The Porsche 944 S2 was introduced in 1989 and featured the largest four cylinder engine in the world at the time, a 3 litre engine providing 211bhp @ 5800 rpm and 280Nm @ 400rpm . This was a large engine not only for a four cylinder car but Porsche used a balancer shaft (patented by Mitsubishi) to even out any roughness in the engine’s balance, as indeed Porsche also did in the earlier 2.5 and 2.7 litre engines.
The 944 S2 had the same rounded nose and a rear valance as found on the Turbo model. The S2 was also available as a cabriolet, a first for the 944 line. It reached a top speed of 240km/h and did the 0-100 sprint in 6.8 seconds.
A total of at least 6,439 944 S2’s were made between 1989 and 1991, with 1,929 being exported to the United States. An additional 5,640 944 S2 cabriolets were produced in these years, with 2,402 being exported to the United States.
Porsche continued the development of the 944 S2 by launching a project that was planned to become the 944 S3. During the development work executives realized that they concentrate on developing a radically new car instead of just evolving the S2. Finally this led to the decision to introduce this car as the Porsche 968 instead of dubbing it the 944 S3.
