Enter the automotive social media world and three digits appear to dominate – 911. Porsche’s posterior-engined idol is a phenomenon, a brand identity for the ages, and something that will get grown men salivating at even the merest trim change.
To a slightly lesser extent, the 356 has a similar level of obsession. Between the 356 and the 911, the fundamentals of the Porsche mythology were laid out. Nowadays it’s arguable that Porsche has a bigger worldwide following than Ferrari. While auction results and values might say otherwise, certainly for Enzo-era Maranello machines compared to Stuttgart’s favoured sons, the wider appeal of the 911 and 356 means that there is a path within collecting those models for everyone. Air-cooled? Water-cooled? Concours-ready? Rat-look? Restomod? So many avenues to choose from . . .
However, there are cars beyond the 911 that deserve greater recognition, particularly because although the 911 is lionised, in several cases other models have propped up Porsche during difficult financial times. Here are a few of our favourites.
928 S4 SE
Conceived as the replacement for the 911, the 928 was built to elevate the brand to a luxury footing. Its stunning svelte shape still astounds today, and though it failed in its purpose it arguably shaped what the 911 has become now. After all, the current 911 is many multitudes larger than the original, and in even in its most basic form, far more luxurious (and expensive) than the car’s sports car origins.
The 928 has plenty going for it, other than the styling. Primarily, the magnificent V8 engine that bellows like an angry bee when you reach higher rpms, and has a healthy thump for in-gear overtakes. The transaxle suspension makes for predictable handling (in a way many 911s wouldn’t have until the 1990s), and the interior is a mixture of Tonka Toy chunkiness and swoopy sci-fi cool.
Which one to buy? The early models not only have design purity, but they also have the wild interior seats designs of the 1970s; the 4.5-litre engine isn’t exactly powerful, though. The most potent is the 928 GTS of the 1990s, which took the engine to 5.4 litres, but the wide-arch bodykit and monochrome interiors (compared to even the 1980s S4 era) aren’t to everyone’s taste. Generally, the most collectable 928s are those with three pedals. Most 928s were fitted with a Mercedes-Benz–sourced automatic gearbox and while this suits the continent-crushing nature of the car, the rare manual-equipped examples hold a premium.
Our ultimate pick would have to be the ClubSport models, which saw a tuned engine, a close-ratio manual gearbox and lighter weight. However, the UK didn’t get the ClubSport – but don’t worry, there’s still a collectable 928 with similar DNA. We got the S4 SE, which carried over much of the mechanical make-up; generally believed to have more power than the standard S4, it has the pistons, camshaft, and engine ECU from the later GT, plus a short-ratio manual gearbox. It also had a special exhaust system, tightened suspension, and a limited-slip differential. Just 42 were built.
The Hagerty Valuation guide doesn’t list a result for the S4 SE, placing the GT and S4 at the same value. However, there are two cars for sale in the UK – one in Rutland for £79,995 and a white car just south of London for £66,995 – significantly more than the £56,000 at which Hagerty values a concours ‘normal’ S4 or GT.
968 ClubSport/Sport
The 968 came about at a very difficult time for Porsche – the mixture of recession, climbing US import tariffs, and the hangover from the 959 development programme had left the company reeling. Indeed, at one stage in the 1990s, it was a matter of days before it could have folded.
It could be argued that Porsche’s survival up to that point was down to the 944. Though the 911 Turbo in particular has become closely aligned with the image of yuppie Britain in the 1980s, the reality was that A) most were dressed-up Carrera 3.2s and B) the actual volume seller for Porsche was the 944. Its mixture of practicality and everyday performance made it an irresistible choice for the upwardly mobile. It may have had a four-cylinder engine – in the ‘wrong’ place – but its mixture of poised handling, sharp good looks, and practicality made it the real Yuppie’s choice.
The 968’s origin story begins as a mooted Series 3 944, but with 80 per cent of the parts completely new and with styling radically different to that of the 944, it was developed as a new car. The cynics might argue that Porsche had little choice at the time because the coffers were empty . . .
It didn’t quite come off, however. A new wave of Japanese rivals had moved the game on – such as the Mazda RX-7, Nissan 300ZX Z32, and Toyota Supra MkIV – and sales were sluggish. Porsche’s answer was to introduce a lightweight ClubSport edition, which took out many of the luxuries, stiffened the suspension, and junked the rear seat. It was a critical success and did much to ignite enthusiasm for the brand. It was also notably cheaper than a normal 968.
However, something odd happened, particularly in the UK. Customers loved the handling poise, the sharp steering, and focused attitude, but started asking for more of the luxuries to be put back in. This prompted Porsche to offer the UK-only Sport model, which added an alarm, electric windows and mirrors, electric release boot, central locking, sunroof, and cloth comfort front and rear seats, but kept the Club Sport’s chassis. It was strikingly cheaper than a standard luxury 968, and promptly outsold it by a huge margin.
