Porsche 968

Porsche 968 is basically the successor of the Porsche 944. 
It has a low nose and wide wheel arches that helps accentuating 
the beautiful lines of this classic shape that in a Porsche Guards 
Red is a real head turner.  It has also the classic GT front engine, 
rear wheel drive layout with the added advantage of a rear transaxle 
giving almost perfect weight distribution.

Instead of the hidden headlights of the 944, the 968 has visible
pop up headlights, similar to the Porsche 928. This brings the 
look of the car inline with the new Porsche 997-911. This change 
has also a practical advantage: the headlights can be washed 
along with the rest of the car instead of having to pop them up to 
wash them. 

As for the interior, it remains the same as produced in the 944, 
keeping the famous “oval dash”. The designers used the same 
robust materials which have given all Porsche owners many years 
of trouble free motoring. 

The exterior has a few differences: the door mirrors have 
been streamlined with the tear drop effect and the wheels 
have 5 spoke Cup design alloys. The rear bumper is more 
blended and with integral rear light clusters, making it almost 
indistinguishable from the bodywork. All these bodywork changes 
made the 968 look a lot like the 928, and added the engine heritage, 
some people have referred to it as “the daughter of 928”.

The engine is a version of the one first used on the 944 S2: it is a
4 cylinder, 3 liter, 16 valve unit. And they added VarioCam for 
optimum power throughout the speed range. It has 240 HP 
at 6200 rpm and a torque of 305 Nm at 4100 rpm, given by the 
improved combustion chamber and inlet manifold design.  At the 
time of production, it was a remarkable engine, having the highest 
displacement per cylinder of any car engine and also the highest 
torque output of any unblown 3 liter engine. Clearly, the result of 
Porsches investment in this engine paid off.

The rear-mounted gearbox is a 6-speed manual or 4 speed tiptronic. 
It is the first ever mounted on a production car. The chassis has 
almost perfect weight distribution and very stiff characteristics.

Usually, most cars start to fail when it comes to breaks and the 
reason is that it doesn’t matter how fast the car is in a straight 
line if you can’t take a bend (turn) at the right safe speed. But Porsche 
brakes have always been the envy of most road sports car 
manufacturers. You will notice little or no or no discernable fatigue 
even under harsh use of Porsche 968. ABS adds even more 
safety to the already excellent braking system. Also, what makes
the brakes so effective is that the wheels themselves are designed 
to prevent the tire from coming off the rim in the event of a sudden pressure 
loss.

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