1988 Turbo S sold for $61,000 on BAT
 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...44-turbo-s-15/

And it isn't perfect either...needs a belt service among other things. It's too nice to drive, and it'll lose a lot of value if the miles go on. There are S's out there that are almost as nice in the 50-60k mile range for half the price. It looks like there were 2 or 3 bidders with deep pockets who just had to have THAT one.

The rear hatch glass is starting to separate as well.

Only if you plan on starting it. I really don't understand what people do with these things if they don't plan on driving them, stare at them I guess?

Rub them with a diaper.

I saw a 1988 Turbo at Amelia yesterday, from the Brumos Collection iirc. Sub 20k miles, flawless...it was pretty awesome to stare at. But how the heck you could not drive it I don't know.

Some folks avoid placing a lot of miles on their most pristine car, by driving a somewhat lesser in quality car picked up for a pittance. The experience can be the same but is not loading non essential miles onto a vehicle they wish to preserve.

I am going to hazard a guess the buyer of this white turbo plans on doing the same; use the car sparingly and show it's beauty in Porsche Club shows or concouring events. There IS something to be said for keeping the originality of paint, leather, engine bay, and suspension free from the daily grind and allowing admirers the joy of seeing something fresh as the day it was built.

The vast majority of our cars are painted once or several times and have far more miles than what this great turbo has. They show corrosion, wear and tear, and have suffered the misuses of prior owner's drives. I would much rather admire a survivor than the vast majority of those which have been used and sometimes abused daily. There IS a place in the world for both the used car and the preserved.

They really are only original once .........

Amen to that! I enjoy driving mine daily, and it shows the effects of doing that for over 30 years. At some point, it would be fun to send it back to Stuttgart for a full factory refresh. Not cost effetive, but that wouldn't be the reason for doing it. More just to honor all the fun that the car has provided me over the years and not just run it into the ground.

My My

As usual, very well said!

With the shortage of really great, really spectacular 944 based models, we are experiencing some pricing values exceeding what they sold for new ( but in most cases not exceeding the adjusted value due to time and inflation. )
There are exceptions tho, and this beauty doesn't go too far off the chart of perfection. It would take hours and hours of cleaning and addressing the small flaws to bring it there, but it could then compete as a Survivor and not as a restored vehicle.

With 944 normals showing very low mileage bringing half this amount ( and I know of at least 4 in the past several years ), it isn't too surprising the very desired '88.2 and '89 turbos hitting this dollar value.

They just are NOT making them any more...... and they were produced in quite low numbers comparatively speaking, when new.

Ben, Thank you for the kind words

All you fools turning them in to chebys keep making mine worth more. ;-p

But for real, we've hit the point were well maintained ones are harder to find. Figure a majority of the cars are either crushed, ratty, or race cars already. It was always destiny for the prices to start going back up. The car itself was/is relatively cheap but the parts/maintenance are expensive, it's a recipe for neglect and every year more and more cars are 'beyond repair.'

Side note, How much does chassis mileage really matter? Maybe Singer isn't the best example because they go so far, but I'd rather have a chassis with a lot of miles and everything 'new' than I would a 30yr old ride with 50k miles. I think I could build a hell of a 944 for ~61k in parts.

28k mile Silver rose sold for $60,500 on BAT https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...44-turbo-s-16/