Porsche 944
The car was the brainchild of the newly appointed Peter Schutz, the CEO of the Porsche company. He decided to debut the new 944, which was the replacement for the 924, at the 24 Hours Le Mans race of 1981. The project was greenlighted in 1980, in response to dropping sales of the Porsche 924. Although it was basically a 924 with a proper Porsche engine, body styling and trim, the 944 looked like a more grown up car than the 924. Improvements over the out-going 924 were plain to see – beginning with the flared front and rear wheel arches. These became the trademark of the 944, and pulled in the buyers due to the butch stance and powerful presence they gave the car. Other differences were small but significant – on US models, the ugly 924 side reflectors were replaced with smooth, bumper-line examples. A rear spoiler, lining the lift-glass, made the rear-end look more functional and sporty. Drag coefficient was reduced to 0.35 over the 924, and the body panels were zinc-coated in all markets to prevent corrosion. This Porsche 944 was fitted with the new 2.5 liter four cylinder engine derived from Porsche’s V8. See all our Porsche 944 Research.
