Porsche 944 S2 Coupe review from 911virgin 

Great story. Still a good car and very much a product of it's era. We used to sell loads of them. At the time in the UK we had a car from Ford called the Sierra Saphire Cosworth which was all but impossible to insure due to theft problems. We used to take the Sierra Saphire Cosworth in p/x at £3,500 and sell the 944 S2 for £15,000.

People wanting to re-live their youth are now coming to an age where they can buy them as a second car. This drives up interest.

@@HenryGT3 exactly what I did, liked them as a kid and bought one when I could do just that.

We were thrilled to buy it in.

I hope you find it..... I used to think I had some killer moves on the dance floor in my younger days but children can be so cutting when pointing out the reality :-)

@@911virgin8 It’s the body that lets you down, it won’t perform like it did in your youth. Hope you sold the 944 for a good profit.

@@eddieselman8942 not unless you kept your body in shape and worked out allthose years than diff story my friend.

Thanks, more planned....

Thanks, glad you enjoyed.

You have to start off with a good car, hard to "bring something back". Certainly very expensive. Ultimately money and time can do anything so it is possible.....

Thanks. Quite difficult putting into words the driving experience particularly as there are no scripts. It's just how it dribbles out of my mouth :-)

Sold lots of 944 S2 Cabriolets back in the day.... I can still picture myself driving one :-)

Many thanks for your kind words. Glad you enjoyed it.

Comfort food for those of a certain era.... Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for commenting.

Guards red is one of those colours people know even if they aren't Porsche buffs.

Glad you enjoyed. We've been to HK a few times over the years. The 944 is a real late '80s feeling car to drive, with the back drop of HK's wheeling & dealing culture a heady mixture indeed. You just need a Motorola 8500X mobile phone ! The 964 is a different beast altogether. I have a soft spot for well sorted 964s. Maybe a little Sunday morning blast in the countryside.... Look after yourself.

Was going to point out 3 gauges in square dash too. The original motor was actually based on a design by Mercedes before it became an Audi and the transaxle was designed by Porsche for Audi. I'm not sure I'd agree with the heavy statement, solid yes but very agile and light, just not "tinny". Great review though and was great seeing you get excited by the pop ups, as they are so cool. Keep up the great videos 👍

I knew the 944S timeline was misleading as I said it but it's quite hard not to get bogged down in micro details when making what is essentially a potted history overview. Every day is a school day :-)

2.7 replaced 2.5 due to cat sapping some power I believe.

@@tomodonoghue3309 There are significant differences between UK market cars and US market cars when it comes to things like catalytic convertors. From memory cats were only a requirement from 1993 onward in the UK.

I'm not sure I would say setting expectations low necessarily. The car is what it is.

Glad you liked the video, good luck on your quest :-)

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. Much appreciated.

I used to race in Porsche club events many years ago where there were several 944 race cars. Have a wonderful video clip of a 944 rolling across the front of my GT3 cup car as it turned in across me ! Raced by a great character sadly no longer with us. My brother Tom used a 944 to great effect on track. You do see corrosion in 944 cars sadly.

I really enjoyed taking out for a spin. As you say a perfect time capsule of the late 1980's.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it and thanks for taking the time to comment. It was a trip down memory lane for me making the video.

We do valeting in house. They threaten to kill me every time I say I'm going to take a car out to make a video.... :-)

Agreed

That was actually Tom's own car at one stage.

I am quite familiar with the Porsche situation in Thailand as a result of import taxes. I think I'm correct in saying that used cars can not be imported into Thailand at all these days in an attempt to control pollution. You and I both know that a well maintained used Porsche is not going to cause problems when compared to the millions of smoke belching commercial vehicles currently on the nation's roads but far be it for me to question the controlling powers. We spend a bit of time out there, in particular Krabi Province, some wonderful boating opportunities in Phang Nga Bay and the surrounding waters.

@@911virgin8 I'm in Songkhla province, but Krabi province is our favourite getaway. It's about a 5 hour drive from home and a lot less commercial than Phuket. We took a trip to Phang Nga Bay and James Bond island a couple of years ago. Very nice! The import duty on luxury performance cars can be as high as 328%. Thailand has a big car assembly industry (the so-called Detroit of Asia) and is very protectionist. Thai auto makers like these very high tariffs. The used car market is ridiculously expensive - even for normal cars - and used Porsches, etc, are just stupid prices. Some years ago I saw a used Mazda MX5 being sold for Bt1.85m (£46k at current exchange rates)! In addition, I don't know where Thais get their Porsches serviced outside of Bangkok. 911's are very rare in the provinces, but I see Panameras, Cayennes and Macans fairly regularly. Thais are not as poor as many foreigners seem to think and remember they pay over 3x the price for these cars compared to the amount that Europeans pay. They banned the import of used cars at the end of 2019. Reducing pollution was the reason cited, but 49% of cars sold in Thailand are diesel-engined pickup trucks and I'm often stuck behind a truck that is belching out massive plumes of black smoke. It's really about protectionism and making sure that Thais always have an advantage over other countries.

