In July 1994 I’d had a 28 year old Porsche 356, and was driving a dog of a BMW 325i Convertible (q.v. epinion on THAT one).
After several episodes, I decided I’d had enough of its unreliability.
Having had good experiences with Porsche – albeit with an ancient one, which could hardly be called representative of the current crop – I decided to check out the local Porsche dealers for a replacement.
As I was working away in Bath at the time, this meant a visit to Dick Lovett in Swindon, and on the way back home, AFN in Chiswick.

I decided – rather irrationally with hindsight – that the 911 would not be for me. I figured it was too expensive (I wanted a relatively new one), and I was worried about the driveability of an older one. The car would have to be my primary form of transport, so an older SC or Carrera didn’t seem to be all that practical.

That left the 944S2, or the 928. Without trying I discounted the 928 – it was too big, and I really didn’t need the size or the financial obligation such a car would carry.

So it was the 944S2. I didn’t like the look of the coupe, but was dead impressed by the chopped-roof stance of the Cabriolet. So there it was. Did Lovetts or AFN have a 944S2 Cabrio within my budget of £20,000?
Two phone calls – two potential cars.
Before I get on to the driving, the deal, and the ownership of the car (you can guess now that I did, of course buy one of them), I’d best give some background to the 944S2

The S2 designation is important. This signifies the 3.0 litre 4 cylinder engine – a development of the 2.7 in the previous 944, which in itself grew from the 2.5 in the original 944. This is NOT the same engine that existed in 2.0 form in the 924.
The 3.0 litre engine was then the largest capacity four cylinder unit in the world.
To offset the inherent vibration problems such a large capacity four suffers, Porsche employed a counter-rotating balance shaft within the block (an idea adopted by Lanchester in the early 1900s, and patented by Mazda. Apparently, Porsche had to pay Mazda a royalty on each 944 sold because of this feature!)
Much has been said about this unit being based on that of an Audi truck, but that’s just not true of the S2. There are absolutely NO common parts, nor design. So scotch that one right off.

Until the S2 arrived, the ultimate 944 was the Turbo 16 Ventiler (16v) that lasted from late ’88 to 1990. This car produced 250/275 bhp from its turbocharged 2.5 litre four, and was also blessed with cleaned up bodywork. The older and lesser 944s had separate bumpers, and the ghastly (to my eyes) Telephone Dial wheels. (Fuchs wheels were thankfully an option).
The 944 Turbo eschewed that bodywork and wheels, and introduced a smooth front nose piece, and a neater rear bumper. It also included a set of flat face, eight hole 16 inch forged wheels.
Performance wise, the Turbo was the fastest 944 yet, and encroached upon basic 911 speeds, with a 0-60 of less than 7 seconds and a top end of 140 plus mph.

Then in late ’89, Porsche introduced the 944S2, with the aforementioned 3.0 engine. This unit also put out 250 bhp, and provided very, very similar performance to the Turbo.
Crucially, however, it also provided more torque, and the Turbo effectively became redundant.
The S2 adopted and adapted the turbo’s body styling, and also the style of its wheels. Although these were cast on the S2 as opposed to forged on the Turbo. Cheaper, I guess.
Thus the limited and expensive turbo made way for the mainstream S2.

As a final tweak, in 1987, Porsche had contracted the American Sunroof Company to produce a prototype 944 convertible. The sound of that is ghastly, as the 944 coupe does not appear to lend itself well to having its roof cut off. However, the finished result looked stunning, and Porsche duly commissioned a production run.

The conversion involved removal of the roof – and with it the whole rear deck. This deck was then replaced by plastic tops to the rear fenders, and a flat bootlid. Obviously, there was underfloor and bodywork strengthening and stiffening, and a new power hood, and the overall effect was, to my eyes at least, absolutely stunning. It finally laid to rest the 944’s ‘humble’ beginnings in the old 924, and provided a mean looking square-shouldered brute of a car. For the cabriolet, an under-bumper rear spoiler was also introduced. Good looking, but a pain to clean…

I still think the S2 Convertible is the best looking of all the front-engined Porsches – 968 and Club Sports included.