The good news is that the 968 Sport is available at a significant discount to a Club Sport. The Club Sport’s more focused interior (including difficult-to-adjust bucket seats) and rarity makes that the pick for prices and collectors, but the Sport’s mixture of lower price, easier useability, and Club Sport chassis makes it a rare bargain in the ’90s classic world. An excellent Sport will set you back £23K, about £10,000–£15k,000 less than a ClubSport.
Cayman R
For many years, the Boxster and Cayman rarely had special editions of note – the thought being, perhaps understandably, that if a Porsche owner wanted a more special Porsche, they’d migrate to 911 ownership, rather than a highly evolved special edition.
However, as the 911 has evolved to a GT car even at its most basic of specifications, the sports car purity of the Cayman has allowed it to carve out a niche of its own, and thus special editions of its own. The GT4 and GT4 RS represent the fullness of this vision, but we can trace this all the way back to the last days of the 987-era Cayman with the R model.
It was a controversial badging decision – the last time Porsche used the R model it was for a super-lightweight 911 from the late 1960s. However, once the 911 beards had worked out their online angst, the 987 R certainly deserved its place in the line-up.
If you take a look at the specification changes over the Cayman S model, you might not see the value. Lightweight wheels and 911 GT2-spec door card and handles, carbon doors and seats, plus stripped-out aircon, storage, stereo and rear wiper. That all amounts to a 55kg weight saving, and you also got firmer springs and dampers, a lower ride height and a standard-fit limited-slip differential. However, as 911 aficionados for GT3/RS models are keen to say, Porsche is all about honing the details in minor ways for major improvements – and boy, does it make a difference when you drive an R.
While the Cayman S is a fine sports car, the R feels much pointier, angrier and exciting. As such, the car has barely depreciated over the past decade and a bit. New you’d have paid around £50K, and the cheapest one these days is hovering around the £40K mark, with manual versions holding a premium over the PDK-equipped models.
914/6 GT
Porsche’s first dalliance with mid-engined cars came about due to pure pragmatism – the 912 was too costly to build and the Datsun 240Z was a compelling and cheaper alternative.
The 914, built in association with Volkswagen, provided a four-cylinder mounted in the middle of the car, which made for engaging handling. However, its distinctly un-Porsche-like design and initially lacklustre performance meant that marketing was needed. This naturally led Porsche to motorsport, and the creation of the 914/6 with the Porsche six-cylinder engine replacing the four-cylinder original.
Around 3300 914/6s were built, with 100bhp on tap. Never a strong seller, it was soon replaced with a 100bhp four-cylinder engine. However, it is the 455 914/6 models ordered with the Competition Option Group GT package that are most sought after; these homologation specials helped the 32 factory-built racers compete.
They featured stronger lower front A-arms, front and rear anti-roll bars, lower suspension, 911S-spec brakes, and extensive use of fibreglass across the car to get the weight down to 898.1kg.
Around 40 cars are believed to have received an upgraded engine. Though the engine remained at 2.0-litres in displacement, it was significantly upgraded with new cylinder heads, a dual ignition system, high-compression pistons, forged piston rods (from the 911 S), plus a new crankshaft and 901/20-sourced camshafts and rocker arms. It produced 207bhp, and proved to be highly successful in class competition in GT racing.
Hagerty has a GT model starting at £129K for a fair condition car, through to £262,000 for a concours example.
924 Carrera GT
By the late 1970s, Porsche was investigating other ways to market its cars. While the wild prototype racers and ever-more powerful and bewinged 911 variants were successful, they perhaps didn’t act as the halo cars for the bread-and-butter showroom versions.
Much to the chagrin of Porsche’s own motorsport department, the 935 development programme was largely left to the privateers, while Porsche itself focused on class victories with the 924 Carrera GT and GTR.
A development of the 924 Turbo, the 924 Carrera GT had an intercooler, a higher compression rate, a lower suspension, and wildly wide-arched plastic body parts to shave weight down by 59kg and provide space for wider tyres on the race versions. You also got a much bigger rear spoiler, Recaro seats and a flush-fitted windscreen, plus the option of a limited-slip differential. The 924 Carrera GT developed 210bhp, but the later 924 Carrera GTS offered 245bhp. Quite a lot for the early 1980s!
The GTS eschewed the Carrera GT’s pop-up headlamps for flush-fitting items, and a ClubSport version upped power to 280bhp, with a Matter roll cage and race seats thrown in.
All are vanishingly rare – just 400 Carrera GT models were built to homologate the racers for Group 4 competition, but the GTS is even rarer. Just 50 were built, 15 of which were to ClubSport specification.
Hagerty’s Valuation Guide ranges from £47,900 for a ‘fair’ 924 Carrera to £82,800 for a concours example, though there are no figures for GTS models. The last one of those to sell was via Broad Arrow in August 2023, for $252,000 (£195,066).
