As I stated my car was a 1991 car not a 80s car the handling was good in the dry a death trap in the wet.The car I had was a s2 so had revised suspension and the proper Porsche engine which in my opinion sounded crap.reading the write ups the s2 was better than any 80s 944s maybe with the exception of the turbo.When I got rid of my Porsche 944s2 I replaced it with something from the same era the car I replaced it with handled much better was much quicker and had better brakes so the best all round package of the 80s is the Porsche 944 not my opinion my opinion goes to the car I replaced it with a 1989 lancia delta hf integrale 16v judging by current prices some people may agree with me

I thought standard integrales were only marginally quicker than an S2, although the boost did make them feel faster.
My 944 turbo was an awesome handling car even in the wet. Sounds like you had a bad one or have a twitchy right foot.

Interesting tone to your reply! The 944 was based on the 924 which is a 1970's ...actually 1973 design. The 944 took the core of the 924 and improved it in 1981. The S2 was launched and was a development of the earlier mid eighties 2.5S, launched in the latter part of the 1980's. It might have been sold in 91 but was basically an 80's developed car with 80's dynamics....and that's the point. That's also why the 968 sold so few cars...the basic design was too old by 93 for a 'modern' car.

All 944's had proper Porsche engines, either in 8v which was good enough for the Turbo or 16v which was best in the S2. None of them sound very exciting and as you moved on to the Lancia, you had one of the best ever designed four pots, period. It's a work of art.

Better dynamics, brakes , four wheel drive...certainly it was developed for rallying. A superb machine....and rarer which impacts on value as much as the complete cars dynamics. I certainly enjoyed my ownership of an 8v many years ago.

So where did we get to on the Porsche...you didn't like yours, I like mine ...that's what makes the world go around.

A integrale also has very humble underpinnings it to is a 70s design as they were based on the original deltas same chassis as In 1979.Lancia developed into the fastest point to point car of its day.My point by the time a company like Porsche had to develop the 924 944 it should have been better than it was.The reason the lancia is worth more is because it is a icon and full of character that's something the Porsche 924 944 is not.i am not saying the Porsche was a bad car but my opinion is they were very overrated ps the original 924 944 had audi engines

The integrale is an established classic. The EVO models being the bees' knees! They seem to be dramatically rising in price!

in a straight line a integrale is a bit quicker but round the bends the Porsche does not have a hope even a big bhp turbo would struggle round the bends in the wet the Porsche would end up down a ditch trying to keep up

Baz the 944 never had an Audi engine. You are correct that the 924 did until they bought out the 'S' model.

In the wet anything with only 2wd would struggle to keep up with an intergrowler!
Not so in the dry though. My old 944T was low 5's to 60mph and had epic traction if driven correctly.

Shame that neither of these cars fit into the criteria for this thread as they both require a spend of over £5k

Your correct about picking up a integrale for under £5k unless you wanted a restoration case so the integrale does not meet the criteria.The Porsche on the other hand does fit the criteria you have a choice of 944s 944s2 944 cabriolet and even some turbos can be had for this money have a look at pistonheads,If the Porsche was that great a car and that highly rated, prices would have firmed up by now after all they are getting on a bit now and are quite rare

Sorry Baz. I meant the Turbo model.
Why would you want anything else.

3 turbo models in uk for sale just now under £5k maybe the next cars to rocket in price then again maybe not I am looking to buy a e36 m3 at end of year that's were my money is going prices have started to go up and they look a good investment

80s turbo standard hot hatchbacks uno turbo r5 gt turbo escort rs turbo and some homologated rally cars celica gt4 mazda 323 4wd and renaut 21 turbo lancia thema turbo can all be had for under £5k prices can only go up

Interesting comments.

The 944 non-turbo is not overated any more than a Fiat Coupe n/a is. The early square dash 944s are now becoming very much in demand as are the 16v n/a Fiat coupes.

In both cases, two main factors are driving this...condition and rarity. But there is another more subtle (and much debated factor championed by Barnacle on this site), the purity of the original designed cars....but only cars properly maintained, adjusted and driven regularly fit the demand.

Generally the earlier cars had less equipment and mechanical finesse that the later cars....but they are both significantly lighter which means they handle better and less power is needed to move the things along.

So whilst on paper the lack of horses may make them look 'slow'...in real driving conditions there is more usable power throughout all road conditions. Without the additional tubo or 16v power and weight of the later cars....that's why the early 944's feel so much better on the B roads.

If you have not tried the earlier incarnations of your muscular turbo enhanced beasts, you should try the earlier cars.....not just a quick blast - a proper cross country drive and you might just be surprised.

Baz if you ever get the chance, go and drive the original Delta and you'd be surprised how much of the original DNA is there...minus the muscles of course.

The 944 was the car that saved Porsche for good reason. It was Car and Driver magazines best handling car of the year from 1985 - 1987 also for good reason.

