1993 Porsche 968 Coupe driving impressions

This feature analyzes the Porsche 968, the last of Porsche’s front-engined sports coupes, the final development of the 924/944/944 Turbo model line. Factory insiders say the 968 was Ferry Porsche's favorite car to drive, a notion gleefully repeated by the 968 community whenever possible. Launched with great expectations in 1992, sales simply never took off. Road tests at the time found virtue with the 968's handling and overall balance, but noted that its Japanese rivals heavily outgunned it in the horsepower department. The 968 faded out of production in 1995, after Porsche produced only 12,775 examples worldwide.  Yet as time has gone on, this car has aged well. Many of them are still on the road, and appreciation for the 968's balanced chassis and torquey power plant has grown with enthusiasts. In this feature, Alltuner explores how good it really is.....

Click here for 968 coupe full specifications

Dimensionally, a 968 is similar to a Honda S2000; an interesting fact because the two look very different in person. The S2000 seems so much smaller, but it really isn't.

Wheelbase:  Porsche 94.5 in., Honda 94.5 in.
Height:  Porsche 50.2 in., Honda 50.0 in.
Width:  Porsche 68.3 in., Honda 68.9 in.

The Porsche is longer at 170.1 inches vs.162.2 though, plus the front and rear tracks differ significantly between the two cars due to different philosophies in drivetrain placement and suspension configuration.

The Car -

The particular example driven in this road test is a 1993 6-speed coupe, with 126,000 miles on its original engine. It’s a lifetime never-wrecked California car. The engine is original and not rebuilt, and was treated to a recent service going-thru; meaning a new water pump, belts, hoses, fuel and oil filters, as well as a new radiator. It has freshly cleaned and balanced fuel injectors courtesy of RC Engineering. New Koni shocks and fresher front springs from a 40,000 mile car have been fitted, as well as a lightweight exhaust from 968 specialist RSBarn which frees up a full 37 lbs. of curb weight. Additionally, it sports some minor modifications to the factory airbox to increase air flow.

All 968's came with the same engine, the 3.0 liter naturally-aspirated M44/43 4-cylinder. It is a DOHC 4-valve version of the 944’s original 2.5L SOHC engine.  It features VarioCam variable valve timing as well as a variable resonance intake manifold; items that were definitely advanced technology when the 968 debuted in 1992.

Let's be clear, 3.0 liters is a colossal displacement for a four cylinder. In fact, the only modern 4-cylinder to ever outsize it in a passenger car was the incredibly heavy and totally unloved 3.2L 4-cylinder used in the 1961 Pontiac Tempest. You’ve never heard of that engine? That’s because it was almost as heavy as the 389 V-8 and barely wheezed out half the power.

The 968 engine puts out 236 bhp @ 6,200 rpm and 225 lb-ft. of torque at 4,100 rpm. Compression is a relatively high 11.0 to 1, and its pistons are a full 104mm (4.09 in.) in diameter. Stroke is 88mm (3.46 in.). Porsche’s Variocam variable valve timing certainly helps with the low end torque production, advancing intake cam timing above 1,500 rpm and retarding it back at 5,500 rpm to give the best possible combination of low end torque and high rpm horsepower numbers. Variocam was also a clever way for engineers to tackle ever tightening emission standards through optimized cam timing.

The 3.0L M44/43 has two belt-driven balance shafts, which help cancel out secondary vibrations. Although Porsche originally designed its own balance-shaft system for the 944/968 engine family, it actually ended up licensing a Mitsubishi design to save money on R&D and production. Regardless, the M44/43 runs smoothly but is impossible to mistake for anything but a large four. It revs freely up to and past its 6,200 rpm power peak, with a very flat torque curve. It doesn’t have saggy low end performance like some smaller fours, nor does it have the snarling high rpm fizz of Honda’s excellent VTEC engines. It just starts off with a snort  from idle and relentlessly picks up speed to redline.

On the move, most drivers will feel a slight kick at just above 5,000 rpm, likely due to the Variocam retarding cam timing at that point. Other than that, the 968’s flat torque curve and power delivery is so linear that it may be too clinical for those expecting high-rpm fierceness or tire-frying torque. It's capable and effective, but not wildly full of character. It does help the car pick up speed with deceptive quickness though. Winding it through 3rd gear soon results in 90mph…and you still have 3 gears left.

Drivers looking for soul-stirring engine sounds should look elsewhere. There's no symphony here folks, just a hard-edged 4-cylinder growl turning borderline thrashy as the redline approaches. On the efficiency front, this 3.0L four offers quite good fuel economy; 25 mpg highway is not out of the question. Of course, blazing around town full throttle drops fuel mileage into the mid-teens, but frankly that's an acceptable figure in a performance sports coupe.

