Cars

The 944 S2 is considered the secret star of the 944 range.

The spearhead of the four-cylinder transaxles was, in Porsche tradition, the Turbo or the Turbo S, but the secret star was the Porsche 944 S2, presented in 1988. It had the largest production four-cylinder engine of the time in terms of displacement and was the first transaxle model, available as a coupe and a convertible. The naturally aspirated four-cylinder, internally called M44/41, was both torquey and gluttonous with its 2,990cc. Chief engineer Paul Hensler designed the engine to produce 280Nm of torque already at 4,000rpm and a fairly decent 211hp at 5,800rpm, while still being able to rev up to 6500 rpm. This result was achieved thanks to a 16-valve cylinder head, two overhead camshafts, a lighter crankcase and forged pistons. The compression ratio remained at the same level as that of the 944 S, the S2’s predecessor, ie 10.9:1. The 944 S2 was only available with a 5-speed manual gearbox.

With the revised engine, there wasn’t much evidence to prove its origin, being more or less half a 928 engine. Weighing just 1,310 kilos, the coupé does the standard 0-100 km/h test in 6.8 seconds. Thanks to its aerodynamics, with a cw value of only 0.33, a top speed of 249 km/h can be reached, if the wonderfully retro-style pop-up headlights are not opened. This performance is only 3 km/h or 0.5 seconds slower than the first 944 Turbo, or 951, before it received the larger turbocharger of the 944 Turbo S for the 1989 model year.

This copy was purchased in the Netherlands in 2016 and is of German origin. Always well maintained with a history provided, it will be delivered with the maintenance and the belts changed. The seats were redone in 2016, the exhaust changed in 2019. The car is equipped with optional air conditioning. If the paint shows traces related to the use of the car, the rest of the car is in very good condition and completely consistent with the origin.