1986 Porsche 944 Turbo

Delivered new to Motortune, London SW3, on 29 January 1986, this particular Porsche 944 Turbo was specified with a host of expensive options, including sports seats, sports shock absorbers, forged 16-inch Fuchs wheels, and air-conditioning – as declared on the factory sticker under the bonnet.

It's on its third number plate; displaying and sold with KIB 5944, it was originally C253 MGN and wore the mark 1 FXY in the late Eighties.

The vendor is a huge transaxle Porsche fan; having owned the car for eight years, it follows three other 944s – a Lux, an S2 and another Turbo. He’s sensitively upgraded the car during his tenure, fitting wider, Type 911 17-inch wheels in the style of the Fuchs originals, a 968 Club Sport steering wheel, and performance upgrades which add a claimed 50 bhp to the engine’s output.

It's a reluctant sale: he’s moved to a new home without indoor storage and doesn’t want the car to deteriorate; said to drive extremely well, it has a current MoT, valid until 14 June.

Finished in Zermatt Silver Metallic (LY7Y), the 944 Turbo presents well. The most obvious departure from standard is its larger 17-inch wheels from marque experts, Type 911; an inch larger than standard, they replicate the expensive forged 16-inch Fuchs alloys fitted originally (option 395) albeit at an inch larger in diameter. The owner reports that the original wheels no longer come with the car. Bridgestone S-02 tyres (255 40 17) are now fitted, and the Type 911 wheels offer, according to the vendor, a wider selection of tyre sizes. The wheels themselves are holding up well, although the lacquer has split and ‘spidered’ along the outer rim of the nearside front rim.

Otherwise, there are few issues to consider. The expensive-to-replace combined driving, side and fog lights in the Turbo specific from bumper are intact; there’s a small rust witness mark underneath the nearside rear light cluster and marks and chips around both the rear arches and dog legs, but all four outer wheel arch lips are fine. The blackened door edges on the nearside have small chips and the front wiper arms could do with a repaint, as could the rubbing strip on the nearside door, which has a spot of paint missing, down to the plastic underneath. There are a pair of rust bubbles on the offside front wing, which will need attending to sooner rather than later.

Another strong showing from this Porsche and its incredibly period burgundy interior (option LX). Its rare part leather electric sports seats have held up well, with light wear to the inner cushions and bolsters. The rear seat still folds and retains its luggage straps. As befits a post-85 car, it has the correct ‘oval dash’ (without cracks or splits) which replaced the 924 derived item used by 944s until then. There is no bleed from the clock display, which functions correctly, as does the sunroof (option 650), which received new outer and aperture sales from Porscheshop in 2014; the car has also kept its (incredibly rare) storage bag if the driver wants to take out the tilt/slide glass from the sunroof. Similarly, the car’s factory tool roll and space saver wheel are also intact, as is the boot floor, which looks free from corrosion. The seller replaced the OEM two-spoke steering wheel with a similarly coloured item from a 968 Club Sport; the original is included in the sale. Specialists, Type 911, supplied a new gearshift gaiter kit and sill trims in 2015.

A very expensive option selected by the car’s first owner was air-conditioning (option 573) – these units were prone to failure, but the vendor persevered and found a good second-hand compressor in 2021; specialist, Autoelectrix, updated the seals to take modern R134a refrigerant, and, refitted, it now functions as intended. Another upgrade is the ‘mechless’ Continental branded head unit with DAB, fitted in 2021 by Retro Restorer, replacing the original Panasonic unit supplied when the car was new; the firm also replaced the old Gemini alarm, fitted in 2001, with a more up to date system from Cobra.

Under the bonnet, the rebuilt engine has fewer than 10,000 miles on the clock since work was carried out; a top end rebuild took place in 2007 at RPM Specialist Cars and, seven years previously, Jota Engineering replaced the clutch, flywheel, fork and pivots; the engine mounts are similarly young, confirmed by the owner.

In 2015 parts from Augment Automotive were fitted – a new ECU, less restrictive AFM, dual port wastegate, electronic boost control and a modern dump valve – which lifted power from Porsche’s standard 220bhp to a quoted-by-the-seller 270 bhp. A new battery was fitted earlier this year and, silicone piping aside and heat wrapped exhaust aside, looks as Porsche intended.

It’s mostly good news on this 944’s underside – the earlier cars were rot-prone, and while there’s some work to do, a lot of preventative repairs and maintenance has already been carried out.

Crucially, the floor and mounting points ahead of the trailing arms appears sound – a common MoT failure spot for 944s. Retro Restorer in Oxford repaired the nearside rear floor pan and nearside rear quarter in 2021 (it also fitted a new steering rack and tracked the car) in response to the car’s only 2021 MoT advisory, as well as attending to the nearside front jacking point. However, its nearside rear equivalent needs attention, and the outer edges of the nearside front floor pans have corroded. The inner arches themselves look fine, as do the suspension arms and brake flexis. There’s some surface corrosion on the coil springs, anti-roll bar clamps and track rod ends, while at the rear, there’s witness marks from the transaxle on the nearside at the inner half shaft coupling. The car retains its optional sports suspension (option 474) with no weeps or leaks from the shock absorbers.

Offered with a considerable number of bills and paperwork, the listed 944 Turbo has a fully stamped up service history from its arrival at Motortune London in 1986, until 2014, when the service book ran out of space. Workshops that have serviced and repaired the car include (Porsche UK agent) Charles Follett, Add-Speed, Jota Engineering, Porsche Strasse, Retro Restorer and RPM Classic Cars.

There are two key sets with the car, and it has a certificate of authenticity from the Porsche Classic Register. A huge swathe of MoTs is also included, alongside a current V5/log book.

The vendor confirms that the car’s previous owner, the workshop manager for a Porsche main agent, rebuilt the engine as well as replacing the clutch and engine mounts, with receipts in the history file; fewer than 10,000 miles have been covered since this work was carried out.

New clutch, flywheel, fork and pivot – Jota Engineering – 12/7/00

Brake service, rebuild and replacement parts – RPM Specialist Cars – 24/11/07

Belt replacements (cambelt, balancer shaft, alternator) – Retro Restorer – 17/8/20

N/S/R floor pan repair, N/S/F jacking point repair, N/S/R rear quarter, new steering rack – Retro Restorer – 8/1/21

Air-con compressor replacement and leak test – Autoelectrix – 14/12/21

The 944 Turbo consigned has a great deal of potential; with much of the work done (and with performance greater than a Turbo S), it has much to offer the keen Porsche enthusiast looking for an early Turbo with period décor. The silver/burgundy interior is incredibly period, and the expensive options chosen by its first buyer only heightens its appeal. We feel the modifications performed by the vendor suit the car well, but his diligence has meant that, wheels aside, the car could be put back to standard should its new owner wish. Almost everything done to the car can be traced back through its service history, and while there are some repairs to do, this car has a lot of life left in it, especially with its rebuilt engine, recent belt service and newly refreshed air-conditioning system.

Buyers and collectors are flocking to transaxle Porsches in greater numbers now that 911 prices have risen further. For a slice of well-priced Eighties engineering excellence with performance to match a similarly-aged 911, this 944 Turbo has few equals.

Our estimate for this car is £10,000 - £15,000.

Viewing is always encouraged. This particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays between 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.