I bought this car from the original owner in February of 2000 after I'd contested a traffic ticket and won. I was so excited by this small victory that I went to my credit union, got a small loan, and bought this car with a sizable down payment plus a check for $3500. The color is called Amazon Green Metallic, interior is two tone tan and black partial leather with premium sound, 8-way power seats on both sides, 6 speed manual transmission and original books, manuals, tools, etc.

I immediately drove the car home and washed it. Then got some friends and borrowed a digital camera to take pictures. The car needed a little maintenance to get it into top shape so I had a mechanic replace the belts, water pump, thermostat, and power steering rack because it was leaking fluid. Once these were completed the car was absolutely perfect. The torque of the 3 liter engine was incredible and the 6 speed transmission was great fun...the engine pulled with courage in every gear. But there was a huge sequence of events that led up to this point, which go like this...
In 1998 I got my first Porsche, a black 1986 944 coupe with black partial leather interior. It's got a 2.5 liter normally aspirated 8 valve engine making 147 horsepower. Nothing too exciting but the car is solid. There's nothing quite like cruising down the freeway through broad, sweeping bends and feeling how the steering wheel pushes back against your hand like it's communicating to you in a mysterious but intrinsic language.

Like any guy who loves cars I learned of the desire for more horsepower. There's a relatively decent aftermarket for Porsche 944's but nothing to significantly improve engine performance. If you don't mind opening the motor there's the option of a 3 liter crankshaft and connecting rods for 2.8 liter displacement, and later 944 'S' cars came with 16 valves, but these modifications aren't practical for most.

In the early 80's Porsche entered a few 944's into the 24 Hours of Le Mans with one being particularly interesting: the Porsche 944 GTP. This car had a 2.5 liter turbocharged 16 valve engine and spent less time in the pits than any other car that year. It was only natural that Porsche would implement this technology into a road car, and in 1986 the Porsche 944 Turbo was born. 217 horsepower and 254 lb-ft of torque from 2.5 liters, 8 valves, and 0.82 bar of intercooled positive pressure.

The 944 Turbo became an aftermarket tuner's delight because, with 8.0:1 compression, robust electronics for it's time, forged connecting rods and pistons this engine could handle more boost and of course more power. Tuners quickly made increases of 50 horsepower merely with 1 bar of boost and chips to deliver appropriate fueling, then with new turbos and the whole nine yards owners were seeing cars with 300, 350, and even 400+ horsepower becoming mainstream. I wanted one.

I did a lot of research and discovered that Porsche had made some limited 944 Turbo 'S' cars in 1988. These cars used a slightly different turbocharger runnning slightly more boost, bigger four piston calipers, adjustable Koni coilovers and different sway bars, a strenghtened transmission, and some sweet forged 'Clubsport' wheels with big rubber. In 1989 this 247 horsepower Turbo 'S' replaced the standard 217 horsepower Turbo and became one of the world's premier sports cars. I now knew for sure...I wanted one.

I searched several different sources every day for 6 months before finding a black 89 Turbo locally that I could take a look at. I drove up near the state's capital and became acquainted with a 944 Turbo for the first time. The car was very clean with new shiny black paint, a clean partial leather black interior, and a set of performance chips. It was safe to say the car was making 280 horsepower, 300 lb-ft of torque, and wow it felt great. Cruising around town warming up the engine as I usually do allowed me to notice a tauter suspension on this car than on my 944. The brakes were instantly responsive and pulled this car to a stop effortlessly.

The interior felt tight with no creaks or rattles, the shifting mechanism felt like new, the interior as a whole was very nice. There was nothing strange from the gearbox, no smells from the engine, everything seemed the way it should be. Downshifting into third gear on a lonely 2 lane highway was the beginning of an experience I would never forget. If you're unfamiliar with a turbocharged car, or a 944 Turbo for that matter, you'd be surprised at what's going on as the tach needle sweeps past 3500 RPM's. There's this anticipation that can hardly be put into words, very psychological...an eery calm before the storm if you will. The turbocharger begins spinning faster and faster until it's high-pitched whistle becomes dead silent. You fear what's coming next as though you're unfit to have that accelerator pedal to the floor. You begin doubting the person you are, wondering if you're even capable of keeping this impending violence under control. That's how I felt the first time anyway...

And with a smash to the backside and blood rushing from my head I had never seen a little red needle whisp around a tachometer's face with such brilliance and force in my entire life! I'd ridden in my fair share of sports cars prior to this event, but this one was special and entirely unique. The force of this beast can hardly be expressed in words, it's on par with a religious experience that teaches you more about who you are. Incredible.

The car's owner was very kind. He allowed me a few highway passes such as I described [on BOOST] before we headed back to his house. I was very impressed by the performance of the car, it was everything I had been hoping for. But the condition had me second guessing my purchase of this 944 Turbo. The new paint had me concerned the most...I inquired about the accident history, service history, and many other things while I was there. There was something strange lingering in the back of my mind, like I would have big regrets if I bought this car. Nothing to do with the 944 Turbo in general, but this one in particular. After the drive I noticed indicators everywhere that had me questioning the true condition of this car. I told the owner I had to go home to think about it, and so I did.

You can't imagine how tough the decision was not to buy this car. It seemed at first like everything I wanted and I was literally being torn to pieces by the side of me that desired this car so much, and the side telling me that something wasn't right. Eventually I put thoughts of this '951' aside and continued searching for a car that would suit me. I looked for a few more months with very little luck. Was I being too picky, too particular perhaps? Should I settle for something that I don't exactly want or do I hold out for everything to be perfect? I was looking for a car that was in excellent condition but I began having my doubts that I'd find such an object.

