1985.5 production #'s
08-03-2016, 02:39 PM
#2
Three Wheelin'
This is a question which seems to come up from time to time and needs a bit of history to be understood fully. Or discussed with perhaps a bit of conjecture thrown in.
In the winter and spring of 1984, the German Metal Workers union went on strike and the factory ( Audi in Neckarsulm ) building our 944s was shut down as well as all other Union activities relating to assembly within what was then the old West Germany.
Porsche built A HUGE volume of autos in 1984 despite the long lasting strike. Demand was already at a fever pitch due to unprecedented sales worldwide, but especially in America which was Porsche's largest market. My own 944 which shows a build date of February 1984 was held up in this process and never came into America until quite late. I picked it up on July 10th of 1984; MANY cars around this same build date were also affected...... which leads me to the next assumption many believe to be true:
The '84s seem to include some of the number of 85.1 series in their accounting it's believed, possibly even including all the '85.1 cars which have a peculiar code attached to them indicating a 'pre-production' or 'test mule' description or something like that. If you look at the '85 production totals, it seems to align more correctly with what would be assumed to be the correct number that could be produced evenly across those years from '84 thru '87..... Porsche's highest volume of built and sold 944s in the series history due to increased demand from the public. ( Audi was constructing around 100 - 120 cars daily of the 944 for Porsche. )
Hence I think the '85.2 cars with the revised and heavier front sub section ahead of the firewall ( meant for the upcoming higher hp/torque turbos and S model variants ), the smooth and flush windshield, the new interior with revised dash, h.v.a.c. accommodations and different color selections, AS WELL as a slight increase in baseline power, actually is the number we read about in the volume category assigned to 1985, and the '85.1 cars are added into the '84 volume which remember, was shut down for around two months. HOW could they have made so many cars in a shorter period of time without adjusting the numbers to include the early '85s ? When Porsche is asked this question, there is no affirmation, denial, or confirmation...... the old guard that built these are now all retired and/or don't remember or don't wish to speak to it.
jm2c on conjecture..... but other's I have spoken with in the 'know' ( some of whom have passed on like Bruce Anderson and Jim Pasha ) seem to think this is a strong possibility. That production numbers assigned to 1984, shortened by several months already of building cars, encompasses ALL the series one or 84 thru 85.1 models, and assigns the volume for '85 cars coming sometime after December of 1984/January 1985 known as '85.2 cars ( check the Owner's Manual on these cars where Porsche has designated on these models an '85/2 description on the cover, which has now become misread as '85 and a half or '85.5 )
In the winter and spring of 1984, the German Metal Workers union went on strike and the factory ( Audi in Neckarsulm ) building our 944s was shut down as well as all other Union activities relating to assembly within what was then the old West Germany.
Porsche built A HUGE volume of autos in 1984 despite the long lasting strike. Demand was already at a fever pitch due to unprecedented sales worldwide, but especially in America which was Porsche's largest market. My own 944 which shows a build date of February 1984 was held up in this process and never came into America until quite late. I picked it up on July 10th of 1984; MANY cars around this same build date were also affected...... which leads me to the next assumption many believe to be true:
The '84s seem to include some of the number of 85.1 series in their accounting it's believed, possibly even including all the '85.1 cars which have a peculiar code attached to them indicating a 'pre-production' or 'test mule' description or something like that. If you look at the '85 production totals, it seems to align more correctly with what would be assumed to be the correct number that could be produced evenly across those years from '84 thru '87..... Porsche's highest volume of built and sold 944s in the series history due to increased demand from the public. ( Audi was constructing around 100 - 120 cars daily of the 944 for Porsche. )
Hence I think the '85.2 cars with the revised and heavier front sub section ahead of the firewall ( meant for the upcoming higher hp/torque turbos and S model variants ), the smooth and flush windshield, the new interior with revised dash, h.v.a.c. accommodations and different color selections, AS WELL as a slight increase in baseline power, actually is the number we read about in the volume category assigned to 1985, and the '85.1 cars are added into the '84 volume which remember, was shut down for around two months. HOW could they have made so many cars in a shorter period of time without adjusting the numbers to include the early '85s ? When Porsche is asked this question, there is no affirmation, denial, or confirmation...... the old guard that built these are now all retired and/or don't remember or don't wish to speak to it.
jm2c on conjecture..... but other's I have spoken with in the 'know' ( some of whom have passed on like Bruce Anderson and Jim Pasha ) seem to think this is a strong possibility. That production numbers assigned to 1984, shortened by several months already of building cars, encompasses ALL the series one or 84 thru 85.1 models, and assigns the volume for '85 cars coming sometime after December of 1984/January 1985 known as '85.2 cars ( check the Owner's Manual on these cars where Porsche has designated on these models an '85/2 description on the cover, which has now become misread as '85 and a half or '85.5 )