The front-engined 968, features a torque tube and a rear-mounted transaxle drivetrain arrangement. The engine, torque tube and transaxle are all connected in one rigid unit, contributing to excellent rigidity and weight distribution.

The manual transaxle is a Getrag G40/50 6-speed, which is unique to the 968. It’s equipped with well-spaced ratios and a direct, positive shift linkage. Porsche went with a 6-speed gearbox instead of a 5-speed largely due to marketing pressures at the time. This gearbox is a robust unit which can tolerate big power increases from custom turbocharged applications or Chevrolet V-8 swaps. An open differential came standard, with a ZF limited slip differential optional. Gear ratios are well-spaced, and combined with the excellent torque curve, the 968 exhibits great versatility. It isn’t a car where busily rowing the lever to keep the engine on the boil is necessary.

The shift linkage is comprised of a long rod traveling straight into the transaxle casing, and as mentioned before it performs with very little slop or play. The shift knob itself weighs over a pound (!), which definitely contributes to the “rifle-bolt” nature of gear changes. The 968’s flywheel uses a dual mass design, which helps to quell engine vibrations and gear noise.....although it cannot be resurfaced and is expensive to replace. Lastly, the easily modulated clutch makes rev-matching downshifts smooth and easy to perform.

968s also had an automatic transmission option, the A44/00 4-speed Tiptronic unit. This features a tried and true torque-converter design with some special tricks. The transmission’s electronic control unit is integrated with the engine’s Motronic control unit and several lateral-force sensors, all of which collaborate to choose from 5 available shift maps. These shift maps span from mild boulevarding to highly aggressive sport type driving, depending on driver inputs. The A44/00 Tiptronic also features a manual mode, where the driver slips the lever over to the right and “tips” the lever forward or backward for upshifts or downshifts. Once again, that’s commonplace technology today but it was bleeding edge in 1992. Driving impressions for the A44/00 automatic are not available here.

Anyone who has worked on a 1977 Porsche 924 would recognize the 968's suspension setup at a glance. It's essentially the same basic design front and rear, albeit with upgrades through the years. In front, the 968 features MacPherson strut type shocks, aluminum lower A-arms, coil springs and an anti-roll bar. The rear suspension features semi-trailing arms, torsion bars, tube shocks and an anti-roll bar.

A Porsche hallmark for its cars has always been that they stop as good as they go, and it’s no different here. Fitted with 4-piston calipers and ventilated discs all around, it's a proven setup. Powerful and progressive, the brakes are very reassuring to use. The pedal pressure is just right, as is the amount of travel. They're so good that they’re hard to describe; the brakes do exactly what you need them to do without any undue drama. Describing bad braking systems is so much easier, the deficiencies jump out at you and leave you grumbling for improvements. Not with this car though, the brakes simply integrate into the overall package. The standard Bosch ABS system does an excellent job of controlling wheel lockup without excessive pedal kickback.

The aggressive suspension and brake option for the 968 was the M030 package. It came with height adjustable coil-over shocks, thicker anti-roll bars and stiffer springs. The M030 option also meant a bigger brake package from the period 911 C2 Turbo, meaning huge Brembo calipers and perforated discs all around. With its status as a track-ready suspension option, M030 optioned cars are relatively rare but highly desirable as a basis for a competition car. There are penalties for this track-savvy setup though. Period road tests of M030 cars revealed a ride quality somewhere between barely streetable and utterly spine-crushing. In a new-car review of a 1992 M030 968, Jeremy Clarkson described the ride quality as "horrid" and "a pain in the neck", despite fantastic handling capabilities. The video link to that road test is below, but don't hold me responsible for your reaction to Clarkson's hair.

Watch Clarkson's 968 review here on Youtube

The steering system is a power assisted rack and pinion. No fancy tricks, just solid engineering using a responsive rack with hydraulic assist. At low speeds, it reminds you that this car was built with the autobahn in mind. It's a little dull and lazy at low speeds and exhibits moderate play off-center. It all snaps into focus once you pass 30 mph or so, then the steering feels accurate and predictable without being overeager or twitchy. Small corrections are easily made. The power assist, while heavy at low speeds is just right when your velocity increases a bit. It's quite easy to drive this car with two fingers at 70+ mph. It's all very relaxed with no rough edges. On twistier roads, the steering remains smooth and accurate, progressive and linear….quite a joy. It has decent feedback, although not on the level of a manual-rack 911.