@@PhilUKNet At the end of the day it's their football so they can play how they like. As a non Thai you are always a second class visitor, not necessarily in a nasty way but it helps to understand the rules. Should you have an accident it's your fault. If you weren't there as a visitor they wouldn't have hit you :-)

To people of a certain age they re-kindle happy memories. Still a solid chunk of car.

@Review Master The 924 always felt a heavier car to drive. A couple of years ago popped a slightly modified 924 down the road during a Porsche Enthusiasts Club night and it was absolutely fantastic to re-live my youth again. All the memories cam flooding back. My first ever Porsche was a brown automatic 924. I was so proud of that car !!

Thanks for the kind words, we'll be waiting.... :-)

Sadly we can't return you to the condition of your youth, just a car to re-live the memories.... :-)

I think as people seek to re-live their younger years cars of the era start to appreciate.

Your '83 car is an early one! Must admit to having a soft spot for the oval dash cars, probably because it was my first venture into 944s all those decades ago.

@@911virgin8 Nice. My first Porsche was a '78 924, so the square dash of my '83 felt familiar. I do like the oval dash, however. It reminds me of the 240SX convertible I had in the 90's. I went with an early model because the '83 I found was in great condition. It had a limited edition color, Montego Black Metallic, and super nice sport seats. I put a few dollars into the typical maintenance work- water pump and timing belt, and I've been using it as a daily driver for about three years. It makes the morning commute a great start to the day.

Very kind words. The cheque is in the post......

I guess if it ain't broke don't fix it.....

Your 1983 car is obviously quite an early 944. My personal choice would be a later oval dash car with power steering. I always felt they were a much more modern car to drive than the early 944's.

How’s the 944 going ?

@@ianmitchell9102My car is actually driving quite nicely. I found a local Porsche shop that has repaired a few additional items (such as adjusting the clutch) and I’ve repaired a few items myself (cleaned the fuel level unit that finally fixed the erratic fuel gauge, I fixed the erratic headlights, I fixed the dim dash lights) and now the car is a pleasure to drive. It is in pristine condition as it was a 1-owner car and always garaged.

@@danf321sounds perfect 👍

@@danf321where in england are you ? Would love to see it

Thanks for the kind words.

Thanks for that. Kind of you to take the time to comment.

Glad you enjoyed it. Everyone needs a project in their lives.

We may have a 944 turbo coming in at some point, recently sold a 968 Club SPort but didn't get time to make a video on it sadly. Next time....

@@911virgin8 do some 928 s4 or gts

Thanks for the kind words. :-)

That's a hell of a car to learn to drive in.....

I've got a soft spot for the S2...

Thanks for the kind words.

BETTER IS SUCH A STRONG WORD! They're great cars, people still view the Boxster / Cayman as a poor relation to the 911 when they are brilliant in their own merit and something like a GT4 is an absolute peach Caps lock is far right, 3 buttons up from the bottom :-)

I had two - an S and an S2. On a trip to Germany in the early 2000's I got to drive my friend's Dad's 2.5 Boxster, which was a huge disappointment after the 944's. The later Boxsters were a big improvement, but - as you say - the 944's were far better than the first Boxsters.

@@PhilUKNet I could not agree more...a 944 gives you a feeling of solidity and on a long trip you really discover what they are do!! you can carry luggage and it is a 2 plus 2.

@@thomashumber9762 In my early 20's (early 80's) I was filling up with petrol and one of the first 944's pulled into the petrol station. It was love at first sight. I eventually got my S around 1990, sold it and then bought an S2 in the late 90's. Sold it when I left the UK and moved to Thailand. Lovely cars. I miss very little about the UK, but the abundance of good, cheap, used Porsches and a great maintenance network is something that I do miss. Oh well, you can't have everything!

@@PhilUKNet I got my first 944 at the age of 20...a family member worked at a Porsche main dealer so same as you it was love at first sight in 1982 when I had my first ride in one! Yes UK is a real mess now...up to 1999 it was ok...but Mr Blair let everyone in and it is soooo crowded now. I agree. the used cars are well priced. I am sure your climate there is really nice!

