IcemanG17

the best advice is find a well running example and drive it.....should be fairly easy in the greater LA area.... Another choice is a Boxster....which really is a small car.....but fun to drive

Barry Johnson

I've had a 968 6 speed, and I can tell you that the power is pretty bad, especially when you get out of a 32v 928 and into the 968, they're just slow and unexciting, at any rev range. The powerband is very linear feeling and therefore, boring . I like a strong rush of power, and torque, and the 968 just doesn't have that.

What IS nice about them, in my opinion, is the looks are nice, and since its a 944 underneath, there are a miriad of suspension and braking parts to make it really fun. The one I drove for a while had the M030 stuff with adjustable Koni's, and it was very "flickable" and handled well.

If you love your 928 and want a 968, get a supercharger for the 968 or find one that has a modded 951 engine (944 turbo). The 6spd trans is very smooth, but I prefer the longer legs of the 944 5spd, especially for a boosted engine (more time in boost).

And yeah, the 968 is louder inside. I would take another 968, but a nice 944 turbo would be my vote having driven both extensively.

BC

In a word, yes.

sendarius

Really?

Around 240 hp from 3 litres with Vario-cam is not at all shabby, unless you are comparing to a contemporary BMW M3.

A linear extrapolation to 5 litres gives 400 hp, so the engine is fine in comparison to the 320 hp S4 32-valve.

The 6-speed gearbox is pretty good also.

Of course the 968 Cab isn't 3/4 the weight of the 928S4 to match the 3/4 of the power, so performance will be down, but it is a lovely car to drive. It just isn't the GT car that the 928 is - thankfully.

It also isn't enough better than the 944S2 for me to justify the cost of trading up, even if Porsche did say at the time that it was 85% new.

pcar928fan

The REAL winner (but for the fact none were imported by Porsche) would be the 944 Turbo Cab!!! I prefer the look of the 944 S2's and Turbo's way more than the 968 (which fails at looking like a 928). I NICE 928 Cab conversion might be a good thought too Chris. There are some out there! Some are better than others, but that is what I would REALLY like to have!!! THE ONE that I want is the MC Hammer car (RED, really, really wide body cab!)

Vilhuer

Regardless of if you like tiptronic or not, avoid it unless you want to pay 10-15% of cars value to replace rubber thingy at front of torque tube. Thats like $1k part and will definitelly fail, only question is when.

rgs944

Anyone who thinks a 968 6-speed coupe is slow probably drove one with some issues. They do get there power at a higher rev range, that is very true. I think the 968 6 speed coupe is the best sports car for the money right now. As far as choosing it really comes down to preference and driving needs. My experiance so far is that both cars are similiar in performance and and I am comparing an S4. I will say that my 968 is lightened some with a Fabspeed exaust and chip, also the S4 had some vaccum issues when I could drive it. If you look at the track times though they are real similiar. The 928 will be stronger on the open road but the nimble 968 will be very strong on a tight track.
For drving comfort I would say the S4 for longer trips but I also drove the 968 back home 1800 miles and was fine. For my needs I purchased the 968 for hotrodding around town and the S4 for longer road trips. Both are great cars and serve their purpose, it really is up to the owner to decide what they are going to use the car for. Or if you have a very understanding wife you could just get both.
One other great thing about the 968 is that it will get mistaken for a new model more often than the 928 or 951.

rgs944

One other thing I will add, disappointment usually comes from getting into a bad example, rather than a bad model.

dprantl

Or when you press the gas and there isn't enough torque? 225lb.ft @ 4,100RPM peak? This is a BIG difference from an S4's 317lb.ft @ 3,000 RPM peak. I should add that I have owned a pristine 968 6-speed coupe for 2 years as a daily driver before owning a 928. More recently, my wife had a 968 tip as her daily driver for 2 years.

Dan
'91 928GT S/C 475hp/460lb.ft

Tom in Austin

I had a 968 six-speed and agree with most of the commentary above ... the Variocam only makes decent power above 3,000 rpm and so you need to really keep the revs up to enjoy it. The steering and balance of the car are its' best points. It's easier to work on than a 928 but still can be complicated in places. It shares many parts with 944T and 944S2 so there are lots of performance upgrades available.

The downsides I experienced: the 1-2 upshift is like the Grand Canyon; the ride is noisy, harsh and tiring on a trip; the Tiptronic is a dog and takes all the fun out of it; the known big issues (pinon gear, hatch delamination) are not as bad as a broken 928 timing belt but still pretty expensive.

When I had the 968 I also had a Lexus and really enjoyed the contrast between it and the 968. With an automatic 928 I think I have found something in between with the soul of a sports car but easier to enjoy and very comfortable for normal driving.

Tom in Austin

Oh, and they did make a few in Raspberry Red ... ;-)

z driver 88t

Very timely question. I love my 928, but after 2+ years I am missing a convertible too and can't justify 2 Porsches. I've thought about 944S2 cabs, 968 cabs or even early 996s. Admitedly it will be very hard to part with the craftsmanship evident everywhere in the 928.

I've researched the 944S2 and 968 cabs pretty thoroughly. All the US 968 cabs had the rear shelf due to safety requirements that required rear seats to have shoulder belts. It is an easy swap to pull the shelf and bolt in rear seats and seatbelts from a 944 cabrio, but it will just be a lap belt. All the mouting points are under the shelf.

The dual mass flywheel failure is a huge potential issue but generally solved by going to a traditional one piece unit.

What I don't know is if the 944/968 cabrios were hack jobs that started out as coupes or were they actually built as convertibles. My old 1990 300ZX convertible was built on a coupe platform. When you lifted up the rear carpet you could literally see the where the coupe was hacked away with what looked like a sawzall and did not have a really solid feel. But I've talked with a few guys that own both 944 cabs and coupes and they insist the cabs feel just as tight, although noticeably heavier. I'd love to drive one and see for myself.

dprantl

Yeah, Iris blue too I had one just like this:

http://www.porsche968uk.co.uk/images...-front-ns2.jpg

People would stumble over themselves to give compliments.

Dan
'91 928GT S/C 475hp/460lb.ft

Jfrahm

Stock, the 968 power delivery is nowhere near as fun as a 32v 928. However there are supercharger kits that address this problem. I kind of want to have only one 'fun' car nad have been tempted to standardize on the supercharged 968 cabrio. The 928 is nice to have in the stable however so I am dealing with having both for now.

I also prefer the rear seats, such as they are, to the 968 rear cubby but the cubbies are desirable to 944 people and the seats can be traded for and swapped in. They are not very good seats but work in a pinch to squeeze someone in sideways.

An ideal car for me is probably an S2 Cabrio (I like the pop-up lights) or a 968 cabrio in Iris Blue or similar, with a linen interior and an LSx conversion done very very well for street. I am keeping an eye on the conversions to see how they are progressing regards to cost, ABS, power brakes, ground clearance, etc. For now the SC is delivering the goods. I expect it's faster than my 928 and A8 but I have not tried to measure it.

-Joel.

por917

I owned a 968 a few years back and it was one of my favorite cars. It was a Black on Black coupe with the M030 suspension, 6 speed. The car was awesome and I would still have it to this day but got t-boned and unfortantly it was totaled. Great car! Also no slouch either it was plenty fast