Porsche 944

First printed in hardback format in 2001. First published in ebook format November 2011 by Veloce Publishing Limited, Veloce House, Parkway Farm Business Park, Middle Farm Way, Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 3AR, England. Fax 01305 250479/e-mail [email protected]/web www.veloce.co.uk or www.velocebooks.com.

Ebook edition ISBN: 978-1-845844-76-9

Hardback edition ISBN: 978-1-903706-02-2

© Brian Long and Veloce Publishing 2011. All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purpose of review, no part of this publication may be recorded, reproduced or transmitted by any means, including photocopying, without the written permission of Veloce Publishing Ltd. Throughout this book logos, model names and designations, etc, have been used for the purposes of identification, illustration and decoration. Such names are the property of the trademark holder as this is not an official publication.

Readers with ideas for automotive books, or books on other transport or related hobby subjects, are invited to write to the editorial director of Veloce Publishing at the above address.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data – A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Typesetting, design and page make-up all by Veloce Publishing Ltd on Apple Mac.

Introduction & Acknowledgements

The 944 was introduced to fill the gap between the other two front-engined, water-cooled models in the Porsche catalogue - the 924 and 928. Introduced in time for the 1982 model year, at first glance, the new vehicle looked similar to the 924, but had the advantage of being powered by a 2.5 litre engine that was pure Porsche.

The 944 quickly became the fastest-selling Porsche of all time, and in 1985 a turbocharged model joined the range; a little while later, the 944 line-up was augmented by the 16v 944S. Major changes occurred in 1988 following the demise of the 924S, with a complete reshuffle for the 944 range which got bigger engines and more power.

After a lengthy gestation period, a soft-top 944 eventually found its way into Porsche showrooms, and gradually the standard 944 was phased out, leaving only the Turbo and the S2 in coupé and convertible forms. Ultimately, production of the 944 series ended in mid-1991, and the 968 took it’s place.

This book follows the development of the 944 from drawing board to replacement in summer 1991, along the way looking at both European and North American markets. It is the full story of this highly-respected machine from Stuttgart.

* * *

As always, the factory in Stuttgart has been extremely helpful in supplying information and photographic material. As with the other Veloce Porsche titles written by the author, the vast majority of pictures have been sourced from the works’ archives or original brochures.

Of the many people who have helped with this project, in particular I would like to thank my friend, Klaus Parr, the archivist at Porsche AG, and his able assistant, Jens Torner. Having visited many archives in the past, I can honestly say that there are very few which can compete; my life would certainly be much easier if all car companies kept their historical records in such good order.

Brian Long

Chiba City, Japan

1

THE PORSCHE STORY

Professor Ferdinand Porsche had worked for Lohner, Austro-Daimler, Daimler (which soon after became Daimler-Benz) and Steyr, and in Germany had an unrivalled reputation as a designer.

After leaving Steyr, Ferdinand Porsche felt the time had come to establish his own company. Registered in April 1931, a design studio was set up in Stuttgart with a team of hand-picked engineers and designers. This team included Porsche’s son, Ferry, who was then just 21 years old.

A pre-war catalogue picture for the Porsche-designed Volkswagen, or People’s Car.

Ferry Porsche inherited much of his father’s natural flair for engineering and, although he wanted to become a racing driver, his father soon put a stop to his aspirations in this direction. This is perhaps fortunate for, without Ferry Porsche, the company, as it exists today, would never have evolved, and neither would the vehicles recognized as the ‘true’ Porsches.

As Germany’s Chancellor, Adolf Hitler was, naturally, very supportive of German industry, and financed the Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union racing programmes to show the world the strength of German engineering. The highly-successful Auto Union V16 Grand Prix car was a Porsche design, of course, but it was the Volkswagen project that provided the basis for the Porsche success story. The Volkswagen was also financed by the Nazi Party - a blessing at the time, but something which caused problems later.

One of the three Type 64 racers built for the proposed Berlin-Rome marathon of 1939. However, the event was cancelled following the outbreak of the Second World War.

