We love Porsche here at Wolf and Mare, especially the rear-engined cars that use engines cooled by air. However, I have a real soft spot for transaxle cars made in Stuttgart, since my first ride in a Porsche was a spin in my Dad’s new (to him) 1978 Porsche 924. Today’s Good Find Friday car, a 1991 Porsche 944 S2, combines this affection with another of mine: P-cars whose interior colors match the exterior finish.

The Porsche 944, produced from 1982 to 1991, is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car with a 2.5-liter inline-four engine in its initial configuration, producing 143 horsepower. It used a transaxle layout, with the engine at the front and transmission at the rear, achieving a near 50:50 weight distribution.

The 944 featured a fully independent suspension with MacPherson struts at the front and semi-trailing arms at the rear. Ventilated disc brakes on all four wheels provided reliable stopping power. Over its production, engine sizes increased, and enhancements were made to both performance and design.

The Porsche 944 S2 was introduced in 1989 and came equipped with a 3.0-liter DOHC inline-four M44/41 engine producing 208 horsepower and 207 lb-ft of torque. It utilized a Bosch Motronic engine management system for optimized fuel delivery and ignition timing. The exterior of the S2 featured a revised front end borrowed from the 951 Turbo with integrated fog lights and a larger air intake. From 1990 on, the only 944 you could buy was a wide-body 944.

A strengthened five-speed manual transmission handled the increased power, and the braking system was upgraded with larger discs. With a top speed of around 150 mph and a 0 to 60 mph time of approximately 6.5 seconds, the S2 delivered significant performance improvements over earlier models.

Today’s car is on offer from a private seller in Bernay, France and was found on the French classifieds site lesAnciennes.com. The asking price is €24,900 or $27,022.

Painted in Cobalt Blue Metallic with a matching cloth interior, this example of Porsche’s swan song to the 944 has only 161,600 kilometers (100,414 miles) on the odometer. Sadly, the photos are very small and have poor resolution, so discerning the condition of the body aside from major issues is quite difficult.

In addition to the 944 Turbo front end, the 944 S2 also received the 951’s rear diffuser and in 1991 its rear spoiler as well. If you can judge the condition of the exterior from the state of the interior, it must be nice indeed. Color-matched cars are not to everyone’s taste, no doubt, but no one ever complains about black on black cars. Why should something like blue on blue be a problem? It’s a rare sight at any car show and it looks stunning and screams the fashion of the period in which the car was built.

Seating surfaces appear to be excellent with no tears or rips in the fabric. The dashboard, a common point of wear due to sun damage, has no visible cracks based on the photos shown.

The 4-spoke steering wheel is what the factory fitted, and many consider it to be one of the ugliest wheels Porsche ever designed. I say hogwash. It’s a good looking wheel that matches the design of the interior on this car perfectly. Thank goodness the owner had the good sense to resist the foolish urge to fit a Momo wheel.

The 3-liter engine is solid and reliable, but suffers from leaks over time. Interested parties should inquire as to the date of the last timing belt change, whether the cam chain was changed, the last time the tensioner pads were inspected, the water pump was replaced, etc.

Fortunately, the seller mentions the transmission was recently opened and rebuilt. I’d be curious to know what the state of the clutch was at that time, as they have some reliability issues.

The performance of the 944s suspension benefits from a rear anti-roll bar and 16-inch wheels with staggered sizes front and rear. Most of the photos are of the interior, with no closeups of the wheels, suspension, or underbody of the car, important areas to ensure are rust-free and solid.

The Cup 1 wheels appear to wear a chrome finish in the photos, sadly, but silver painted versions or the original style Design 90s can be obtained. The market doesn’t love chrome wheels on P-cars, so this could be a bargaining point.

So this car — with its unusual and surely rare color combination — is a good find but is it a good deal? Well, in my opinion good deals are hard to find these days with the plethora of real-time market data available to nearly every seller.

The average value of a Porsche 944 S2 is around $23,300 based on data from 58 sales over the last 5 years on Classic.com. Condition and mileage are the primary factors driving some of the outlier values that affect the average. It may be tempting to look at recent below-the-line results and infer a declining market, but it would appear that most of those cars were average cars, not exceptional ones. Most owners think their cars are worth more than they actually are, not less.

The cost of importation is a factor for those of us on this site of the pond, of course. Fortunately, the S2 is gaining in popularity and value as the 944 Turbo becomes a darling among the Porsche community, and the 944 overall is very stable in regard to values. If I were seeking a 944, I’d be strongly considering this car or one like it.

What do you think? Is this car a good buy or good bye?

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisal and auction services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. We also provide importation services. Give us a call or drop us a line!