1988 Porsche 944 S '16 Ventiler'

The Porsche 944 S that’s listed here is a 1988 car, with a 2.5-litre 16-valve engine. That explains the ’16 Ventiler’ badges. In comparison to the standard 944, it made more power (187 bhp) and was positioned between the standard car and the Turbo variants. It has about 102,500 miles on the clock and has had 8 former keepers. First registered in 1988, the car comes with a long service record and MOT history. The current MOT is valid till May 2021.

Finished in red, this 944 S looks like an honest example with decent mileage. While not the cleanest (both on the inside and outside), the car has been taken care of, with routine service and part replacement, when required. It’s a manual gearbox car, comes with a sunroof, and of course, has the added practicality of a hatchback. For those still wondering if it’s a genuine Porsche (like the 911), the answer to that is a resounding yes.

The Porsche 944 carried forward the 924’s basic design, but with enough bits to make itself unique. The wider wheel arches for instance similar (if not identical) to that on the 924 Carrera GT made it to the 944. And not just that, other smaller details helped it with a stance that was certainly more assertive than the 924’s. And the good bits stayed, too: pop-up headlamps, glass hatchback, integrated bumpers, etc.

The 944 S here is more than three decades old, so it’s not free of age-related wear and some scratches. The shape works surprisingly well, even in 2021, and the Porsche Teledial wheels complement that. In terms of visible damage, there’s a scuff mark on the right door sill. The front bumper has some marks on the left, and some stone chips on the offside wing. The nearside wing and the bonnet were painted by the vendor. The bonnet appears to have a few small dents on it as well. The front bumper also has a crack in the indicator housing. The offside door also has a tiny bit of lacquer peel/damage. At the rear, the car looks to be in a good nick. The PU spoiler is intact and the glass hatch works fine. The driver’s door has some marks on the edge, there are a few scratches on the roof, and the sunroof cavity has some, too.

When Porsche added the 944 to its range, it wasn’t supplied with an all-new interior but rather the one used on the 924. That changed during one of the early updates to the model, hence making the 944 more of an individual model — and not just a revamped 924. This 944 S has the modern 'oval' dashboard layout. While it lacks the quirkiness that you’d associate with say a Citroen, it works well, and by the looks of it, has aged rather well, too. The simpler layout means there’s not much to distract while on the move. In addition to that, there’s not much that could succumb to age, either.

That is apart from the driver’s seat, which is torn and needs to be reupholstered. The other seats are fine. Door cards look okay, the footwell is clean, and the boot hasn’t suffered. The vendor mentions that it’s not a done-up car, and retains a lot of originality, including the original build stickers under the carpet. The in-cabin rear-view mirror is broken.

While the rear seats on the 944 are virtually useless for adults, the car’s practicality quotient is amplified with the presence of a properly usable boot. The carpet can be lifted to reveal the battery, spare wheel, jack, etc. The 944 comes with a space saver wheel along with a tyre inflator. In conclusion, the 944’s cabin hasn’t just aged well, it’s also a great alternative to the modern, overloaded dashboards, which seem to have traded simplicity for gimmicks.

A quick history lesson here: the VW sports car that was being developed by Porsche wasn’t supposed to be Porsche-badged until Volkswagen decided to let go of the project. Which is where Porsche decided to continue with it, and that’s how the 924 was born. It’s safe to assume that it was because of Porsche that the 924 (and the subsequent models) got a front-engined rear-wheel-drive platform. This meant the adoption of a transaxle setup, which merged the gearbox and rear differential into one unit. And hence was born the much-celebrated line of Porsche transaxle cars. It must be noted that the transaxle unit was built by Audi. The 944 used the same setup underneath. But unlike the 924, which had a VW/Audi-supplied engine, the one in the 944 was a bona fide Porsche unit. It was essentially a 5-litre V8 cut in half. And it worked well! In the case of the 944 S 16 Ventiler, there was a slight power increment over the standard car. It wasn’t appreciated as much as the later 3-litre model came or the Turbo. But in all fairness, it’s a fine engine.

And an engine complemented by an equally fine chassis. The inclusion of the Transaxle setup gave the car an almost 50:50 weight distribution. The vendor mentions that it drives fantastically and stops well. Apart from age-related wear, it’s clean underneath. It has Goodyear tyres, mounted on beautiful teledial wheels, which are spotless, adds the vendor.

The 944 S is accompanied by full service and MoT history. It was registered in August 1988, and the first service was done in a month at about 1000 miles from new. The last service happened in 2019 at a little over 101,000 miles. Apart from regular servicing, the car has had a lot of its worn out parts replaced, like water pump, pulleys, belts, etc. It got a new battery in December last year.

The 944 S cleared its latest MoT but not without advisories. You can check out those in detail in the supplied document below, but to give a brief idea, the front tyres and steering column need some attention, in addition to slight play in wheel bearings (both front wheels) and some oil leak (not excessive) from the engine. The vendor mentions that the car was with its previous two owners for 17 years. And that they maintained it well during that period.

We include an online HPI report run at the auction start which shows no finance outstanding and no insurance markers for theft or damage.

Porsche sold more than 160,000 944s in its decade-long run. The car wasn’t diminished entirely by the presence of the 911, and now makes a strong case for itself, as a used buy. The 944 S here is worth a look because while it’s had a few owners and has covered a lot of miles, there’s a lot of genuine appeal that it has retained. While with a valid MoT, we still think you’ll need to spend some money to get it back into shape — mainly get those advisories attended to and the seat repaired. With those sorted, this can be a great way to enjoy Porsche ownership. We expect £8,000 - £12,000.

Viewing is always encouraged (within Govt. guidelines of course), and this particular car is located with us at The Market 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’.