1990 Porsche 944 S2 Cabriolet

This Porsche 944 S2 Cabriolet with the 3.0-litre engine and 5-speed manual gearbox was first registered in February 1990. Just for context, this was when the UK was being mesmerised by Sinead O’Connor’s emotional performance of the Prince-penned “Nothing Compares 2 U” at number one in the singles charts for the whole month.

This S2 reportedly started life on Porsche GB’s press fleet before being sold to a gentleman from St Helier, Jersey. The car remained on the island until September 2007 when it returned to the UK mainland. It was re-registered with the DVLA in May 2010.

The current keeper is something of a collector and regular trade customer of ours - both selling and buying - who acquired the 944 at auction in December 2015 and put it away in storage until just over two years ago. He then recommissioned the car giving it a new set of tyres but has only driven around 30 miles since. He changed the timing belt and tensioners in November last year and the odometer now reads just 57,750 validated miles.

The 944 is finished in L90E Alpinweiss - Alpine White - an attractive choice for a summer car - with what looks like a black mohair soft top. The condition of the paint is generally good, although there are some small age-related marks as you might expect, even for a relatively low mileage car. The only significant defect we can see is that the plate of the driver’s door mirror is partially detached.

The 944 retains its plastic film stone chip guards - narrow strips around the rear of each wheel arch and also more substantial panels ahead of the rear arches. The lower sills are also painted in stone chip coating.

The powered hood works as it should - retaining quite a low profile when up and keeping the car’s sleek lines. Although the operation is powered, it is then locked off manually inside the car. The mohair fabric is a little worn in places but not obviously damaged and the rear screen doesn’t appear to have any serious creasing. It folds down neatly and stows under a factory blue fabric tonneau.

We are also pleased to see that the characteristic pop-up headlamps work without “winking”.

The 944 no longer has its original Design 90 wheels but instead sits on 17-inch Turbo-twist style alloy wheels, which look in very good condition with coloured Porsche shield centre badges. All four corners are fitted with matching Continental SportContact2 tyres - only a couple of years old with no more than a few dozen miles on them.

As regular readers know - we think that the look of the interior of a convertible is of equal importance to the outside, being on show almost as often. The inside of this 944 is upholstered in Marine Blue - mostly a leatherette vinyl but with partial leather on the tombstone style front seats. The inserts are made of perforated leatherette but the rest of the seat face is in leather. There is some creasing on the leather areas and a little wear on the driver’s seat side bolster but less than you might expect on a 30+ year old car. The rear +2 seats look barely used.

The rest of the interior is also in good condition, although there is some cracking over the top of the instrument binnacle, which is a common issue on these cars. The steering wheel was retrimmed by Royal Steering Wheels a year or two ago and looks immaculate. The central Porsche-embossed horn pad is original.

The car has a good level of electrically powered equipment for the time - hood, adjustable seats, windows, heated door mirrors, central locking, factory immobiliser and an automatic heating control. There is also a more modern JVC CD-Radio connected to aftermarket door speakers. As far as we know, everything works as it should.

Underfoot the blue-grey carpeting looks in a decent condition, although a section is coming away slightly by the front corner of the driver’s door. The front footwells come complete with Porsche floor mats.

There’s a small tool roll in the glove box along with an old broken heater unit control that has been replaced.

The rear boot of the cabriolet is obviously less spacious than the coupe’s hatchback but the carpet looks good - the same as fitted inside the car. However, the lining is coming unglued around the top edges of the boot. Under the carpet is a temporary-use spare wheel fitted with a Vredestein collapsible tyre. There is also a scissor jack stowed in the rear along with a tyre inflator, and the battery compartment sits off to one side.

Under the bonnet, the engine bay appears clean, tidy and honest-looking. By which we mean that none of the components have been repainted or artificially renewed.

Mechanically, the vendor reports that the car is in good order and is enjoyable to drive - especially roof down in the sunshine. The engine does hunt a little when idling but in our experience this is not uncommon for a 944. At 3.0 litres and 209 bhp, the S2 had the most powerful naturally-aspirated 4-cylinder engine in the world at the time.

Underneath the car, the floor pans are coated in a combination of older underseal and road grime but there is no corrosion of any significance that we could see - and nothing attracted the red pen of the MOT inspector recently.

The 944 has a current MOT valid until July 2024, which it passed with no advisories - just as it has each year for the last few years in current trade ownership.

There’s a good history file with the car, with paperwork covering the car’s lifetime, including Jersey export documents, servicing, maintenance and old MOTs.

The most recent work includes replacing the timing belt and tensioners, which was carried out in November last year by Design 911 of Brentwood. Earlier this year the car was fitted with a new fuel pump.

The car comes with a full book pack, including a service record with 16 stamps from Jersey’s Porsche Centre and 4 from mainland garages up to 55,429 miles in 2015.

For many, the Porsche 944 is currently in the sweet spot of the classic car world; old enough to be largely analogue in its operation and easy for an amateur to repair, yet new enough to benefit from a level of reliability and safety that we now take for granted.

As with any modern classic, numbers of 944 S2 Cabriolets off the road are now somewhat higher than the 200 cars seen out and about. Although this particular car has been in the former category of late - it is ready to be taxed and taken out and enjoyed in those spells of sunshine that we look forward to during what’s left of the UK summer.

We think it should make between £12,000 and £16,000 but this low mileage 944 S2 Cabriolet is selling with NO RESERVE, so give it your best bid and you may well become the lucky new owner for less than you imagined.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.