1994 Porsche 968 Club Sport

[Leins]

Mr Magooagain said:

Only just seen this Leins! That looks like much fun, congratulations.
All the best with it.

Thanks Mr M. It’s VRT inspection day today, but as it’s 30 years old since last month and I can show it’s spent most of its life in the North it should hopefully be a relatively painless task

jay-kay-em said:

Much better

Thanks Jay Need to sort the radio next, hopefully that’s a job I get some time for this weekend

[Leins]

So I’ve managed to dig out a period comparison of the CS with two of its competitors, the RX7 and A6110, both of which had just had price drops when this was published in Car Magazine in December 1993

[trails]

I can remember reading both articles in this thread, lovely looking thing OP. Wheels deffo need to be full red for me though

[Leins]

So the interesting thing for me is that the CS used in that feature had red wheels, as I’m really trying to understand what colour my car originally came on

I was under the impression that the CS had matching wheels by default when the cars were white/red/yellow/blue, so that would then mean white wheels in my case. If you didn’t want those you could optionally select silver finish, which was the default for all other coloured CS

I’m aware the car above was a customer one, not a press car, and had a cage and some trick Pirellis fitted, so there is a chance the wheels were swapped too, but it has opened up a doubt in my mind. As previously mentioned I have mine booked in for a wheel refurb in a couple of months, and while I’m pretty sure I’ll stick with Guards Red, I’d still like to know what it originally came on

I can find nothing in the history or original spec to tell me either colour of wheels or decals, although I believe it started life with its red side script. I have however contacted Porsche Centre Colchester, which is where the car was originally sold through when new (as Lancaster Porsche). Let’s see if someone there can remember it, even though that’s probably unlikely

[Leins]

trails said:

I can remember reading both articles in this thread, lovely looking thing OP. Wheels deffo need to be full red for me though

Thanks trails. I think you’re right and that’s what I’m probably going with when I get them done, as opposed to white!

An aside, I’ve managed to get a reproduction dealer sticker for the back window. However, I’m now in two minds over whether this is a nice touch on the car, or a bit naff. I’ll have a think about it

[trails]

Red will look much nicer than white.

Can you get some Lancaster branded plates instead, first thing I always do with cars is remove all the dealer stickers

[jay-kay-em]

Leins said:

I’m aware the car above was a customer one, not a press car, and had a cage and some trick Pirellis fitted, so there is a chance the wheels were swapped too, but it has opened up a doubt in my mind. As previously mentioned I have mine booked in for a wheel refurb in a couple of months, and while I’m pretty sure I’ll stick with Guards Red, I’d still like to know what it originally came on

All totally correct by my understanding Leins. The BRX cars were originally press cars as per your original picture...



Note that it's cars 290 and 291. RX is the regional identifier for Reading (Porsche Cars GB HQ)

290 was in private ownership by the time that magazine was written and the wheels sprayed red.

290 was used in the first ever publicity shots... with of course white wheels...



No doubt in my mind.

To confirm if you had a silver wheel optioned car, you'll have option code "346" on your boot sticker - just like all VIN code 815 "Sports" have.

[Leins]

trails said:

Red will look much nicer than white.

Can you get some Lancaster branded plates instead, first thing I always do with cars is remove all the dealer stickers

Unfortunately here in Ireland we’re not allowed deviate from the standard plate format, so nothing like that is allowed when I get my new Irish registration in a couple of weeks. However, I can use a mounting plate and I wonder if it’s possible to get Lancaster branded ones. Hmmm…

The other option is to go with this style of mount, given our
reg plates are very similar to German ones. I think I prefer black mounts though

[PRO 5T]

Was 290 the British Motor Show car (I think it ws)? I nearly bought that car years ago (still with white wheels-which I prefer).

[Leins]

jay-kay-em said:

All totally correct by my understanding Leins. The BRX cars were originally press cars as per your original picture...



Note that it's cars 290 and 291. RX is the regional identifier for Reading (Porsche Cars GB HQ)

290 was in private ownership by the time that magazine was written and the wheels sprayed red.

290 was used in the first ever publicity shots... with of course white wheels...



No doubt in my mind.

To confirm if you had a silver wheel optioned car, you'll have option code "346" on your boot sticker - just like all VIN code 815 "Sports" have.

Thanks Jay, that is fantastic background knowledge!

Looks like white or silver then, and given I’ve no “346” option on the sticker it must have been white. Mine doesn’t have many options, it’s a C16 UK car and only has the following listed on the sticker:

- 451: Reduced radio preparation
- 567: Top-tinted windscreen
- 650: Electric sunroof

Also, Porsche Colchester have come back to me with an update. They don’t remember the car, but have looked it up on the system and provided the original specification to me, which pretty much matches what I expected:

