Did I buy a Prototype s2 Cabriolet?

[jeff968]

Originally Posted by PorscheChef

*** My Blue 87 944 has the full leather package in black: Front and Back seats, Door Panels, Center Consul, and Lower Dash. Everything in immaculate condition. That's why I bought the car. A freind of mine has owned over 30 944s throughout the years and he has 2sets of door panels and one lower dash. He said he has never seen one in the car complete like mine is. They are option codes M981 and M983.

Super rare on NA 968s too. Of the 4,242 produced, only 50 have the full leather (20 coupes, 30 cabs). My cab is one of them.

[preludeofwrath]

Originally Posted by PorscheChef

French Toast *** My Blue 87 944 has the full leather package in black: Front and Back seats, Door Panels, Center Consul, and Lower Dash. Everything in immaculate condition. That's why I bought the car. A freind of mine has owned over 30 944s throughout the years and he has 2sets of door panels and one lower dash. He said he has never seen one in the car complete like mine is. They are option codes M981 and M983.

I too have one of the few 944's with a full leather interior option. Includes additional stitching on the door cards and along the lower trim of the dash and center console. I particularly love the stitching on the door handle grip

[J1NX3D]

porschechef, preludeofwrath- please enrich the community with photos of your car interiors in a new thread! I have photos saved of other full leather interior 944's but i don't believe there are ever enough.

i know of one late model amazon green 968 6 spd near me with a full stitched leather interior. it is amazing!

[holtzy822]

Hmm my 87 944 is full leather... It's in pretty horrible condition unfortunately. It sat in Texas for 5 years before being driven again so my interior is next to dead. Eventually I'll save up some money and have the entire interior re-upholstered. I was unaware that full leather was "rare"

[flash968]

based on the number of cars i've seen with it, it wasn't quite as rare on the 944 as on the 968. i think it might just be due to the larger numbers though. the percentages might even be lower.

that being said, a lot of people think their car is full leather, and it's only partial. in standard trim, the door panels, dash, and side bolsters on the seats are vinyl. in a full leather car, those things are leather covered.

i just redid the entire interior of my blue car in leather. big improvement, though a lot more work to maintain.

[jeff968]

Originally Posted by J1NX3D

i know of one late model amazon green 968 6 spd near me with a full stitched leather interior. it is amazing!

They only made 1 amazon 968 with full leather. It was a 1993 coupe and is also an M030 car.

[968inVA]

There was a 1989 S2 Cabriolet that had the engine bay painted black with the exterior in a different color - blue or red iirc. It was discussed a long time ago, 15 years or so, on rennlist I believe. I remember because I was looking to purchase an S2 cab back then and was doing research on them.

The owner posted a picture showing the difference between the color of the engine bay and the exterior. He stated it was originally a press car used to promote the launch of the model.

Having one of the 16 North American 944 S2 Cabriolets is very cool. Post some pics when you get a chance.

[jeff968]

Originally Posted by 968inVA

There was a 1989 S2 Cabriolet that had the engine bay painted black with the exterior in a different color - blue or red iirc. It was discussed a long time ago, 15 years or so, on rennlist I believe.

To me, seeing a different engine compartment color is a tell-tale sign of a repaint/color change to a 944/968. If you are going to do this it a black car is the best example to start with as it blends the "best" (many other types of cars have a black engine compartment with all colors). There has been a guy with a speed yellow 968 cab for sale. Looks great in the photos, until you get to the engine bay and see it was originally adventurine green, not a 1 of 10 SY cab. I would be suprised to hear that Porsche authorized a repaint and color change of a press car not to mention, they look great in black so why do it???

[flash968]

i have to disagree about there being only 1 amazon 968 with full leather. there is an amazon green cab here in L.A. that has an original classic grey leather interior. the car is not a repaint either. as i remember, it's a 92. i almost bought that car, but it had too many miles on it, and i didn't want green (racer's bad luck). i really liked the leather, but i also noted at the time that it was in need of conditioning, and in a cab was not holding up well to the sun. lol - at least it wasn't turning purple though.

[968inVA]

Yes, having a different color in the engine bay is an obvious indication that a car may have been repainted. If I were buying a car as such I'd check it out thoroughly.

I believed the owner back then when he posted the information. He also had pictures of it when it was used as a promo car. Could he have been lying and it was a repaint? Sure. But it would be way cooler if it were indeed a one-off car. I enjoy my current 968, and my previous 951 (and 964) but our water pumpers could benefit from having some interesting versions of them in circulation. And IMHO, the 944 S2 Cab it the best looking Porsche convertible, including the 911s.

I've done a cursory search on Rennlist but couldn't find the post. Maybe it was back when it was an email list service.


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Originally Posted by jeff968

To me, seeing a different engine compartment color is a tell-tale sign of a repaint/color change to a 944/968. If you are going to do this it a black car is the best example to start with as it blends the "best" (many other types of cars have a black engine compartment with all colors). There has been a guy with a speed yellow 968 cab for sale. Looks great in the photos, until you get to the engine bay and see it was originally adventurine green, not a 1 of 10 SY cab. I would be suprised to hear that Porsche authorized a repaint and color change of a press car not to mention, they look great in black so why do it???