KuHL 951

That price would be tough to hold down, even the 88-89's turbos were pushing mid-$40K Holding the weight down is another concern in a sport coupe with all the safety requirements and gee-gaws they've added over the years.

silverBean

I am gonna have to say no just because the 944 is, well... It's hard to word it. It is like mustang trying to bring back the "old school" look to the new one. If they came out with a new car that were to have many of the same attributes, oh HELLS YES!!

Serge944

Most importantly; the vast majority of 944 owners wouldnt buy a new 944. The reason a lot of us own these cars is because you get so much bang for relatively little buck.

TaylorSea4

Fast924, that's a awfully tall order to fill man, especially in the day and age of safety laws. BUT, if a new GT V-8 sedan is in Porsche's future (probable at this point), then logic says a 4 cylinder could be spawned from it (sounds familiar, eh?). Keeping the car under 2800# would make it small, and you can believe that Porsche isn't about to sacrifice any of the Boxster's market share.

Now, could Porsche consider bringing in a new entry level car built via it's partnership with Audi/ VW (a la 914 or the 924)? Sure. I'd think it would need to strike a high-end alternative to the Civic VTEC, Celica GT-S, Eclipse, RSX-S, and maybe even infringe upon the Evo's and WRX's. Like a front engined step down from an Elise. Score HUGE bonus points for retro styling themes (DEFINATELY keep the flares, man!), even if only the purists really pick up on them. Gotta keep the Japanese pocket-rockets as the goal, because that's what your numbers point to. Keep the turbo's off of it (a V6 as the optional power) to keep the 911 team happy and safe at the head of the family table.

Will it happen? Probably not. Porsche is making a ton of money on the low-end luxo-utes, ironically another partnership parts-bin vehicle. A new-design 914 (powered by a VW Golf drivetrain) has a better chance, which is to say NONE. The glory years are gone, man. I'd love to see it happen, but until we see Porsche run by someone more concerned with the glory and the sport and less about beans to count, we'll continue to see luxo-utes and Coupsters.

Giantviper

Hell YES!!!!!

They should becuse it is a great car and has the best ergonomiics i have ever seen in Car, everything seems to be placed perfectly. THere is only one problem and that is to build the 944 today i would cost alot of money my gues would be like 65 thousand per copy, which would be too much. (remember these were $30,000 in the 1980s)

To do it right they would have to cost around 35-40,000 and put out around 250-300 hp 0-60 in like 5.5-6 seconds. I still think the Co. needs a true entry level car to get more of a younger audiance after their cars. I just do not think Porshe wants to make a car like that esecially because it would out sell the boxter.

FSAEracer03

I'd rather see a lightweight Boxter with a little extra punch. Call it a Boxster RS if you will, market it towards weekend racers and don't let it top $50 grand. Personally, I think the Boxster should drop some in price and become more entry level. A more modern-914 approach would be nice IMO, as like it was said, Porsche would only benefit from attracting more semi-successful 25-35 year olds I think. Get a younger market with a $35-40k entry level sports car and get them itching for more Porsche.

Porsche... git 'er done!

PS... I forgot one point. I personally think a modern 944 1) would never work out and 2) would tarnish my idea of the original 944 line. Let's leave the 944s as 944s and enjoy our cars for what they are! I like the 944 over the 968, and would probably like it over any modern interpretation of it PAG could sketch up.

FRporscheman

I think they should not bring it back. It's a great car because it's OOP, cheap, and awesome. Sure it's really weak and has many flaws but it's merits outweigh them - and one of those merits is that it's OOP. I do think that Porsche needs a front-engined car, but the new 928 is on it's way.

Once the 928 comes out (anyone know what it's new number will be? Just 928 S5? Heheh the S5 lookes like SS), there might be a good opportunity to really rework the lineup. In my dreams, the cayenne is super-mass produced (to flood the market with extra V8s to be pulled later, and to decrease resale value, i hate them), the 928 survives and evolves MORE, the boxster may or may not stick around, but it better stay cheap.

