This 1991 Porsche 944 is a rare S2 model, which offered a few key performance upgrades over the standard 944. It came with the largest four-cylinder on the market at the time, clocking in at a massive 3.0L. The seller notes his may be one of the lowest mileage examples in existence, with under 45,000 original miles. It is nicely presented, but I’m not sure I agree with his production number citations. Regardless, you’ll find this pretty S2 here on eBay with bids at $9,800 and the reserve unmet.
The S2 offered a revised version of the “S”-spec engine, pushing out 208 b.h.p. and paired to a revised manual transmission with gearing unique to the model. This helped the 944 scoot to 60 m.p.h. in a little over six seconds and maxing out at 150 m.p.h. The body on this example looks quite nice, with glossy black paint and all of the original stickers and emblems still presenting well. The 944 came with a rear spoiler lifted straight from the 928, and paired with the aero spats behind the rear wheels, it looks quite aggressive.
The interior remains in excellent condition as well, with leather bucket seats showing virtually no wear. The seller notes the A/C still works and that the 944 retains its original Blaunpunkt radio. The next owner will receive a full assortment of books and manuals, and even the security cards for the radio. The seller cites a total production figure of 510 S2s being made, but I can’t find any evidence to back that up; instead, the RennList forums cite total U.S. production at 1,929 coupes. I suspect the seller means to say 510 were made for the ’91 MY.
Regardless, it’s still a rare Porsche no matter how you slice it, and likely even fewer exist today. The seller notes several big maintenance items being addressed in 2018, including a new water pump, timing belt, clutch, and starter. The tires are six years old but only have a few hundred miles on them; it may be smart to replace those depending on how well they’ve held up. The 944 S2 is indeed a rare bird, and this one should absolutely command higher bids than it’s seeing at the moment.
I would be less worried about the six year old tires reliability then I would be about flat spots on them. I have run tires far older then that without too many problems. Just keep a good spare with you on the road and make sure the lugs are not rusted on in case you have to make a back road switcheroo. I like the 3.0 liter engine, but the S2 style is not an improvement on the wonderful 944 previous to it. Beautiful cars though as far as driving characteristics. In my opinion, a so much better buy than some ratty old 912 or 356.
That’s not a 928 spoiler
These were considered poser porsches, the ones driven by guys that couldn’t afford a 911 but still wanted to impress the ladies while still living in mom’s basement because the car ate up the majority of the guy’s paycheck. We used to work on a lot of these, I remember thinking the way a 911 shifted seemed like a pickup truck compared to these.
Base 944’s were poser cars but i’d gladly own this rare S2. $25k, mint condition California car with only 45k miles and the timing belt done? A few additional thousands in tweaks and you will be outrunning the guy who just paid $43k for a northeast 88 M3 with 189k on it for a long time with a lot less headaches.
And older 911’s of that generation do shift like a truck and have twitchy handling that takes a lot of getting used to.
Wrong, Tom c… that was the 928.
Great cars. However…
“This is the rarest Porsche ever made”
LOL
I always liked the S2. It was available in 1989 side-by-side with the (then 2.7-liter) 944 and the turbo, which had “S” specs standard by then; but all 1990 and 1991 944s sold in the US were S2 models. They didn’t sell a ton, but the rare claims are a big stretch.
The 911 crowd always looked down on the 944 and 968 series of water-cooled Porsches until track day, when their perfect balance shone through.
Looks like he tried to sell at $33,000 on Hemmings and then tried his luck on Bring a Trailer with a $20k reserve not met https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1991-porsche-944-s2-9/ and now on Ebay.
He’s way out of the market at $33k… I would assume the Ebay reserve is somewhere near that.
I have a lot of respect for the 944 S2. When we were running the SCCA Escort Endurance series in 1989 we ran against one driven by Scott Goodyear at the 24 hour Mosport event. The car did very well against the well sorted teams. The S2 held its own against the dominant Morrison Cook team. The primary issue was that the car was down on power relative to the Camaro’s, Mustangs, and Nissan 300 ZX. It was a very well balanced car, just lacked HP. By the way I own a 1991 964 and certainly do not look down on 944’s especially the S2 or Turbo versions.They were a drivers car. Who ever snags this one should be very happy with their purchase.