One area where the 968 is completely superior to period 911s is in ergonomics. The 968’s spacious cabin has a high center console providing good armrest comfort. There is ample footroom, meaning no offset pedal cluster or wheel well intrusion. Vision is good all around, except for the rearward ¾ view which is obstructed by the sizable C-pillar. The gauge cluster is typical Porsche, meaning logically laid out and easy to read. Switches for items such as power windows, mirrors and wipers are scattered haphazardly about the cockpit; some on the dash, some on the console, and some on the doors. Accessing it all requires a little learning and remembering. The bi-polar switchgear placement is a sign of times past, when the company was in dire financial straits and its very survival was in question. Thus, it's understandable that Porsche engineers tacked on interior controls wherever they could instead of engineering expensive interior panel re-designs.

A few of the interior controls are downright mysterious though. For example, I defy anyone to find the odometer reset button without consulting the owner’s manual. If you do find it, don't reset it when the car is moving or you will likely strip the plastic gears it runs on and have to replace them. Another example involves the HVAC. There’s no problem changing temperature or fan speed with the control knobs. However if you want to change vent operation, you will need the owner’s manual to tell you exactly how those two slidey vent control things operate. Once you’ve passed that curriculum, you will discover the HVAC is powerful and does a very good job. The air conditioning blows nicely cold, something that was a challenge for German manufacturers in the past. The heater is predictably effective, blasting like a furnace to combat frigid German winters.

Power mirrors are easily adjusted via one switch and a small knob. The power windows work well enough albeit at a glacial pace. All 968 coupes come with a removable sunroof, something not apparent upon casual inspection. It can either angle upwards a few degrees for some fresh air, or be removed entirely using a multi-step procedure. A somewhat grumpy feature of all the 944-968 series cars is the glass rear hatchback. It’s made out of a huge piece of tempered glass which is clamped into a metal frame to form the hatch assembly. Unfortunately, Porsche used a spectacularly ineffective method of sealing the hatch glass to the frame, meaning the top edge can and will degrade to the point of leaking water inside of the car. It can be removed and re-sealed by experienced glass shops, the only other options being to find a used replacement hatch (rare), or buy one directly from Porsche…..for about $5,000.

The 968 provides a good driving position despite the lack of a tilt or telescoping steering wheel. Taller drivers may complain about the steering wheel brushing their knees, a common issue in earlier 944s as well. Outward vision is very good as mentioned before, and the power driver’s seat provides a multitude of adjustments. Tall drivers will appreciate the ample headroom. The car has decent cargo space, albeit with the obligatory tiny rear seats which are fit only for storing small watermelons or humans under 4 feet tall. The rear seats do fold down, which increases the cargo area in back.

The Drive -

Considering that the test car had 125,000 miles, a clutch of unknown age and an open rear differential, I figured there was no reason to do any dragstrip type launches. Once underway, the it’s up to you as the driver to decide how you want the shifts to go. You can bang them off as fast as you can, sending jolts of drivetrain force through the bodystructure, or you can slow things down a smidge and reward yourself with much smoother changes of gear. Not much of a hesitation is required to butter it up, just a half-second or so. The dual mass flywheel is a big, heavy thing (30.2 lbs) and it needs some time to spin down during shifts. Besides, shifting it smoothly makes you look like a better driver to whomever needs impressing in the passenger seat.

The body structure is impressively stiff. Closing the doors results in a big heavy 'boom' instead of the rattly 'pong' that you get with more mass-produced vehicles. No big shudders or harmonics are felt in the body over harsh bumps, they simply get absorbed by the suspension. It transitions nicely side to side, and maintains excellent stability in fast sweepers. This car has 50/50 weight distribution like many other sports cars, but with the relatively short wheelbase, wide track, and rear mounted transaxle, it’s very versatile and chuckable. That transaxle in back is great fun to work with; its weight swings the rear-end around enthusiastically when asked and power can be put down very early in low speed turns. These characteristics give the 968 a highly dynamic presence from the cockpit, and make you look like a hero when driving it. Towards the limit it corners with a very neutral attitude, gradually transitioning into understeer. There is mild to moderate body roll, which can be dialed out with the addition of the optional M030 sway bars that are a popular upgrade to standard suspension 968s.

Slicing through backroads is very rewarding. Abrupt maneuvers such as suddenly jumping out of the throttle or taking a big hack at the steering wheel simply result in an adjustment to your line and that’s it. It would take some fairly irresponsible decisions to spin this car off the road.

