catharsis

Hello all,

This is a pet project a friend and I have been putting some time into here and there for a little while now. I'm posting it here to share the information that we've found, as well as with the hope that it will draw out a few of you who I'm sure have more knowledge than I who might be able to make some definitive corrections or clarifications, as we have had some conflicting sources on a few cars.

It seems to be the common consensus that 14 total 968 Turbo S and four Turbo RS were built. The Turbo RS number seems to be a fact, but the S count varies. We have found at least two sources (968turbo.de being one) that say as many as 29 (including prototypes) were produced or at the very least allocated. We have 16 total VIN numbers of cars that are either true Turbo S, or at the very least not verifiable replicas. We also have two additional cars with unknown VIN numbers, one of which is apparently a prototype that was in Greece for some time, and one that was at Techno Classica Essen 2019 along with prototype with registration BB-PW-221 that may or may not be a replica.

Please chime in with your info/thoughts/theories, as we are open to reworking this to correct any inaccuracies and resolve questions!

Spreadsheet linked as google doc for ease of viewing:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

Motosport

Very interesting and great work..! Especially the notion regarding the different number of Turbo S cars.. I have quite a few photos of the 3 Turbo S cars that were exhibited at the 2019 Essen Techno Classica if you are interested..? Two speed yellows, one of them claimed to be a special prototype registered 09/1992, and one white '94. I also have several pics of a speed yellow Turbo RS from this years Stuttgart Classic exhibition, and it does not look like the SY Turbo S that has been converted to RS spec. This one looks very factory with the hood extension that covers the vipers and also has an over boost function built into the stalk that normally works the cruise control. Would that perhaps be the ex-Gmund car just without the headlight covers.? Anyway, here is a couple of pics..




That overboost function built into the cruise control stalk with its very factory looking inscription..





Alex

catharsis

Alex,

Thank you! The Speed Yellow car claimed to be a prototype most definitely was WP0ZZZ96ZPS800412, it matches that very well, and aligns with someone who was posting about that car in another thread here last year - certainly a very special vehicle. The white '94 from last year's Techno Classica you are referring to is very likely WP0ZZZ96ZRS890001. I haven't found any conflicting sources on the '94my cars, and that's the only GP White one of those. The second yellow Turbo S with registration HA-S968 at that show is the one that is the most intriguing to me. We haven't been able to pin it down to any, and we believed there to only be two Speed Yellow cars across '93-94 (one of which being the prototype 800412, which I suppose is really a '92), and we had both of those figured out. I'd love to see any and all pictures you have of that one in particular.

As for that Turbo RS you have pictured, I believe it must either be the ex-Gmund car as you have suggested, or a very well executed replica. I would be extremely surprised to find that there was in fact a 5th factory Turbo RS, but I suppose it is not out of the realm of possibility. The steering wheel does appear to match. The display plate is at a much more vertical angle, which does interest me but may not mean anything. Strange that they would take the headlight covers off, though.

Thanks for your input!

Peter

Motosport

I can confirm that the white Turbo S is indeed the 890001 car, which was suppose to be a press car, which also corresponds well with all the options it came with. Beautiful car and probably my favorite, especially with that vin number which logic would dictate should be the real prototype.. Also interesting is the CS door cards and manual windows, but also aircon, full sport seats and airbag steering wheel. Anyway, here is a few pics of that car..









And the Speed Yellow Turbo RS car is almost certainly the ex-Gmund car.. I googled various pics of that car, and it has the same distinctive yellow steering wheel, same dual fire suppressing system and also the over boost function in the cc stalk as the one in pics I posted, so it must be the same car just without the head light covers.

But going through my pics properly on my laptop I realized that there was only one SY Turbo S car at the '19 Essen show and not two as I wrote. I had seen pics of a SY Clubsport car with a Turbo S rear spoiler on the smaller images on my phone and in my haste thought it was another Turbo S car. So no photos of that mysterious HA-S968 car unfortunately..

As you said, the other SY Turbo S car that is supposed to be a prototype is also a very interesting car, so I will post some pics of that one instead..


















I find these cars hugely fascinating and I am hoping at some point building a replica myself, which I believe would make for an extremely capable classic Porsche that I would not be afraid to actually drive..

Oh, and don't forget those 4 Australian Turbo S cars that was built by Fitzpatrick Racing in Melbourne back in the '90. They might be replicas built on a CS vin numbered platform, but with all the correct and original parts directly from the factory, who Fitzpatrick had very close ties with through his racing provess.

Alex

catharsis

Alex,

Thanks so much for these pictures, they're better than anything else I could find on that press car. I also realized that I made a mistake earlier, and the HA-S968 car was in a picture uploaded to Flickr in 2016 from Techno Classica, probably of that year.




It looks almost identical to 800412, but as far as I'm aware that car has always been registered as BB-PW221. So in my mind, this is most likely a replica, but there is a small chance it is one of the additional cars that some claim exist.

I have not come across any of these Australian cars that you referenced, I'd definitely be willing to include them in their own category in the spreadsheet if you could direct me to a source!

I completely agree, there is just something so immensely intriguing about these cars and their somewhat veiled past and present - I could find almost no current information on most of their whereabouts, and none have been through public auction in any viewable capacity. Harder to find information on than the 993 Turbo Cabriolets, most certainly. Best of luck on your replica project, these really are amazing cars!

