The Porsche 944 is a front-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car with a transaxle design. It was manufactured between 1982 and 1991 model years. Here is the story of the Porsche 944.

The Story of the Porsche 944

Although the body and chassis of the Porsche 944 were based on the Porsche 924, the 944 had more sportier look. The front spoiler painted in the vehicle colour with square rubber buffers combined with significantly wider, slightly angular wings made the 944 distinct from the 924.

The aerodynamically optimized shape, the large spoilers at the front and rear, small cross-sectional area, and an outstanding drag coefficient of 0.35 resulted in very low overall drag. The 944 was one of the most aerodynamic production cars on the market at the time, while the transaxle design combined the advantages of even weight distribution, high level of traction and optimal interior space.

Proper Porsche

The most important difference to the 924 was the engine. Porsche 944 was fitted with an in-line four-cylinder engine developed by Porsche itself. This made the fans feel like the 944 was a “real” Porsche. When launched, the 2.5-litre engine initially delivered 163 PS. The 944 was also fitted with 2.7-litre and 3.0-litre power sources. The most powerful version was turbocharged. Porsche 944 was available with manual and automatic transmissions.

The 944 was built at Audi’s factory in Neckarsulm. The 944 went through various stages of development and refinement. The base model 944 was accompined by the 944 S, 944 S2 and 944 Turbo model variants. And in addition to the Coupe, the Porsche 944 was even available as a Cabriolet version. The 944 was followed by the Porsche 968. The production ended in 1991, after 163,302 cars had left the factory. The Porsche 944 was the most successful Porsche sports car

Image by Porsche