When scooting along in the twisties, the driver has a number of options available about what kind of pace he or she wants to set. For example, you can zip along at 40mph in three different gears; 2nd has you right in the meat of the power band at 4,500 rpm, 3rd is more relaxed giving you 3,100 rpm, and 4th gives you 2,300 rpm with a serene, grand touring type pace. Not all cars have this type of versatility.

When the speedometer needle gets deeper into the numbers, the 968 remains stable and easy to drive….particularly if you’re on smooth roads. However, if you approach triple digits on a road with a high crown you will become a busy little bee. The 968 is a bit of a tramliner, and will follow road imperfections in these situations as speeds increase. Even at normal speeds it will zig a bit as it follows uneven pavement, so pay attention to tire pressures and alignment settings to minimize this naughty habit. I think in the old days, the British called it “character”.  This particular car’s optional 17” wheel package (up from the standard 16s) no doubt amplifies the behavior, but it is common across the model range.

For all the good dynamics, the 968’s model heritage results in a few minor penalties. Number one is road noise. This basic body shell and drivetrain design shares its design roots with the early seventies 924, and no matter how much development Porsche has given it since then, lots of road noise still exists. Interestingly, 928 owners report the same. In the 968 coupe, the lion’s share of it comes from the rear, with a persistent roar from the rear tires as well as noise over various types of pavement. 968 Cabriolet owners report less of this, likely due to the more enclosed nature of the Cabriolet’s folding top mechanism. Road imperfections such as broken pavement or rumble strips announce themselves enthusiastically through the chassis. Riding over a collection of Bott’s dots in the road treats you to resounding ka-thunk! ka-thunk! ka-thunk! noises from every tire that encounters them. It’s not just noticeable, its LOUD. This car also has relatively high levels of wind noise, something that perhaps only seems excessive at this point in its life….as the superior aerodynamics of many of today’s cars have eliminated most of those sounds from the driving environment.

The 968 has always enjoyed a small but enthusiastic following. Its all-around performance, ergonomics, and utility make it a very attractive alternative to a 911. Its relative simplicity also makes it an option to the bigger but far more complicated 928. With the vast majority of used 968’s available under $15,000, it’s a great way for first time Porsche owners to experience the marque.

Ownership -

With proper maintenance, the  M44/43 engine is remarkably durable and quite capable of high mileages. Engine builders report that the stock crankshaft rotating assembly is good for 8,000 rpm, although the factory redline for the engine stands at a more reasonable 6,700 rpm.  The M44/43 engines are robust and over-engineered for strength as was standard practice before Porsche’s CAD/CAM design strategy took over.

These engines do require regular replacement of the cam and balance shaft belts, and it’s can be a good idea to replace the water pump “while you’re in there”. The factory recommendation for belt replacement is 5 years or 45,000 miles, but owners who heavily track or autocross their cars often stick to a 3 year/36,000 mile plan for this maintenance. The M44/43 is an interference design, meaning a broken or stripped cam belt will likely result in bent valves or other expensive damage. There’s also a multitude of gaskets and seals to keep an eye on, as this engine can show oil leaks from various places over time. Very few of those leaks end up being catastrophic, but some do require significant disassembly to fix…something that will keep your local Porsche specialist in business.

Another area requiring regular inspection is the Variocam system. The camshaft drive is a two stage system, meaning the cam belt drives just the intake camshaft, which in turns drives the exhaust camshaft by an internal chain. This chain rides on plastic guide ramps which the Variocam system moves upward or down depending on its position in the rpm range, thus changing the intake cam timing. Over time those plastic chain ramps have proven susceptible to grooving and even breaking up altogether. A This can result in anything from abnormal wear to actual broken teeth on the cam chain sprockets. The cam sprockets themselves weren’t designed by Porsche to be removable…so owners will be on the hook for an entire new pair of camshafts if they are damaged. A few shops in the US can reportedly remove and replace the cam sprockets at significant savings, provided broken sprocket teeth haven’t damaged other parts of the engine. The upside is that the chain ramps can be easily inspected for wear by a competent shop, and prudent owners have this inspection done on a regular basis.

Replacing connecting rod bearings is a common tactic to increase the longevity of the bottom end of these engines, something easily accomplished with the engine in the car. Rod bearing replacement is widely considered to be a regular maintenance item in cars that are autocrossed or heavily tracked. It does require the removal of the lower subframe assembly, which is no simple task, but an aftermarket subframe with a removable center section is available.