So as I already said, we all like different things, that's what makes the world go around.....

the porsche 944 the car that saved Porsche its a pity the integrale could not save lancia

I used to lust after an HPE back in the 80's (but bought Alfa's, Porsche's and Rover Sd1 when the kids grew to big for sporty cars) and used to get an occaisional lift to work in a real Stratos back in the 70's (Rich boss! he had this, a Roller and a Jenson Interceptor) and always realised how lucky I was, even at that early age.

I read recently that Lancia are planning a return to the UK...hopefully if they do it will be with something really Italian rather than just another corporate eurobox.

It'll be another US Chrysler with 'Chrysler' crossed out and 'Lancia' written on in crayon...

saab 900 carlsson very rare car at the time. Had one from new for 8 years covered 90,000 miles in which time only changed the oil, air filter and plugs every 10,000 miles, what a car. Head turner then and still today, if you are ever lucky enough see one. Wish I still had it.

I hired one of these last time I was in Italy, that's exactly what I meant by a eurobox...not nice....give us a proper Lancia and surprise us all!

I'm sure that a Lancia Beta would have been a classic if there were any left. I worked at a fragrance company in Ashford during the 80s and bought a 3 year old Beta from the company (owned by one of our perfumers) for £400. It had holes in the front wings you could put your arms through and you could have cleaned your teeth with the dipstick due to the superb quality of the servicing from the local dealer.

Once some fine Castrol had been inserted the dear Lancia did me proud for eighteen months - the 2 litre engine was just a complete blast and the handling was as good as anything else at the time. I then spent about £10 on Isopon filler, £15 on undercoat, paint and sandpaper and sold her for £1200. I'm sure that the engine is still around somewhere, but I suspect that the chassis and body panels have been consigned to the great rust heap in the sky.....

My stepfather had a new Beta saloon in the 70s. It was went back to Lancia for a full refund before it was 9 months old due to rust issues.

It was a decent enough car apart from the rust.

A friend and I once visited a scrapyard with the intention of replacing his blown 1.3 Ford Cortina engine. We ended up with a Beta engine and gearbox under the Cortina body...

Classic in the making Mercedes c36 amg and c43 amg these cars can easily be had for under £5k they are very rare and they were the first amg mercs

C36 AMG is on my 'to buy' list, big power and very cheap, £3.5k for a lovely estate near me...

Estate version very nice these cars can only go up in value

Lancia are not planning a UK return under their own name. The Ypsilon continues to be sold here under a Chrysler badge but they have just withdrawn the Type 3 Delta from the UK. We're actually looking at one for Mrs Nello. With the numbers sold here they're concentrating on the Ypsilon and 300c only.
People just haven't got a clue what they are. It could be worse - they're selling the Chrysler Sebring as a Lancia Flavia on the continent...... I've had several proper Lancia's including a HPE though the brand were under Fiat by the time the Beta came along. Cracking car. To ad to the 'joiners' list - I used to work at the Peugeot Talbot Ryton plant as Peugeot came in in the 80's. We used to road test the last Solara's and Alpine's (Rapier's and Minx's by then!) All the bosses then drove Talbot Tagoras' which were built in France with Peugeot suspension following Chrysler development. I loved them - they're huge in the back - looked very boxy and dated in their day but super-retro now to me. I'd definately look for one if one came up but they are super rare here nowadays.....

I hope lancia does not have a return to the uk because there current models all look junk.I am glad they have a Chrysler badge on them because they don't look like lancias.Fiat should be ashamed of themselves once a great car maker now producing rubbish

Here here i totally agree . Fiat should give the name Lancia up and never use it again until they have something decent . However the Lancia Delta Integrale especially the Evo is one of the most over rated cars in Italian history and i have had a few of them .

with lots of manufacturers producing retro cars and selling them in high numbers for example fiat 500,bmw mini,vw beetle why can a company like lancia not produce them with all the great cars they have made.Imagine a modern day monte carlo,fulvia,stratos or integrale surely they would sell.As stated above fiat should give the name up and sell lancia on surely someone could make it great again

The thing with the above mentioned "classics" is that they're remembered by the masses as cheap, fun little cars. Whether or not they are is debatable. Lancia on the other hand are remembered for rust...

IMO Fiat need to keep control of the name until they have something like a Stratos that'll be class beating.

The issue for Lancia is they are under the FIAT umbrella. e.g Fiat will not make a new say X1/9 as they have the Alfa 4c already under the same 'stable.' Same reasons as why they'll not make a Coupe replacement - another of their own brands already makes a car in that class. The Chrysler Delta is a Fiat Bravo engine and chassis. I actually really like 'um though they are not of the original Lancia mould which were always superbly engineered. (I've had a Fulvia/Beta etc.)...

Superbly engineered, but in the seventies/eighties, made of cheese.