I think my first 944 had done about 240k miles when I bought it. The car had been serviced every few weeks at the peak of it's life! 1987 or 1988 oval dash car and I loved it !

Always hard to do a review that isn't overly gushing and that retains an unbiased position.

@@911virgin8 It’s a shame commercial reality forced Porsche to move away from the 944/968/928 format - no one got the rear drive/front engined 2+2 coupe format right like they did…..

😊

Sorry, 951 was the internal Porsche name for the 944 Turbo and Turbo S. I had the Porsche complete technical manual for my car, which was a 1986 first year Turbo. It was referred to as the 951 throughout the manual. I sold the manual with the car, or I could prove it to you. The Turbo S was a much improved car, but they didn't make near as many as the regular 951. I knew the car inside out, having rebuilt the engine myself in my garage. The engine part numbers all started with "951."

It's quite a large lump of sunroof which comes out all in one go unlike a T-top which often splits into 2 sections. It needs a certain technique to protect the paintwork.

I know, and loads of people have told me how it should be pronounced as well. They get most of the other foreign Marques like BMW, Citroen and Volkswagen wrong though and I know how to pronounce them...

@@911virgin8 It’s all good man haha, when I’m in casual conversation I end up saying it wrong too because I hear it pronounced wrong so much 😂😂 Keep up the great work dude!

Impossible to value a 3.2 Carrera unseen. Condition is everything and not everything is immediately visible. Go steady before importing from the US. American left hand drive cars would generally be seen as a sub genre of left hand drive cars over here as they are a different spec / appearance to European cars. You might also find it harder to verify service history possibly compared to a car that's lived more of it's time in the UK. The worst case of that would be cars from the Middle East when history is almost non existent.

They are a very good looking car. I can still remember the thrill of owning my first 944. The cars are no more prone to chipping that other Porsches.

Agreed, I've had 7 944s (5 S2s) over 14 years and they are no more prone to chipping than any other car, indeed the old paint is probably more resistant than many modern paints. I also find they don't seem to collect insects as my more modern cars.

The 2.5 Liter engine in the turbo S was the much smoother one.

Thanks for the kind words. The 944 and Boxster are very different cars. I think the 944 was a great 80's car, the Boxster took Porsche into the next decade. The 944 was certainly built in the over engineered era which is a good thing.

glad you enjoyed the video. I always thought the oval dash was introduced for the 1986 model year but in fact it came out a little before that. 1986 model year cars would normally be launched around October of 1985 but I think the oval dash came out February 1985.

Hopefully you get sorted and back on the road soon. In the meantime something to keep you motivated !!

That particular car is currently back with us at £20,000

@@911virgin8 Which is 5 grand too expensive. No doubt you can find the odd idiot who will pay that, but similar examples can be found privately for much less.

@@ghgjftythnhcfghdty And you can tell that without ever seeing the car..... Here lies the problem with old cars. Nearly new cars are pretty much all the same, it's just down to how many miles, make sure it hasn't been damaged and pick a colour. But this car is 30 years old. In car terms it's as old as your great grand parents. You say "similar examples", well we sell these things for a living and come across a car in this condition once every few years. "Good" examples rarely are and even when they are OK they aren't in the same league as this one was. The last 5-10% of condition can make as many thousand pounds difference to the price. I'm not suggesting you couldn't buy cheaper cars, of course you can but would they be this quality? No, I don't think they would be. If you are just someone who hates dealers or "stealers" you do need to consider the added value we offer. A combined 100 years plus experience both buying, selling and maintaining Porsches. A safety net that extends well beyond the day you hand over your hard earned money and a network that unearths gems like this, often because we sold them 5, 10 even 20 years ago to their owner who has no interest in trying to sell them privately only to have some ignorant numpty kicking the tyres of a car they can't see how special it is. You would not have been able to buy this car off it's owner for £15k. If he was prepared to take that figure then why would he go through the nightmare of dealing with you when he could make a quick phone call to us, a known and safe pair of hands and have us turn up, transfer the money and the deal is concluded without the risk of you going back to moan at him every time something went wrong or you discovered something you'd missed during your tyre kicking.