Just as Hitler was approving the final plans for the Volkswagen, the Second World War broke out. During the hostilities, Porsche and his team were moved to the Austrian village of Gmünd, and there they produced many designs, including those for a number of tanks. Because of his ‘links’ with the Nazi leader, Professor Porsche was arrested and interrogated by the Allied authorities following the war, but was promptly released. After this, he went to Renault and, whilst there, Porsche and his son-in-law were arrested and imprisoned by the French on war criminal charges, with a ransom of one million francs. Ferry Porsche had also been imprisoned for a short time, but his sister had managed to negotiate his release.

However, the Porsche offices in Stuttgart were occupied by the US Army, and Ferry Porsche had little chance of raising the ransom money repairing ex-Army VWs. By an amazing stroke of luck, Porsche was approached by Carlo Abarth (the famous engine tuner) and Piero Dusio, a rich Italian industrialist who, among other things, wanted to build a Grand Prix car.

The Cisitalia, as it was known, drew heavily on the pre-war Auto Union designs, and was very complex. The project was destined to fail, sadly, as escalating costs put a potentially successful car out of the reach of even Dusio’s wealth. Nonetheless, it did provide Ferry Porsche with enough money to free his father.

The Cisitalia drew heavily on an earlier Porsche design - the V16 Auto Union of pre-war days. A very complex piece of machinery, it was powered by a flat-12 engine with a dohc set-up on each bank of cylinders and twin superchargers.

The professor was allowed back to Austria in August 1947, but died less than four years later. His health had never been the same following his imprisonment, but at least he was able to see his son develop a new car bearing the family name.

The legendary 356

Design work on the Type 356 sports car had begun in Gmünd after Ferry Porsche decided that his small company should contruct a vehicle based on Volkswagen components (fortunately, the British had managed to revive the VW factory after the war). The first drawing was dated 17 July 1947, just one month after the project was instigated.

The first chassis was completed in March 1948 and fitted with a prototype open body two months later. The spaceframe chassis on Number One was well designed, but unsuitable for cost-effective series production as it was very labour-intensive to build.

The engine was a tuned 1131cc Volkswagen unit, mounted back to front to give good weight distribution. Unfortunately, it took up too much space to allow for any more than two seats. A number of other problems were encountered with this set-up and, from the second car onwards, the engine was mounted in traditional Volkswagen fashion on a sheet steel platform chassis.

Number One was taken to the European Grand Prix in Switzerland to allow journalists to try the car, and it was at this meeting that Porsche met Rupprecht von Senger, who was particularly enthusiastic about it. Von Senger and his partner agreed to buy the next four cars, and also proved very helpful in getting supplies from Wolfsburg to Gmünd.

Porsche Number One pictured in Gmünd in 1948, with Rudolf Ruhrl (Hans Stuck’s old race mechanic) at the wheel.

The second car was a coupé, completed in August 1948. Aerodynamics were very good and, combined with the lack of openings at the front and the seamless construction of the body, meant that the Porsche was capable of some very high speeds for such a small-engined car.

Announced during the summer of 1948, the car’s public debut was scheduled for the Geneva Show in 1949. It wasn’t long before a 1086cc capacity was chosen, allowing the cars to compete in the 1100cc Class at international level. In the meantime, in mid-September 1948, Porsche sealed a deal with Volkswagen securing the supply of parts (VW was now back in German hands, headed by the capable Heinz Nordhoff), as well as the use of the Volkswagen dealer and service network.

The Gmünd cars were completely hand-built, their aluminium bodies beaten into shape, as there simply wasn’t the money available to tool up. According to Ferry Porsche, 46 cars were built at Gmünd between June 1948 and March 1951. However, figures vary wildly between sources, with most quoting 50 or 51 vehicles.

Serious production began early in 1950 when the firm moved back to Stuttgart. The Porsche site was still being used by the Americans at the time, so the factory belonging to Porsche’s neighbours - the Reutter body works - was used initially. Reutter had already been given the contract to build new steel bodies for Porsche in November 1949, and an area was set aside for the motor manufacturer.

