The early 1990s were a tough time for Porsche. Sales had seriously dropped and the product was getting a bit old. The car people love now, the 993, was a poor seller when new. It was one of the lowest selling 911s in decades, and the 928 was simply an old product that was still a good car but a bit long in tooth. However, there was one shining star in the early 1990s Porsche lineup and that was the 968.
The 968 was the final version of Porsche’s front-engine, 4-cylinder rear transaxle cars that started with the 924. The 968 took all the best ideas learned with the 944 series, and then dressed the car in bodywork that took inspiration from the 944 and 928 to create a new model. In addition, they also built the new car at their Zuffenhausen Porsche plant and not at Audi. The only downside to this is that the overall fit and finish of the body of the 968 was somehow not as good as the 944, but despite that the 968 is the best of this series that Porsche would ever build, offering performance that equaled the 993 in a much more comfortable and modern package, with lots of storage space, very comfortable interior, terrific ergonomics, and A/C that worked.
The Pick of the Day is one of these cars, and one that is quite special, a 1993 Porsche 968 Club Sport. The 968 Club Sport option was a lightweight version of the 968 that was produced from October 1992 to 1995. Porsche deleted many of the luxury features of the 968 in pursuit of more performance. The Club Sport has less sound deadening material, manual windows, manually adjustable lightweight Recaro racing seats, a revised and lowered suspension. The car rides on wider 17-inch wheels, features a thicker, three-spoke sports steering wheel with no airbag, has non-heated washer jets, no engine bay covers, no rear wiper, no rear seats, and a smaller battery. In 1993 the 968 Clubsport were only available in Grand Prix White, Black, Speed Yellow, Guards Red, or Maritime Blue with matching seat backs.
This specific 968 Club Sport is described as having driven 68,000 km from new. It is chassis #WPOZZZ962PS815259 which was first registered in August 1993 in the Netherlands. The car was ordered in Speed Yellow over a Black/Speed Yellow Leatherette & Cloth interior, the same color scheme it wears today. Options included a higher amperage battery, the rare limited-slip differential, air conditioning, and the anti-theft package, according to the Porsche Production Specifications document that accompanies the car. It is said to have been very well maintained throughout the years, with a plethora of service records attesting to this.
These service records include documentation of new adjustable Koni shocks from V.D. Gugten in Bodegraven, Netherlands, new timing belts in March of 2013 by RS Motors Porsche Centre West-Vlaanderen in Ingelmunster, Belgium, on July 5, 2018.
They add that around 2018, the car was imported into New Hampshire, where it was enjoyed until the seller acquired it in June 2023. They entrusted Mark Cavanaugh in Beverly, NJ, with performing the few services this 968 CS needed to be as perfect as it could be. This included new door handle gaskets, windshield wipers, lower plastics, thermostat and seals, wheelhouse liners, power steering reservoir/hose, along with a few hose clamps, minor touchups, and repairs. I personally might consider replacing the timing belt again, as 11 years is a long time between timing belts and you would hate to break it.
Porsche only built a total of 1,232 926 Club Sport cars over 3 years of production, making it a very rare Porsche and one of the rarest of the 4-cylinder transaxle cars. This car with this much documentation and low mileage is a true collector grade example and would be a great addition to any Porsche collection. If that wasn’t enough, the asking price of a market correct $89,000 is a veritable bargain especially when compared to other rare Porsche cars of the era. This 968 Club Sport is for the educated Porsche collector who does not think that all Porsche cars are rear engined and recognizes the greatness of these cars.
To view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com, click here for the listing.
Source: www.classiccars.com