Just test drove a 968

[Rob]

Well my porsche buddy is replacing his 951 beast with something more driveable, so I took a look at a 92 (I think?) Porsche 968 for him today. What a fun car, very attractive, easily the sexiest of the non-911 Porsches (Carrera GT excluded). The Interior is typical porsche, straight forward without a lot of fluff. The Ergonomics were better than those of the 944 series I think, with all the controls falling to hand. Steering wheel, pedal, and shifter position were close to perfect for me. Now for the drive....MAN OH MAN, that thing sounds absolutely glorious, easily the best sounding 4 cylinder that I have ever heard, and that's saying something. Very torquey, as it should be since its a 3.0 liter, but also very good top end, really reminded my of the e36 motors in terms of feel. Straight line felt just a tick slower than an E36 M3, which is about right based on the numbers. The clutch was typical front engine porsche, heavy, but with good feel. The gearbox was fine, throws were longish, but not to difficult to shift fast. The gearing was about perfect, and combined with the motor it was very fun to haul ass. Like the 951, the 968 felt very very stable, and very neutral. It'd take a large metallic set of balls to push this cars limits on the street. Overall, I really liked it, would make an awesome weekend car. I'd say daily, until I looked at the reciepts for the recent maintenence stuff, each in some combination of four digits, ouch. Not for the faint of wallet.

oh well, enough of the essay, here's a couple of quick pics


what a sexy shape




big factory brakes
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[SykoBMW]

Looks good, I like that color.

[KenC]

They have a pretty beastly 3.0 4-banger. Weight distribution is near 50/50 (just as the 944 was). I can't decide whether I like the coupe' or the cabrio better. The 968 cab looks way better than the 944S2 cab.

How's the accel compared to the 951?

[Rob]

compared to ians 330whp 951? :P or to a stock one? stock for stock, the 968 is definately quicker around town thanks to displacement and gearing. on the straights, i'm not really sure

[Wes325]

Looks like a nice find. I love those wheels on the 968.
________
Honda RC161

[E30godz]

how were the brakes?

[M-technik-3]

968T oh you mean the car Porsche had to stop selling due to cost so friggin much to make it or that it was erroding 911 sales. Very fast and sexy for a 4 cylinder Porsche.

I could be happy and roll in that but could never afford it any time soon. Still in the 18k range and maintance $$$$$$.

[randomtask37]

whos the girl in the background of the first picture... mmmmm.






o yea, nice car too.

[Rob]

that would be the owners 7 year old daughter you pervert


the brakes were fine ian, I'm used to the other ians 996 TT brakes though

[SykoBMW]

whos the girl in the background of the first picture... mmmmm.
o yea, nice car too.

That's gross.

[randomtask37]

no way shes 7!

[Jon325i]

Very good observations on the 968 Rob. For a 4-banger relying on NA and not boost, that 3.0L makes very respectable power. The lastest variation of that engine (in its last couple years of production), Porsche employed their VarioCam.....or was it VarioRam (?) feature which bumped the output up to 238bhp. Not bad at all for an non-turbo 4.

Having owned a couple of watercooled Porsches myself (1st variation of the 924....'77 and '79 models), I have always had an interest in Porsche's front engined car. Very well balanced which makes it great for twisty-road jaunts. As you mentioned, keeping these cars in tip-top shape isn't for those who are financially challenged. As with all 944/968 cars, T-belts and H2O pumps require replacement more frequently than you'd expect, and these are not easy cars to wrench on.

If anyone is interested in learning more about the 968, check out http://www.968.net/

Jon

[e30sd]

Very good observations on the 968 Rob. For a 4-banger relying on NA and not boost, that 3.0L makes very respectable power. The lastest variation of that engine (in its last couple years of production), Porsche employed their VarioCam.....or was it VarioRam (?) feature which bumped the output up to 238bhp. Not bad at all for an non-turbo 4.

Having owned a couple of watercooled Porsches myself (1st variation of the 924....'77 and '79 models), I have always had an interest in Porsche's front engined car. Very well balanced which makes it great for twisty-road jaunts. As you mentioned, keeping these cars in tip-top shape isn't for those who are financially challenged. As with all 944/968 cars, T-belts and H2O pumps require replacement more frequently than you'd expect, and these are not easy cars to wrench on.

If anyone is interested in learning more about the 968, check out http://www.968.net/

Jon

varioram. variocam debuted on the 996

[E30godz]

i had a hard time determining how old that girl was too.


Rob, i the question was more for comparision's sake..how do they stack up against the E30's? I know it's probably no contest.

[Clay'87IS]

Even if she was older....ugh....


It looks hot! I wish I even had the chance to drive any kind of Porsche :?