Excellent. This was the one I wanted.

Back to the plot. Lovetts had a dark blue one in stock, and AFN had a metallic blue one. Same year (1991), and same price (£19,995).
I went to see Lovett’s first, and was slightly disappointed. The colour – a very dark straight blue didn’t seem to do it many favours, and its interior - blue ‘Porsche Logo’ cloth was not really appropriate for a car that cost so much money.

AFN’s MUST be better.

Well, AFN’s car was the actual 1991 Motor Show car, and as such had a very high spec – Metallic pearl blue paint, Pearl white painted wheels, blue leather interior – and it looked impressive – if a bit flashy.

So to drive. I’d never driven a modern Porsche before, and this was a true revelation.

What a useless car.
First impressions were poor. The steering wheel had become unstitched, so it was a plastic wheel, with a some leather loosely wrapped round it. The gear lever cover had worn through, leaving a plastic knob with some frayed leather vainly clinging to it, and the interior was grubby and tired. It had only done 35000 miles, but it looked like they’d been very hard-fought miles.

Driving it was no better. The thing lurched off the line because the clutch was almost gone. It pulled so hard to the left under braking that I thought it had a flat tyre, and it tracked so hard to the left under normal driving that I had to grip the (slippery) steering wheel to stop it going off road.
The test drive was all round West London, so there was no chance to exploit its performance, and a good job too! I wouldn’t have wanted to go above 30mph in that heap.
In fairness to AFN, they said they’d get everything fixed should I buy it, but really – is that any way to sell a car?

So. Back at Bath on the following Monday, and I arranged a drive of their car. Lovetts obliged by bringing the car to my rented flat in Bath, and with a friend in the front and the salesman shoehorned in the back, we went for a long drive around the West Country.

This one drove like they should. It had fantastic low range pull, pulling cleanly from 1500 rpm in 5th, and providing very smooth and effective mid range (50 – 80) acceleration in 3rd.
It tracked straight, the gearshift, while never a click-click action due to it’s extremely long linkage (the gearbox (transaxle) is at the back, for perfect 50/50 weight distribution) felt positive and well-oiled.
Traction was superb, and its cornering, handling, and road feel was nothing short of remarkable.

A bend I took at a maximum of 50mph in the 325i could be dispensed with at 70, 75, 80 with absolutely no drama. I daresay it would have gone faster, but I chickened out at 80.

Back to the flat to arrange a deal. The car had covered 47000 miles, and had a full service history from Lovetts themselves.
Importantly, the cambelt had been changed at 46000 miles, along with a major service.

Outside of the showroom, the car looked superb. I realised that it’s initial poor impression was less to do with its own appearance, and more to do with the traffic with which it shared showroom space.
Rubbing shoulders with new 911s and Ferraris will never do it any favours!

I did find a few faults however. It needed a windscreen wiper blade. Its alarm ultrasonics (essential for a soft top) were not working, it wanted a new front tyre, and most expensively, that cloth trim had to go.

The following day, Lovetts called me, and a deal was made. They’d take the BMW (good riddance), retrim the car in blue leather, fix all faults, and deliver it a week later. Excellent.

The service from Lovett in this instance was superb. As they needed to take my BMW a day or two earlier to arrange for the transfer of its number plate, I was left car-less. While this presented no problem for work, the twenty-odd miles to Swindon was rather a long walk.
No problem, Lovetts sent a chauffeur and Mercedes to pick me up on the appointed day!!

I'd decided to pick the car up, as opposed to having it delivered, because I wanted to take full advantage of the dealer - and to drive it straight away. I was paying a lot for this, so I wanted good treatment. And I did get it.
On arrival, the car was parked in front of the showroom doors, and it looked splendid. The straight blue paint looked subtle and far more purposeful than a fancy metallic. The hood cleaned up beautifully, and they had swapped over my vanity plate from the BMW, added a Sony CD player, and given the thing a complete once-over. It was beautifully prepared.
And as a nice touch, the salesman took a photo of me with the car, which they later sent me in a nice frame.
For an important purchase, it is a nice touch to be presented with a reminder.
And it wasn’t a one-off, when I subsequently bought a 911 from the same place, they did the same thing.