@@911virgin8 man dont waste your time on broke haters lol..... 20 k is a steal for this car... it is mint. and it is worth it. the thing most clowns dont understand is that they see cheap 944 and think it is a deal and compare it w mint condition ones lol the thing they do not understand is that most 944 or 944s s2 etc are old and run down most original parts are gone bad painting with highs miles with out maintenance etc.. these clowns have no idea how it works... go try fixing it all that will never bring it back to its original level ... that is the difference but hey clowns will never understand that lol ... nice car and cheap for 20ku should had asked 28k for this one

@@ghgjftythnhcfghdty lol u hater lol hahahha u must be a broke honda guy... u have no clue about it. go play w your civic

They were a product of their age and in period a great car. I still remember driving them and feeling great. As for pronunciation when everyone does Citroen, Peugeot, Skoda, Hyundai, Audi and Volkswagen properly I'll do Porsche right 🙂

Go to Germany and live there like I did for almost ten years bud...Germans pronounce it PORSH as well....just like humans in every country pronounce words in the ways that make conversations more convenient than accurate. So feel free to correct yourself on being "that guy". And clue for the clueless....the car has a 50-50 balance and is known for not being tail happy....I'd love to hear your intelligent answer as to how a car with 50-50 weight balance can be tail happy.....and if you'd like the links to videos of guys pushing the car and NOT being able to get the rear to slide out I'll gladly provide that.

@@locophoto6881 Well there you have it, in a nut shell 🙂

@@911virgin8 Great mature review, appreciate you sincerely. I don't appreciate how many dufuses there are in the world...they need to choose to grow up like every one else has throughout most cultures of all eras...except the morons of this age that want to use anonymity on the internet to play expert when they're incompetent.

"944...tail happy," said no-one ever! I own an S2, and you need to try pretty hard to get the tail out. 944's are RENOWNED for being one of the best handling cars ever built.

At 30 years old I think it's safe to say the wheels will have been refurbished at some point in the car's life.

Maybe there's a sense with the 944 that people know it's the "junior" Porsche so they can tell all their mates they beat a Porsche. All you've got to do in a 944 is quickly flip the headlights. Pop up lights ALWAYS win in Top Trumps :-)

You should keep it.

@@fernandolino1272 The trouble if if we don't sell them I don't get to eat. If only I could have kept the 20 or 30 most valuable cars (now) that I sold for a lot less (then). Hindsight is a wonderful thing :-)

The 924 Carrera GT was certainly instrumental in shaping the 944 particularly with the front wings. The rear arches on the GT were add on bits rather than the full bodied panels of the 944 but yes, you could say the clue was there in '79/'80

My understanding is the oval dash was introduced in the UK for the 1986 model year (when they automatically got power steering as well). That would normally mean availability from around October 1985 but I am always happy to be corrected. Every day is a school day.

@henryf9175 In the US the oval dash appeared mid year 1985 or 1985.5

Along with the power steering was a higher output alternator and available ABS

We have a 944 Turbo in stock at the moment. Stock page is here: 911virgin.com/cars-for-sale/

Let me start by saying that these days there is so much variation between individual cars that a really good example of either model is far better than an average example. The S feels more like the standard Lux, the S2 has a somehow more modern feel to it. The Turbo is clearly quicker to drive although some of that will be down to the fact that power delivery on the normally aspirated S2 is more linear - all be it with a little edge when driven hard. The turbo does compact power delivery into a narrower range. I still remember my first oval dash 2.5 Lux with great fondness so as a classic buy which ever proves to be the best preserved example.

@@911virgin8 944S and s2 drivewise not many diff at all only diff is the front if you ask me.

@@SAMMYJR00777 I would say the S and the S2 are a very different car. The S2 has a 3.0 ltr engine, the S has a 2.5 ltr engine. Body wise they are different as well.

?

@@911virgin8 at 18.50 you said the car had been laviged. Sorry, it just made me chuckle. Great vid and very informative content.

@@rufusdavies2160 Ah.... Lavished. "bestow something in generous or extravagant quantities on"

Thanks for that Roger. Covered elsewhere several times, essentially I am embarrassed by pretending I speak German when I don't. I'd much rather admit my failings surrounding language, my dyslexia, my ridiculous phobias and so on rather than plaster over them with a bit of pseudo Germanic talking. Now chill out, hop in your car and enjoy using it how Buddha intended. :-)

Good luck telling about half the UK they have it wrong

Getting your knickers in a twist, are you?

why you are so triggered? it's just spelling, which is distinct feature of each langue. Half of german surnames are mispronounced by native english speakers - no one cares about it, but with "porschE" it suddenly becomes so important. Then maybe start to pronounce BMW and VW correctly as well? There is no double-u in german language and V spelled as Fau.

Who gives a shit? Only Porsche snobs. Nice review