The first steel-bodied Porsche was completed in April 1950. There were a number of subtle differences to the Gmünd alloy cars, but they were indeed subtle. In fact, mild and constant updating was to become a feature of Porsche production through the years, as the company preferred to introduce new models that were evolutions of the out-going vehicle. Even competition Porsches were largely based on production cars during these early days.

At the 1950 Paris Show, an ailing Ferdinand Porsche held talks with Max Hoffman and others to try and get the 356 into America. By the end of 1950, he was gravely ill, and he died a national hero in January 1951.

In the meantime, in December 1950, a small design and management office was purchased near the Reutter works, and a racing shop was attached with just enough room for two cars and four mechanics. The Stuttgart concern had a staff of 108 at the time, with planned production of around ten cars per month. In the event, this target was easily doubled, and nearly 300 Porsche 356s were built in the year. The 500th German-built 356 was driven out of the works in March 1951, and just five months later the 1000th 356 left the factory.

The key staff at Gmünd (from left to right): Karl Rabe, Erwin Komenda and Ferry Porsche. Note the 356 model in the foreground.

By March 1951, 1283cc engines were available, and a 1488cc unit followed in October. Although the 1100 engine continued until the end of 1954, there were fewer sales of the smaller capacity models, especially in America, a market that was already very important to the company.

An early 356 coupé in the heat of competition. Many of the earlier cars found their way onto race tracks, or took part in other forms of motorsport, such as rallying and hillclimbing.

In September 1952, the 1500 gave a refined 55bhp, while the roller bearing engines giving 70bhp became known as the 1500 Super. Other important revisions carried out during 1952 included dropping the old two-piece windscreen, although the distinct V-shape remained until 1955. Stronger bumpers, now moved further away from the body, were also a feature.

The original Porsche factory was supposed to have been handed back in September 1950 but, due to the alert caused by the Korean War, the American authorities held on to it. With no sign of the old factory being returned, another works was built in 1952, next door to Reutter. By November 1952, the first cars were starting to roll out of Werk II.

From November 1953, a roller bearing version of the 1300 was made available, called the 1300 Super. Launched at the Paris Salon, this 60bhp unit was shortlived, remaining in production for only six months; all pushrod roller bearing engines were phased out by the end of 1955.

Dr Ernst Fuhrmann began designing the powerful Carrera engine during 1952. In order to keep down actual size, he devised an ingenious system incorporating no less than nine shafts, fourteen bevel gears and two spur gears to operate the dohc per bank arrangement. The beauty in this system lay in the fact that the engine’s overall dimensions were little changed from the standard unit. The first engine was up and running in April 1953 - it was right virtually from the start, and testing took place in the new Porsche 550 at the Nürburgring in August.

A Carrera engine was installed in one of the works Gmünd coupés, and entered for the 1954 Liège-Rome-Liège Rally, held that particular year in August. Ferry Porsche’s theory was that if the unit could last through such a tough event, it could safely be put into a production car; the decision to use it was made easier after Herbert Linge and Helmut Polensky won the event outright.

In 1954, the staff was increased to 493, but only 1934 cars were produced - 44 less than in the previous year. However, on 15 March 1954, the 5000th German-built Porsche was produced (two years later the figure reached 10,000) and exports now accounted for 60% of production. Interestingly, VW in Wolfsburg was by now employing over 20,000 people to make an average of 670 cars a day, and in August 1955, the one millionth Beetle was produced.

John von Neumann, Porsche’s West Coast distributor, was the inspiration behind the Speedster. The Speedster was exactly what Hoffman needed to boost sales Stateside, selling at $2995 in basic form. Based on the Cabriolet but with minimal equipment, such as a cheap hood, a low and flimsy windscreen, and detachable side-screens instead of wind-up windows, it was introduced into America in September 1954. In all, a total of 4854 Speedsters were produced (both 356 and 356A types together),