The last thing I want to see is the boxster getting expensive (the coupe looks like it will cost a lot more than the current cab), then Porsche would need a new entry level car. They make a cheap 4-banger for all the ricer, and all of a sudden you see Porsches with white tail lights, HUGE wings and fart can mufflers. Please, no. The boxster is the perfect entry level porsche and they should definately not bring back a new cheap 4-banger to take it's role. And if its expensive then screw that i'd rather buy a new 928. It would have been nice though if the 968 lasted longer than just 3 years.

pcarfan944

Not more than a year ago or so, Car and Driver, or Road and track, or Motor Trend...one of the three did a little section on the top five older cars that should be reincarnated and remade for todays market, and one of the cars in the list was the 914. They had a futuristic drawing of what a modernize 914 might look like and it was stunning, I hope Porsche saw that article and took notes.

Luis de Prat

Well, as has been said, Porsche is already building the "944 substitute," aka the Boxster.

Whether I prefer one to my 951 is another matter entirely!

Porsche-O-Phile

The 944 was insanely ahead of its time. It'd be a heck of a challenge for them to duplicate that on the same kind of platform, intended for a similar audience, for the same price (adjusted for inflation). THAT would prove the "excellence" of Porsche engineering.

Dilberto

Porsche has already been there...and did just that. Why resurrect a well-engineered, period car only to modernize, and update it? The production costs would make a "Series III" 944 close to that of the latest Carerra, thereby rendering it almost difficult to sell en-masse. So, to an UP-wardly evolving auto builder like Porsche- this frivolous "project" would be killed-off by its executive board at the concept stage, without further incident.

However- to remain competitive, Porsche must devise creative ways to lower engineering and production costs. Exclusivity will always be synonymous to the Porsche marque. I feel like I made a shrewd buying decision to own this car, because I continually receive compliments on my car daily. As fellow P-car advocates- we certainly share one underlying common bond:

We all own cars that are visually appealing, sophisticated, a great value for the money....yet practical enough to service yourself. We are among the few, the proud, and the quickest to 60mph than 95% of newer cars made today.

tconn

The Boxster is the replacement for the 944. It's very well balanced, powerfull
enough and as affordable today as a 944 was back then.
In 89 a 951 cost between 45-50k.
How much would that be in todays dollars? More than a Boxster S.
The 968 was the evolution of the 944 line. If I'm not mistaken the cost of one in 94-95 was about the cost of a Boxster today.
We all love our cars, they offer great performance and were ahead of their time. (I've got 4-piston brembo's, the 350Z doesn't,it's an option).
But the reason we love them so much is they offer great performance at such a low price in todays market.
When the Boxster is selling at the same prices as todays 944's it to will be a great performace for the dollar car.
That said, every Porsche has it's own personality and is great in it's own way.
I wouldn't replace my 951 with a newer Porsche but I will ad a newer Porsche to my garage.

Porsche-O-Phile

I agree somewhat - the Boxster will be the "next generation" of 944s and as prices continue to drop, they will be picked up by people like us: enthusiasts that like to tinker, modify, do our own labor, track them, etc. This is somewhat different than the current demographic (they seem largely un-enthusiast and more into the status of the marquee to be honest, although that's an unfair generalization for some). My next p-car will certainly be a convertable of some sort but it remains to be seen whether it will be an S2 cab, 968 cab, or Boxster / S cab. The prices really don't differ by all that much for good specimens. Excellent S2 cabs run about $10K-$12K, 968s for $20K-ish and the Boxsters in 3-4 years will be about the same, if not less. FWIW they ARE also ahead of their time, but not to the degree the 944 was.

peterjcb

Unfortunately Porsche does not have anything to compete in the same price range as a 350Z. If I were in the market to spend around $55,000 on a car, I'd spend $35,000 on a 350Z instead, still get an additional 20HP over the Boxster S , and still have $20,000 in the bank for additional mods if I wanted! Porsche needs to wake up. That's why I love my car.

bloodraven

I can't wait till i get my career rolling and get my very own boxster coupe *drool*