968's and baby seats!

[Smartie]

Silly question here!

Really fancy a 968CS but would have to be able to take my 19month daughter in it occassionally. Anyone know if a child seat might go in the racaro bucket?

Could be Recaro start style thing?

(I know a sport would work but i want a yellow cs!!)

[david968s]

I don't see why not - the biggest issue is likely to be belt crunch, if the buckle is set quite high. It is possible to get CS's with rear seats, in which some baby seats will fit, but you lose the bucket seats as you need access to the rear.

The best thing to do is to email Recaro uk - email addy should be on their website. James Scott, the MD, is a 968 owner and a daddy. He should be able to tell you. In fact, his CS is for sale, its a great car and he has fitted rear seats etc. The original buckets are available, but he has also fitted one off Recaro leather seats in the front which look great.

[dubbs]

Sorry to thread hijack but a quick question. Looking at geting a 964 in Feb but was originally looking at a 968. I was put off as I was told the 968 can be rather bland to drive on the road compared to a 911. Is this true?

I also need rear seats for the occassional use of my 8 year old step daughter. Do both the sport and CS have them?

[david968s]

Some CS have rear seats, but you can't have the fixed bucket seats in the front if you have rear seats. Sports all have rear seats - fine for smaller kids, but I am not sure your 8 year old would want to spend too long back there. I think there is more room in the rear of a 911, although you can get far more stuff in a 968, they are surprisingly accommodating when it comes to load lugging.

I can't comment on how bland they are to drive compared to 964's, as I haven't driven a 964. I am sure that must have been said by someone who hasn't driven a 968 hard. 968's are almost perfectly balanced and are very confidence inspiring when pushing on - Fast in, fast out as opposed to the suggested driving style for a 911. Point to point down a windy road they are probably quicker than a 911 of similar vintage, for most drivers, but they probably do lack a bit of oomph, and the soundtrack in a 964 is undoubtedly better. 968's are much cheaper to run too.

I would suggest you go and drive both, they are quite different, but both are good Porsches - its easy to be biased towards the car you know best. I have just sold my 968, so I have no need to "big it up" or anything. I also looked at 964's when I was buying, and I would consider them again if I am in the market for another Porsche. Ask the same question on www.porsche968uk.co.uk/phpbb/index.php some guys there know both cars.

>> Edited by david968s on Monday 10th October 10:12

[dubbs]

Thanks for the advice and a swift response David! Lacking oomph... I was thinking of supercharge/turbocharging the engine as a possible solution to that if it was cost effective to do so.

[softinthehead]

dubbs said:

Sorry to thread hijack but a quick question. Looking at geting a 964 in Feb but was originally looking at a 968. I was put off as I was told the 968 can be rather bland to drive on the road compared to a 911. Is this true?

no its not true. but because of the variocam they dont really come alive before 3500-4000rpm so if you wish to proceed in haste you need to make good use of the fairly close ratio gearbox to keep the revs up. below 3000rpm they potter about town, just like other cars (including the 964). beyond 4K rpm they go bonkers. I suspect the epithet "bland" belongs to the driver not the car
not to disrespect the 964 however - a rather different and slightly more hairy chested experience, better engine note, somewhat quicker off the mark, handles differently, on balance a bit more temperamental re handling, also servicing costs, and the interior is, well, fairly basic. Drive both. several times!

[shoestring7]

I've owned a 964C4, a 944turbo and two 968's; a coupe and now a CS. I've also owned various Caterhams and other high performance cars over the years.

IMO the 968's offer one of the finest combinations of performance, style, ride/handling, practicality and value on the market today.

In the 964's favour, it has great straight-line performance and arguably a higher feel-good factor. On the minus side, it can be a very, very expensive maintenance proposition, they are still more expensive to buy, and the ergonomics in rhd cars are hopeless.

However, you need to try before you buy, and not rely on what you've heard.

SS7

[david968s]

dubbs said:

Lacking oomph... I was thinking of supercharge/turbocharging the engine as a possible solution to that if it was cost effective to do so.

I don't think that cost efectiveness can come into it. It's about £5k for the 9M supercharger kit, fitted, but then add on (VAT?) bigger brakes, probably a suspension refresh or upgrade and a top-end rebuild (why spend all that money on a SC unless you are certain the base engine is in top nick?) you are probably looking at closer to £10k. But, if you start with a £10k car or less, for £20k you have an awesome and rare car in great mechanical shape. There would be no point in ever trying to sell it, if cost-effectiveness was a concern!