Pick of the Day: 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S

These days the idea of a water-cooled, and even a front-engine, Porsche car is pretty normal. However, in the 1970s through the mid-1990s this was something that Porschephiles regarded as some kind of a mistake with the most ardent among them considering these ideas almost blasphemy.

I remember the first time I ever drove a water-cooled front-engine Porsche. I was 16 years old, in high school, and had just bought a 912 Targa. I was working at a Porsche shop after school, and my boss at the shop had me take a 944 out to pick up some parts. I had already driven many different Porsches at this point, and my first observation was that the 944 was the most modern feeling Porsche I had driven. It still had Porsche DNA but was a fresh look and an update of that DNA. At the time, think 1980s, many people in the Porsche community would look on the 944 with disdain, many going so far to state that the 944 was not a real Porsche because of these changes. It did not help matters that the body of the 944 was constructed by Audi for Porsche. Surprisingly some of the old guard Porsche people still feel that way, even though every 911 built since 1999 is water-cooled and the company has built bodies for some of their cars at Valmet in Finland. In contrast my personal feeling at the time was that the 944 was fun to drive and perfectly balanced.

I have owned a 944 and actually drove mine from Connecticut to Monterey with my friend Trent (you can read the story here). Both Trent and I are Porsche geeks and have primarily focused on collecting the air-cooled Porsches, but we both were surprised how much we loved the way the 944 drove. We certainly thought of it as a ‘real’ Porsche. In fact, my opinion is that it may be a better car than any 911 of the same era. There, I said it.

The Pick of the Day is a very special example of these truly great Porsche cars, a 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S is finished in Silver Rose Metallic with a plaid Burgundy Leatherette interior.

This specific car is offered on ClassicCars.com by a dealer based in Fergus, Ontario, and is said to have covered 148,282 km/92,138 miles from new.

The description for this 944 Turbo S states that it is one of approximately 1,000 built for worldwide production. It is not a US market car but a ROW one that was originally sent to Japan and then imported to Canada and is currently registered in Ontario. They add that the car shows very well for its age and still performs as expected. It is currently running on a set of aftermarket Porsche rims but includes the original factory Clubsport rims.

Options include the sport suspension package, limited slip differential, headlight washers, protective side moldings, full power seats, Sekuriflex windshield, HiFi sound system, cloth door panels, green graduated tint windshield, Bosch anti-lock brakes, divided rear seats and Goodyear tires. The car also includes the Certificate of Specifications from Porsche.

While my 944 was fun, this Turbo S is both fun and very fast, with a 0-60 time of 5.5 seconds and a top speed north of 160 mph. These cars are quite rare, and I would not hesitate to buy this specific car over any other available on our site now if I was in the market.

The best part about this 944 Turbo S is the asking price of only $28,000. I think this is an incredible bargain. I would not let the mileage put you off as this really looks like a nicely kept example. Get a pre-purchase inspection done to be sure the car is in good shape, wire the money and drive it home.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.