1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S

This 2479cc 247bhp Porsche 944 Turbo S manual was registered on 1st August 1988, the first day of the F prefix registration numbers. It has since covered 113,000 miles and has passed through a dozen or so previous owners.

The current owner bought the car at auction in September 2018 to improve and sell on and immediately sent it to Revolution Porsche Specialists in Leeds to come up with a job list. Needless to say, the list was extensive and the car remained with them for around six months. The work carried out by them is summarised in the History Highlights section.

He apparently owns a few classic and modern classic cars - which were also bought at auction needing work - but he has been more reluctant to part with some of them despite domestic influences!

The Stone Grey metallic finish on the car is very good, having had a full glass out respray in early 2019 and covering barely a hundred miles since. However, there appear to be a few small scratches on the front bumper which the vendor admits to causing recently and intended to address. The sills and lower valances are coated in body-coloured stone guard paint and, for further protection, there are also newly replaced stone guard film panels in each of the wheel arches and on the front of the vulnerable rear wheel arch bulges.

The glasswork, external trim and badges present in a good condition and the panel gaps and shut lines are as you would expect from such a well put together example of German engineering.

The 18-inch “turbo twist” alloy wheels look to be from a 993 Turbo, or are certainly of that style, and present in a good condition showing off the red painted brake calipers behind. Whilst these won’t please purists who would be looking for 16-inch Club Sport forged wheels, they don’t look completely alien to the car and all are fitted with matching Continental SportContact 2 tyres which appear to be dated 2012.

As we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but do give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

According to the car’s option codes sticker, the original interior would have been a light grey cloth and partial leather affair with black vinyl dash and door tops. At some point in the car’s history, black full leather seating has been swapped in and, whilst it may not be original to the car, it is likely more preferable to most owners. The electric-adjustable seats are lightly creased but are in a pretty good condition for their age with no obvious scuffs or tears.

The dash, instrument panel and centre console also appear in good order. The original radio cassette slot was empty on purchase, so the vendor has fitted a modern stereo unit with USB and Aux inputs which works without issue. The new owner may wish to swap in a more retro system - maybe one of Porsche’s own classic units.

Other electrics and ancillaries such as windows and air conditioning are understood to be working, although the vendor can’t recall if the mirror adjustment is functioning.

The carpets are shown in good order with a complete set of fitted floor mats. The sun visors and headlining appear clean and taut.

Under the bonnet, the engine bay looks in a clean and tidy condition with all cables, hoses and ducting looking in good order and renewed where necessary. The engine carries the all important M44/52 tag signifying that it is the more powerful Turbo S model. There are no obvious signs of rust or corrosion around the engine bay, bonnet lid or fixings.

The underneath of the car was recently waxoyled by Revolution Porsche, which in some ways is a shame because the vendor reports that it looked pretty good before and now all the surfaces are covered up. The stainless steel exhaust system all looks to be in a good condition.

In the boot, the carpet and linings appear clean and in good order - under the carpet is the battery, spare wheel with Vredestein collapsible tyre, tool roll and jack. The metal of the boot floor appears to be in a solid condition with no signs of rust. The hatch is also in good order and there are good seals around the opening.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would always encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment. If, understandably, you are limiting your social exposure, why not ask if they can join a video call and zoom in to any areas you’d like to see in more detail.

This 944 Turbo S has a current MOT valid until March 2021. The online record shows no failures since 2012 and none prior to that for anything significant. It also shows a rather glacial progression in the mileage, especially in the last handful of years.

Whilst this car comes with a few invoices from current and previous ownership, the car’s original A4 ring-binder history file was somehow lost in 2018 during the auction. The current owner has managed to obtain copies of the AMB Porsche dockets from the last owner but nothing from before his time could be traced.

Those invoices that are present are from independent Porsche specialists. To help make sense of these invoices, the recent or significant works are summarised below:

March 2019 - Revolution Porsche Specialists near Leeds - almost £6k in total

- major service

- glass out respray

- stone guard film

- sill trims

- resto to front seats

- new windscreen

- numerous other improvement jobs

October 2014 - AMB Porsche Nottingham - carried out at approx 109,000 miles

- New clutch

- New timing and auxiliary belts

We also understand that in around 2008 the transmission was rebuilt and that, more recently, a new radiator was fitted although these pre-date the recovered invoices.

The car comes with two sets of keys and alarm fobs.

The vendor reports that the car starts and drives well with the characteristic rush of adrenaline when the turbo cuts in after a suitably lengthy ‘80s lag. In terms of condition and prior maintenance, he was told by Revolution Porsche that it was the best they’d seen.

The Porsche 944 turbo S is regarded by some as the ultimate 944; decent performance and old enough to be largely analogue in response and repairability, but new enough to benefit from the sort of reliability and safety features like anti-lock brakes we’ve all come to take for granted.

This turbo S is a rare car; being one of fewer than fifty still registered in the UK. With significant recent improvement expenditure and having previously been well maintained and serviced, we think this super example will sell for between £23,000 and £28,000.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with the vendor in Baildon near Bradford; 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’.

This vehicle is not with us at The Market’s HQ near Abingdon, which means we have had to rely on the owner’s description of it, in conjunction with the photographs you see here, to compile the listing.

With this in mind, we would encourage potential bidders to contact the owner themselves and arrange to view the car in person, or to arrange a dedicated video call in which they can view the car virtually and ask questions.