It turns out that after a few months of searching I noticed the same 944 Turbo for sale that I'd driven back in december. In the ad it said that the car recently had a valve job. At that moment all my reservations about buying the car were realized, not that I'd known the timing belt was about to break but I was very lucky. The owner said that the belts had recently been replaced so if I'd bought the car, I would not have replaced the belts. The sound of pistons colliding with valves would have played endlessly in my mind and resulted in many sleepless nights. I was indeed very lucky.

With the search for a 944 Turbo approaching a full year I came across an 89 944 Turbo with 72k miles on the east coast. The price was right, the condition sounded right in the ad, so I gave the guy a call. We spoke at length about 944 Turbos in general, the maintenance performed on his car, and his ownership of at least 15 different Porsches throughout his life. In fact he'd owned another 89 Turbo before but sold it to buy a late model 911. He'd recently been searching for a 944 Turbo like I had and after ONE YEAR of looking he bought the car he currently had for sale. 'Truth is,' he told me 'I just hardly ever drive it...in the six months I've owned the car it's only been driven 400 miles.'

Only thing about this car was that it was white. I had my heart set on black. Had I been searching an entire year to buy a car that wasn't exactly what I wanted? Perhaps I was putting too much of a premium on specifics...if the car was in good mechanical condition, and it had a black interior, then I could be satisfied. It took a couple days to arrange for the small loan I needed to buy the car, and when it was all settled I called him up to arrange purchase and delivery of the car. It was sold!! He had received an offer to buy the car from some guy in Minnesota, and he flew there the previous day and bought the car on the spot. I was devastated.

I stopped looking for a 944 Turbo for a few weeks while I recovered from that one. I reasoned that perhaps it was for the better because I probably would have driven the car back across the country and that's a big undertaking. Who knows what kind of problems could pop up on the trip home and there's snow everywhere in mid January. At the time I was working at a tire store 10 miles from where I live. Once in a while I'd see a 944 of some type come in there, and when I saw a turbo I felt like something was missing. I was driving home from work one day when I first laid eyes on it. 'For sale by owner' a small sign read on the windshield. I wonder what they're asking for it? I drove by it every day after work for 2 weeks before stopping to take a look. I knew I couldn't afford it but I just wanted to say that I'd driven one and to know how one felt.

I bet few of you have seen a Porsche 968 in person...it's an incredible car. There were only about 12000 of these cars built and sold between model years 1992 and 1995. They're the final incarnation of the Porsche 924/944 with the best of everything the Porsche factory had to offer. The 968 was the second production car to have a 6 speed manual transmission [BMW 8 series being the first]. It has a 3 liter four cylinder engine [largest production four cylinder on Earth], making 75 lb-ft of torque per liter [the first normally aspirated car to achieve this milestone].

I parked my 944 along the street and walked up the driveway. There was a man who was selling the car for the owner. I told him about my 944 Turbo saga and he understood that I was knowledgable of these cars. I said that I'd have to drive the car to see if it suited me, so he took my driver's license and made a copy inside, then handed me the key. I'd examined the exterior of this car thoroughly already, so I promptly turned the key and unlocked the door. Opening the door and looking inside was an engaging experience.

It smelled like a woman. In fact, the original [current] owner was a lady working for the government and this was her company car?! Apparently they had covered all maintenance expenses for the past 8 years and it showed, this thing was in fantastic shape. So that's where our tax dollars go, toward this 227th in the world Porsche 968. Anyway, the tan and black interior was surprisingly attractive. I could deal with this instead of solid black. I settled into the driver's seat and inspected every minor detail of the car's interior. Putting the key into the ignition and turning it to the accessory position, I proceeded to test every single switch. The 8 way power seats moved in all directions without a hitch, the turn signal stalk had the right feel, the climate control worked at all different fan speeds, recirculation, caution lights, fog lights, head lights, the clock, the temperature display, the sunroof, EVERYTHING! I was reluctant to turn the key and start the car for fear it'd ruin the moment. This car was in fine condition.

When I was convinced that everything in this car was right I turned the key. The 3 liter engine had a presence that I'd never dreamt of. Not only was the starter sound unique but when the engine bursted to life and idled solidly at 900 RPM with a deep tone I was impressed. I allowed the car to idle for a minute just to soak up the experience, turning on the AC to see that it also worked, before cautiously backing the car out of the driveway. I squirted around town with the car allowing it to warm up to operating temperature before experiencing the car at full tilt. I drove it up into the hills of San Mateo and couldn't believe how much torque the engine made. It pulled up hills without even a thought, this thing had twice as much torque as my 944.

At that point I headed toward the freeway, and for the next 20 minutes I indulged myself in an experience I would never forget. This was pivotal as I decided on a whim that I wanted this car. But it was GREEN! I couldn't possibly drive around in a green car, I'd been looking for a black one. Not only that but the odometer indicated 163,500 miles. That's quite high if you ask me but the condition of the car cosmetically and mechanically made the car feel like it was practically new, and the price was about right. I returned with the car and negotiated a price I could afford, then in the next few days arranged for that loan I needed to cover the difference. When I returned I filled out all the papers, handed over the cash and the car was mine. At last, my performance desires had been met with flying colors. I have a passion and appreciation for this car that few other owners can match.