Although otherwise regarded as bulletproof, one manual transaxle reliability issue reported by some owners is the premature failure of the rear-end gear. This malady is traced back to an incorrect pre-load setting placed on a pinion bearing during manufacture. Initially announcing itself as a high pitched whine from the transaxle, it inevitably leads to rear ring gear failure. The pinion bearing flaw typically appears in cars with relatively low mileages. Most affected cars should have enjoyed transaxle replacements or rebuilds by this point in time. Cars that cover 100,000+ miles with no symptoms are considered free of the pinion bearing issue. All in all, if you’re test-driving a 968 and you hear jet engine type sounds from the rear hatch area, beware…

968s also have a less than robust sunroof mechanism, with plastic drive gears that can strip their teeth and finicky motors that require precise adjustment. As mentioned previously be aware of the rear hatch glass assembly, because the factory seal at the top edge will degrade to the point of leaking which necessitates a re-sealing procedure. Be sure that the glass shop performing the work has experience with this particular procedure on 944s or 968s. If it breaks, a replacement hatch will somehow have to be found from a Porsche recycle yard or bought new for a tidy five grand from Porsche itself.

Other than the above mentioned issues, these robust cars only really need the same older-car maintenance that can be expected on any vehicle of this age. Power steering pumps and racks require periodic replacement, gauge lighting can grow dim over time. Old bushings, the odd trim piece, and an electrical glitch here and there will need fixing, but not much else. They are well made cars that have gone into their second decade of life with good reliability and the ability to continue gobbling up miles.

Not long after its introduction, Porsche enthusiasts learned that the 968’s engine is difficult to tune for more power, aside from expensive custom turbocharging setups. Initial tuner shop attempts at exhausts and chips often resulted in a decrease of overall power. As time has gone on though, a few specialists have managed to wring some extra ponies out of the M44/43.

Aftermarket DME chip upgrades are available from RSBarn and Promax. These have proven to make gains across the rev-range.

Aftermarket cat-back exhausts are available from BBexhaust and RSBarn, both free up the exhaust note considerably and add a few horsepower. Both are considerably lighter than the stock system.

For more extensive engine upgrades, RSBarn in Pennsylvania leads the way with custom engine rebuilds as well as various camshaft profile regrinds, modification tailored software, and a custom fabricated header.

Suspension-wise, a solid number of options exist from various manufacturers. Springs, shocks, custom coil-overs, bushings, and the like are all available. The most popular upgrades are listed below, many of the same manufacturers offer extensive race-oriented upgrades if that’s what the owner desires.

Potential owners should note that upgrades for M030 optioned cars are NOT usually transferable to non-M030 cars, due to differences in spindle dimensions, braking systems, etc. One exception to this is the M030 anti-roll bars, which are a viable upgrade to standard suspension cars.

The information below is specifically for cars with standard factory suspension.

Front springs: H&R, Eibach, Hyperco
Rear torsion bars: Sway-A-Way, Pelican Parts, Automotion
Front shocks: Koni
Rear shocks: Koni, Bilstein
Coilover packages: H&R, CROSS, Ground Control, LEDA
Anti-roll bars: Weltmeister, Tarett Engineering, Kokeln, Porsche factory M030
Custom suspension bushings: Kokeln, Elephant Racing, Weltmeister, Tarett Engineering, Racer’s Edge, RSBarn
Strut tower and chassis braces: KLA, Brey-Krause, Kokeln, Design 1 Racing, RSBarn
Adjustable camber plates: Racer’s Edge, Kokeln, Tarett Engineering

Brakes are upgradeable as well, many of the big-brake kits offered are factory Porsche-Brembo kits.
Brake pads: KFP, Textar, Jurid/Bendix, Mintex, Pagid, BHP, Hawk, PBR-Axxis
Brake rotors: Zimmerman, Brembo
Stainless steel brake lines: RSBarn, Weltmeister, Pelican Parts
Big brake kits: Brembo-Porsche

Performance wheels are available for the 968, but with the uncommon 5 x 130 bolt pattern, one must do some research to make sure the fitment is correct. Wheels from other Porsches such as the Boxster, some years of the 911, and the 928 are applicable. Wheel Enhancement carries most if not all of the applicable factory styles. as are fitments from BBS, SSR, and custom wheel manufacturers such as HRE, CCWheel, and others.

Not much exists in the way of bodykits or aerodynamic upgrades for the 968, but American International Racing does stock a racing 968 derived rear spoiler and front splitter. The same front splitter is available from companies in Europe, some searching is required to turn up who may have them.

While the 968 may not have the galaxy of performance product suppliers that the 911 enjoys, there is enough to cover the wants and needs of most enthusiasts.