve got it advertised on tradeuniquecars.com.au, so we’ll see what happens...

Valuation guide: Circa $60k, depending on type and condition.

Unique Cars magazine Value Guides

Sell your car for free right here