Thom

HA S 968 is an original turbo S from the '93 production run of 10 cars. It is different from BB PW 968 which was originally a standard 968 CS and the only prototype I have heard about.
The white '94 car was built for the 1994 Geneva Motorshow in the hope to attract more buyers as only 10 cars were sold for the previous model year.

odurandina

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odurandina

edited
Crazy, the Turbo S would exist in near-obscurity so long. The car
ostensibly owned (along with the Ferrari F-50) the right to be called
as the 2 "world's best handling cars," at a time when production cars
handled so poorly, the topic might have been skipped altogether.

But, a variant that could supply the speed missing in their base cars,
pushing 180mph surely would have received more interest and
praise of from the industry publication/s....
Apparently, i missed the obscure one liner in Autoweek that day
back during production.
Instead, cars that would have their doors blown off by the 968TS--
like the NSX, 300Z's, Mitsu's and Lotus's got the stories written
w/ all the sexy accolades--

A 944 or the new 968 tuned w/ a 3.0 Turbo engine might join a 959
or 993 Turbo S on the track, and be competitive with the best
Porsche's of its day.

i was already a 944 owner in the early 90's, and upon seeing a 968,
thought of someday getting one w/ the goal of a V8 swap.

About a dozen years later, the internet helped me learn (finally) that
a "Turbo S" version of the 968 saw limited production. Wow.
Naturally, i became interested in parts availability to make possible
a 968 Turbo S conversion. Haha right? Absurdly naive curiosity--
it turned out to be. i had no idea the Turbo's would be so far
removed from the regular cars (sigh).

Not long after, a low-key enthusiast/ genius' (most of you know)
informed me, the original parts supply was very thin: a few astute
buyers paid considerable money to get what very limited supplies
existed.

It's surprising Porsche had made virtually no effort to restock these
parts. How hard is it to order a few transmissions w/ the taller
differential, or simply the differentials to build the gearboxes?
(the Turbo S differential probably gets the top spot on the 968 Turbo S
unobtanium parts list).
What about the CS seats, or rear seat deletes shared by the two
variants? Porsche is kind of weird. *A storage unit w/ several hundred
928 transmissions was found almost 2 decades after they were
warehoused.

I often wonder if the 968 TS/RS, eventually/possibly with an inline 5 actually should have been the replacement for the 928, with the base 968 also getting more modernization.

Harm Lagaay's and Ferry Porsche must have foreseen a future with
great interest of tuning the most superb variant of the 924/944 line:
the 968.
They could have put aside 10 or 20 full conversion kits and circulated
knowledge of their whereabouts. This is kind of important because the
original cars & conversion cars should be built/ maintained, anddriven,
and have parts available to buy--if that's what their owners choose
to do. Of course we know That's simply not how car builders think.
Along with the 914, The 2 door/front engine 924-44/968/928 are
probably 'ringers' for Porsche's line of sell/ out of sight/ out of mind,
orphaned children.

Unfortunately, the 90's was an extremely difficult time for Porsche--
and that's putting it mildly. Add a crushing recession, the emergence of
Japanese low-cost sports cars, leading to sagging sales--and Porsche
nearly bankrupt, They had (probably) a dozen major projects/ priorities
happening at the same time--it's amazing Porsche came out of it (all)
to become the monster they are today.

The 968 & 928 got the shaft. w/ over $50K in parts upgrades, was the
Turbo S a conciliatory bone thrown to Harm Lagaay? Wait, did someone
once post a complete 968 Turbo S conversion was over $90K in parts?
and that was ~20 years ago.

boost feen

Great info on here just checking for any updates to the registry or new cars found? Here is a couple links that could turn up something from back in the day 1993 era I know the white car owned bye Metzgar had a bunch of real factory parts on it as they were available easier back then. I also know that there was several extra 968 turbo RS full race caged chassis built bye weissach and sat around for years in the back lot before several customers finally took them. Kelly Moss built one into a wide body flared car in the states in late 90’s and the other one went to Europe I heard?

also it looks like the 968turbo homestead web page that was up for so many years finally has gone down? That was my source for a lot of info back in the early 2000’s before all these pics and info the last few years.

There was a shop in southern CA that had worked on a replica that used original parts as well I know of I wish I had more info but I don’t. There’s some vins and Info here from track days back then……

https://www.racingsportscars.com/typ...rsche/968.html

Tom Pultz

SOLD - I have a 968 Turbo S rear wing I might consider selling. I purchased it nearly 20 years ago from Konstantin Kotitsas in Germany. I had it painted Guards Red since I was planning to put it on my S2, but I never got around to swapping out the 968 hatch, etc. It comes with the metal adjustable plates that fit between the wing and the end pieces... but they need some finishing work as the outline of these pieces doesn't match that of the wing and end pieces very well. Not sure of they were factory or just something Konstantin included to complete the wing. I've thought about putting it on my 951 but I already have a painted 968 wing I could use. The Turbo S wing should really go on a replica car.

quick968

Tom,

I'd be interested in that wing if still avail. PM sent.


Mike

boost feen

The most telling way to tell if it’s a replica or real is to look for front bumper cover tow hook plug nobody goes that far with replica/clone unless your out of your mind like me.

PF

Or like me🙂🤝
//Peder

PF

Yogii

Do you guys mean a painted tow hook cover? My regular 94 coupe has one in black. I've even had to use it!

-Yogii
AKA 968 Novice