The only thing not present was the leather interior. The salesman explained that the car had been booked in for a retrim, but it wouldn’t be for a month, so I’d live with the cloth for a while. To be honest, I was so excited, I barely noticed.

The old Rolls Royce ad about ‘At 60 mph, the loudest noise in the car is the ticking of the clock’ almost applied to this 944. On the drive back to Bath, at 70mph, I was disturbed by a clicking, rattling sound coming from the steering column. Further inspection evealed that it was actually my watch bracelet. Everything else was so tightly and perfectly fitted, that there was not a single creak, groan or rattle anywhere. Testament both to Porsche’s build, and the Sunroof Company’s conversion.

A month later, the car duly went for its retrim, and returned looking even better. By this time, I was used to its performance and handling, and I loved it totally.
After its retrim, I drove home in what I can only describe as a monsoon. I had to drive along the motorway at 25 mph because visibility was so bad, but I swear that absolutely nothing permeated the hood, or the frameless windows. Even 911s leak in those conditions!

I drove and loved that car for 18 months, and would still have it today were it not for the arrival of my son. One trip back from the hospital with your wife cramped up in the back meant it had to go. This was a real blow, and I still lament the loss of the 944.

Drawbacks? Well, there were a few. I paid for one service, which included the replacement of two rear tyres and a tailpipe. Bill? $1700. Thank goodness it only needed one service per year!

Also, the hood mechanism. Opening the roof was a performance in itself.

Firstly, the car had to have its engine turned off, and be in neutral before the hood opening/closing could take place. This was inconvenient, as I would want the roof open when I got back to London, but not on the fast motorway stretches.
That meant I had to pull off the road and park before I could open it, whereas I’d have liked to be able to do it while stopped in traffic.

The procedure precludes that.
1. switch off the engine
2. switch on the ignition
3. open up the centre console
4. remove two T shaped handles from a storage box.
5. fit the handles on spigots in the header rail, and turn through 90 degrees.
6. hit the ‘sunroof’ (really – they didn’t change the switch graphics for the convertible!) button,
7. watch the roof arc back and park.
8. turn the ignition off.
9. remove the ignition key,
10. place the immobiliser key in the dash.
11. remove.
12. wait for three beeps,
13. start engine,
14. drive off.
A bit of a performance to say the least.

The immobiliser is actually the one real problem I had. For a start, it would immobilise the car after it was switched off for twenty seconds. Unfortunately, the roof removal took thirty seconds, hence steps 8 – 12 above.

Also, on two separate occasions, the immobiliser key failed to re-mobilise the car while in a petrol station. This is embarrassing, and extremely inconvenient.
Eventually, Porsche replaced the whole unit under warranty, but the damage to confidence had been done.

This was the ‘Porsche System One’ alarm/immobiliser – factory fitted. If you buy a Porsche with this fitted, do check it out. I’ve had three different Porsches with this system, and every single one has failed and necessitated recovery on a trailer, and replacement at a Porsche dealer. Given that thieves laugh in the face of these things, and know how to bypass them, it’s only owners who are affected!

Immobiliser apart, the car was reliable, practical, great looking, fun, fast, absolutely everything that I’d hoped for.
It has a decent boot - wide, fairly long, but as a consequence of that transaxle, very shallow.
The pop-up headlamps are great to give visibility to the car’s leading edge (useful when parking against a wall).
Rear three quarter visibility is not great, but it’s better than in a 911 cabrio, and all in it really is a great car.

I wouldn’t demean it by calling it an ‘entry-level Porsche’ or a ‘Great Introduction to Porsche Motoring’ as so many people do.
It is not an introduction to a 911, any more than a Honda Civic is a great introduction to an NSX. It is a great car in its own right - a top line GT. And that’s all there is to it.


PS - The cabrio is pictured at the top of this section - despite the caption calling it a coupe...