The 944 Is A Bargain Porsche Worth Buying
The Porsche badge holds a lot of meaning. It means you are getting a car with racing heritage, prestige, a great handling experience, and a little bit of luxury. With that, we have become accustomed to Porsche’s having high sticker prices, and they aren’t usually undeserved. Porsches might be one of the only brands that get better with age, with older models being just as valuable and loved as the newest, so you might be surprised to learn that you can buy one of the most underrated classic Porsches for a total bargain: the 944.
The Porsche 944 takes the stage
The Porsche 944 was built by making much-needed updates and improvements to the popular 924, and you can buy one on the market today for less than a fully-loaded Toyota Camry. Prices vary depending on condition and mileage but can drop as low as $30,000 with more pristine, low-mileage models running upwards of $50,000 at auction.
Unlike the sports cars produced by Porsche today, the 944 was a front-engine car, but it was lightweight and had a stiff enough suspension to give it a great handling experience even by today’s standards. You could buy the 944 as a standard coupe or as a convertible.
The first model years of the 944 produced as little as 163hp and made its way upwards of 208hp before receiving a fun boost. That might not seem like a lot of power, but the 944’s ability to skillfully navigate turns as well as it’s a light structure meant it was great fun to drive.
Better with age
After several production years, the already fun-handling and admired Porsche 944 received a major update. The 944 Turbo featured a 2.5L inline 4 cylinder with a turbocharger, making it even sportier than before.
The 944 Turbo wasn’t just a sports car that performed well at the time, it would also stack up decently against some of today’s lower-end sports cars as well, making it ideal for the modern buyer. The turbocharger improved the car’s overall horsepower, bringing it up to 250hp in this lightweight coupe, and gave it a 0 – 60mph time of 5.5 seconds.
As time went on Porsche continued to strive to make the 944 better, eventually leading to its successor, the Porsche 968, an also great option if you can find one for sale on the classic Porsche markets.
