badcoupe

I have a well modded 951 and a 968. The 68 is a semi DD, it is a great highway car and is more exotic looking than my turbo as well as a bit more refined. I love them both they just have different uses for me. I wish the 6 speed had a deeper 6th gear, it def needs one. The power delivery is smooth and all but it likes to rev, not as torquey down low as I thought it would be for a 3L. Although it's been over 10 years since I drove a stock 951 so it's hard to compare the two.

black944 turbo

I vote for 951, more you can do to them for not a lot of money. They are also the quickest, when chipped. You also said you like the power delivery.

ditch68

Good Lord, Ernie.

That does sound like fun, though. There was a Triumph TR3 for sale recently with a Chevy 350 stuffed in it...if it wasn't an automatic I might have gone and looked at it.

Jeff

JustinL

If I was buying a street car, it would be a 968. I have a pretty heavily modded 951S that is really fast, but not a lot of fun to lug around the streets at normal speed. Fantastic on the track, but completely uncivilized.

odurandina

vs a variocam with straight pipe ?





nahh....

but with a V8....



.

Dino V

All are great choices and depends on what you are looking for.

FRporscheman

If you look up the 0-60 on the S2, it will be something like 7.5 seconds, but this is because 2nd gear tops out at like 58mph so the test driver needs to shift into 3rd. If it was a 0-58 test, it would look a lot faster on paper.

The s2 is the best car. The 951 looks without the 951 unreliability! The 968 low-end (actually better) without the 968's very rare and expensive parts!

peanut

0-60 in 7.5 seconds ?

The US cars must have a different spec to the European cars
Are you sure you're not quoting the 944S 2.7lt figures ?

Our S2 cars do 0-60 in 6.4 seconds considerably less when chipped

Papamurphdog

The 951 "S" ('86 to be specific) has to be the winner as you can make it go MUCH faster than all the rest and it already comes with all the suspension bits that help it go where you point it much better than the others. The 968 is a pig and the 944S2 has a crappy tranny; geared to low. I've owned them all, a few times, and the '86 951 S is the only one to own. I miss mine!

jeffbarn

I have both 951S (owned since 95 with 200K) and 968 (90K) It is amazing how different these are. For around town driving, the 968 is very easy to live with. Quick get up a go. BTW, for those who say it is a dog, I do not agree. Yes, compared with 951 (chipped or Turbo S) after you get past turbo lag, but very quick with loads of low-end torque. One other 968 benefit, clutch replacement is much easier and less costly than any 944 (you don't have to drop transaxle).

If you live outside the city, with lots of mountain or curvy roads or do a lot of highway driving (without stop and go traffic issues), then the 951s (88 or 89) has intoxicating turbo rush. I have MAXHP III 3 Bar FPR, stock: turbo, injectors, and intake. I run with slightly higher than stock boost, so likely putting out less than 300HP.

If you do DE, then 951s is even better, big brakes, M030 suspension all stock and ready to go.

Finally, the 951 does not have reliability problems, IMO (assuming you have not over chipped and boosted the power 300+HP). It does have lots of additional items that can and will go bad over time and changing the clutch is much more complex and expensive to replace than STD 944 or s2). Also, with heat and age, all of the sensors around the bell housing will need replacing. But I still have the original turbo and the clutch has only been replaced 2 times in 200K (1st at 90K, 2nd at 195K) of driving. Head gaskets will need to be watched and replaced as needed, but proper chip with good A/F ratio will help avoid detonation which I believe is the primary problem.

bobt4945

my 2 cents worth ,have never been in a 968 but really like the way the front end looks, have 86 951 and 88 951 S and 85 944. almost pulled the trigger on a 968, but got the one owner 88 951 S instead. 88 was less money, (great deal) 53000/mi car and had documentation. waiting for spring to get it out, drove great from Chicago to home (123 mi. trip). my next purchase will be a 968 coupe i think.

odurandina

think forward.... the 968 is the new old 944.

all our cars are ancient, in the end, they don't cost much different to purchase and get sorted.


,

Jfrahm

The 2.7 is an 8 valve, the 944S is a 2.5L 16v. But yes 7.4 seconds is pretty lazy, the USA spec Cabrio was more like 6.2 to 7.1 seconds as tested. 6.0 sec was best for a RoW coupe.

http://www.weissach.net/924-944-968_...ary.html#944S2

It looks like the autos and tippys are the way to go for unhurried 0-60 numbers.

Jfrahm

As far as the age-old question goes it's really up to the taste and needs of the driver. Looks wise I feel that the 944 shape is old enough to be classic while the 968 is new enough to be quaint, plus I really like the hideaway pop-up headlights.

My favorite 924/44/96 would probably be a 944S2 cabrio with a well done V8 swap. Stock S2 power is pretty good, but IMO a nice torquey, reasonably quiet, reliable 300whp is about right for the car. A 951S trans is a nice mate to this and with the V8 torque the longer gears will work.

A 951 with an S2 trans would be an OK driver around town but the stock gearing is tiresome. For some the ability to incrementally mod the 951 is a big plus, for others it's a road to financial ruin and the extra maintenance costs and additional time on a turbo can be a big deal to some. You can almost own a 944S2 or 968 like it was an Accord and just drive it with normal routine maintenance but IMO the 951 starts out as more of a hobby when stock and if modded, well I hope you have a garage, alternative transpo and not a lot of other distractions. And oh yeah, lots of money.

-Joel.

ehokana

Man Odurandina, I love your car- I could stare at it all day!

I'd have to go 951 as my personal choice here but I'd be more than happy with any of these cars. I disagree that 951's are any less reliable (assuming they are well maintained) but they definitely cost more when you do run into repairs.