020 DOUBLE SCALE INSTRUMENTS
061 ENGLAND VERSION
130 LABELING IN ENGLISH
151 DIFFERENT ENGINE PARTS 968 CS
197 STRONGER BATTERY
211 LICENSE PLATE HOLDER VERS. III
219 BALANCER GEAR
231 BRIDGE.N1/CONTI/MICHEL/PIRELLI/YOKO
272 EXTERIOR MIRROR MANUALLY ADJUSTABLE
384 BUCKET SEAT LEFT
385 BUCKET SEAT RIGHT
398 CUP WHEEL '93 17" (AL)
419 REAR LUGGAGE RACK ANST. H. SEATING.
433 LEATHER STEERING WHEEL ATIWE
465 REAR FOG LIGHT LEFT
466 REAR FOG LIGHT RIGHT
480 6-SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION
492 HEADLIGHT FOR LEFT-LEFT TRAFFIC
564 WITHOUT AIRBAG
595 REAR SPOILER IN CAR COLOR
605 HEADLIGHT DISTANCE ADJUSTMENT
657 POWER STEERING

Glad to see it’s officially a bucket car, but interesting to have the 197 option of a stronger battery included. No idea why this was specified, but I had seen it listed in a previous owner’s notes. Also that they had looked to put a smaller battery in but the clamps were the wrong size. It’s currently got a 75aH battery installed

[Leins]

So out has gone the old mid-2000s Sony headunit, and in its place a new Blaupunkt Frankfurt DAB:



I’ve kept it simple in terms of connectivity, as there are only speakers up front and the aerial, so I haven’t bothered to include the microphone, additional USBs, etc. There is one USB port under the “cassette” flap at the front of the unit, handy for phone charging, but other than that I’ll just be relying on Bluetooth connectivity

Really pleased with it

[RDMcG]

Car looks great and I like the red wheels. Suits the car. I have had three cars with red wheels including my old 997RS:

[Leins]

RDMcG said:

Car looks great and I like the red wheels. Suits the car. I have had three cars with red wheels including my old 997RS:

Thanks RDMcG, it’s a great colour scheme on the 997 too. I actually didn’t realise you’d owned one like that, as thought your 997 was green

In other news I have the car booked in with a specialist in a couple of weeks to check out the clutch issue, and also what I think might be a slight coolant leak. They’re based near the airport, so I’ll drop it off to them before flying to Switzerland for work for a few days, so I’m hoping they get to the bottom of it while I’m away

I also hope in that time that the rain here in Ireland fecks off! I can’t wait to do a proper run up to the likes of Kenmare or Killarney early some morning

[RDMcG]

Leins said:

Thanks RDMcG, it’s a great colour scheme on the 997 too. I actually didn’t realise you’d owned one like that, as thought your 997 was green

In other news I have the car booked in with a specialist in a couple of weeks to check out the clutch issue, and also what I think might be a slight coolant leak. They’re based near the airport, so I’ll drop it off to them before flying to Switzerland for work for a few days, so I’m hoping they get to the bottom of it while I’m away

I also hope in that time that the rain here in Ireland fecks off! I can’t wait to do a proper run up to the likes of Kenmare or Killarney early some morning

Yes. I do have a green 997 but sold the white car to make room for the 991. I grew up in Ireland and have vivid memories of the rusty cars in those days -sympathy about the rain.!.

[Leins]

RDMcG said:

Yes. I do have a green 997 but sold the white car to make room for the 991. I grew up in Ireland and have vivid memories of the rusty cars in those days -sympathy about the rain.!.

Thanks! Speaking of which, many years ago my younger self was on one of our frequent holidays down in West Cork (where I now live) and my father decided to take us all for tea in the quite salubrious Park Hotel in Kenmare. Given it was an event in those days in Ireland to see a new Merc 190 or a 520i, I couldn’t contain my excitement when in rolled to the car park a new white 928 S4

As ridiculous as it sounds, that moment has stuck with me for nearly 40 years, and even though I can’t remember anything about the people in the car, or whatever else was going on at the time, I can still picture vividly that car. It was like the proverbial spaceship arriving in amongst the Bluebirds, Carinas and Jettas

So while I’m not entirely sure exactly why I’m trying to recreate that scene, I’m still planning to head up to the Park Hotel for tea soon for a photo op. Albeit 4 cylinders down on that 928 all those years ago

[RDMcG]

I am sure it will bring back memories!...when I was a kid I don't know that I ever saw a Porsche in Ireland.

[bolidemichael]

I really like it on white wheels as per the original photo shoot.

[rallycross]

Kawasicki said:

I owned a 1991 944 Turbo SE, with the M030 pack. I‘m originally from rural Galway and drove it a lot around Ireland. It was amazingly competent, but could be tricky at the limit.

I actually drove a 968 CS and picked the 944, but maybe I made the wrong choice!

Maybe not, I've had quite a few 944 turbo's including late model SE with the mo30 and a silver rose, also had a 968 sport (not CS but most are exactly the same to drive) the turbo with a little bit extra boost and the lsd and big brakes makes a 968 sport feel a bit feeble, especially on track.

Compared to newer stuff any 944/968 is a lovely thing to enjoy down a twist road, you feel so connected to the car.

[Rumdoodle]

Wonderful car in great condition. That must be terrific fun on the right roads. I had a couple of early 944s many moons ago, loved them and would definitely have another. Front-engined Porsches are brilliant.

[Hitch]

£30k in 1993 would be what, £60k now? Vs a Cayman GTS currently listing at about £90k!

Performance bargain.

Looks lovely.