I like to consider myself a Porschefile. What’s that you ask? I define it as someone who is knowledgeable about the brand with a good handle on the cars offered, the company history and most things Porsche related. I know I’m not a Porsche expert, not yet anyway (not compared to guys like Pete Zimmerman, Bruce Anderson and Sam Cabiglio.) Even still, it came as no small surprise the other day to find a Porsche that I knew little to nothing about and that was even more rare (in terms of production numbers) then certain famous Porsches like the 550, RS 60, ‘73 911 RS, 993 Turbo S, and of course, the Porsche 959. What is my super sensational find?
The Porsche 968 Turbo S.
Front-engined, water-cooled Porsches were first introduced with the 924 in 1976 as an entry level replacement to the Porsche 914. The model line continued and improved in 1982 as the Porsche 944 and again in 1992 with the 968.
The Porsche 968 was produced from 1992 to 1995 with total world-wide production numbers (across all models) just shy of 13,000 units.
Here’s a quick Porsche Factoid for you. The 968 went out of production at the same time as the 928 (the only other front-engined Porsche of the time.) Both the 928 and the 968 were the last front-engined Porsches produced until the introduction of the Cayenne in 2003.
Hidden within those 13,000 normally aspirated 968s are fourteen to sixteen (the numbers vary by source) 968 Turbo S cars built by Porsche’s Customer Sport department in Weissach.
The Car Itself
The 968 Turbo S is a forced induction version of the normally aspirated Porsche 968 Club Sport. Visually similar to the lesser 968s, the Turbo S is easily identified by the two NACA front air ducts in the hood, the adjustable rear wing with Turbo S script, 3 piece 911 wheels from the 964 model, with the same name, and the aggressive front spoiler.
The 968 Turbo S was 20mm lower than the Club Sport, had firmer springs and dampers and thicker anti-roll bars. Not only did the 968 Turbo S borrow its wheels from the 964, it also adopted its four-piston alloy calipers and cross-drilled rotors. This extra breaking power was needed to help manage the increased power derived from the single KKK turbo charger.
In order to mate this beefy turbo with the 968s normally aspirated engine, Porsche utilized an old eight-valve head from the inter-cooled 944/951. With the turbo charger set at 1.0 bar horsepower was increased to 305, almost 70 HP over it’s forced air deprived little brother.
Like most Porsches purpose built for speed and performance, luxury and comfort items were ditched in an effort to save weight. The lightweight ME30 Club Sport interior was used in lieu of the heavier and more luxurious interior on the base 968. Most electric convenience equipment was ripped out (gone were the power windows, central locking system, stereo, alarm, etc.) Porsche even went so far as to remove the rear seats and replace the steering wheel with a lighter, 3 spoke wheel from the Club Sport.
Porsche’s weight saving efforts paid off. Coming in at 1300 kg or 2865 lbs, the Porsche 968 Turbo S was 44 lbs lighter than the Club Sport and more than 70 kg (154 lbs) lighter than the standard model. Combine the lighter weight with increased horse power and the performance specifications are nothing less than spectacular.
Performance of the 968 Turbo S
0-60mph: 4.5-4.9 seconds
0-1/4 mile: 13.0 @ 112 mph
Top Speed: 175 mph, at least
With these types of numbers it is no wonder Porsche made so few of them and never imported them into the US. Forget about costs, forget about safety factors, Porsche could never have a lesser model upset and outperform the flagship 911. This same problem runs true today and is evident in the frustration of many Cayman owners just begging for a Turbo version (more on this later.)
One of the data points I was searching for was current pricing on one of these elusive beasts. The most recent sale I could find was from 2003, so I’m not sure how relevant that is. However, there is currently both a 968 Turbo S and Turbo RS for sale at a dealer in Germany for EUR 89,900 and EUR 159,900.
If you’re looking for one in the states, I would highly recommend reaching out to Richard Sloan of SloanCars.com as my previous talks with him have proven he has a good handle on rare cars like the 968 Turbo S.
Besides this car, what other rare Porsche models are out there that I may not know of? I would love to hear from any of you on Porsches you would like me to know more about.
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View Comments (8)
Wouldn't the 1997 911 Turbo S, at 200 units total, be a lot rarer? Even adding the newer 2005 Turbo S, I believe many fewer of these beefed-up 911s were produced than either the 928 or the 968 this article is talking about.
Hi, Designer,
If you're talking about the stock 968, you are of course correct. I believe there were close to 13,000 units produced world wide across all models.
However, this article talks about the 968 Turbo S, of which there are as few as 14 and as many as 16 (depends on who you ask) which is still quite a bit less than the total number of 993 Turbo S's (an amazing car in its own right) produced.
I love the 944s and 968s, but this turbo s seems to be the best of all... lovely car
lOOKING FOR A REAR SPOILER TO FIT MY 944 TURBO I HEARD THE 968 WILL FIT. iS THIS CORRECT? CAN YOU HELP ME LOCATE? REGARDS GK
My ungle owns a Porsche 968 Turbo RS. I believe only 4 were ever made. This is by far the rarest porsche ever build. The other 3 are all owned by Porsche and Volkswagen. He is the only private owner of this vehicle, and he uses it for racing. Not the best looking car, but worth a small house full of money.
In 2012 Gooding sold a 968 Turbo RS for 346,500$ (http://flatsixes.wpengine.com/porsche-culture/porsche-car-shows/drendel-porsche-auction-results#968record)
They also sold a Turbo S clone for 72,600$ (http://flatsixes.wpengine.com/porsche-culture/porsche-car-shows/drendel-porsche-auction-results#944record). We may assume that a real one is at least twice this price, or even more.
Tom,
I would agree. We wrote this post in 2008 (well before the record setting Drendel auctions) and well before the current feeding frenzy on anything Porsche. However, even then, asking prices for an original were in the $170k range. I'm not sure we would get much higher than that today for a non racing version without significant provenance.
My father has been a 911 freak. Was salesmen of the year when he was young . Ended running 13 TV station and at in point was the biggest OJ franchise in the world. Pap John is PJ.. He has a bunch of pimps homes and life is good . Always working on something . But his two babies are a drop top 86 911 first one her gee got. I grew up in it. Did a frame off , wheels wides 2 inches . Got all they could out of the engine 345 to the ground . Has burberry and leather in the inside pretty car. Fast also butbhenkeept the up grades great box a 4 speed stick . It was an upgrade at the time . Loves the car. He also got an 92 turbo s . Only 86 were went to the states for some kind of stock racing. It never happened and he got it from a collector with 4,000 miles. After headers and in paraded turbo. One before was not a full bar he is at 515 and change at the wheels . Super rare car. I have seen the paper work but I forget the number in it. Inknkw it was an S and stock it came with 385 maybe more . He has 4 1/2 straight pipes and 5 star 3 piece wheel on it.its the last turbo before computers really took over . bad decade for the comp but the turbos where bad news..Sticker on it was close to 200. 3.9 0-6 and 12.6 1/4..leaves 49-59 ft if trad at 100'plus..I have had to to 186 at 5200 rpm . Ran out of road but it could have touched 200 easy. What 91-92 turbos did the make 76 or 86 of..just wondering ..I have asked him a few times but the only thing I can recall is it was worked on by Indial or something like that which was there racing team or one of them