Vehicle Details
- Year: 1987
- Make: Porsche
- Model: 944 Turbo
- VIN: WP0AA2957HN152285
- Mileage Shown: 41,716mi (TMU)
- Transmission: Manual
- Title Status: Bill of Sale
- Color: Alpine White
- Seller Type: Private Party
- Location: Ponte Vedra, FL 32081
- Lot #: V-0048641
This 1987 Porsche 944 Turbo, finished in Alpine White, has been extensively modified into a high-performance track car. It features a stripped and refreshed exterior and interior, with race-focused upgrades such as Lexan windows, 18” BBS RS-GT wheels, a Cobra Sebring racing seat, and adjustable boost and brake bias controls. The car is equipped with a Bosch high-volume fuel pump, a Mahle filter, Siemens 55# injectors, and various Lindsey Racing enhancements. Suspension modifications include custom Akin-White A-arms, Racer’s Edge bearings and mounts, Moton dual-adjustable shocks, Hypercoil springs, Elephant Racing bushings, and Tarett sway bars. Braking is managed by “Big Red” front calipers and Pagid brake pads. With numerous additional modifications and a history of several HPDE events, this 944 Turbo is now available for auction by its seller out of Florida, accompanied by a full race trailer.
This 944 was completely refinished in Alpine White in 2005 and adorned with yellow and blue racing livery. Additional customizations include Lexan windows with front and rear reinforcements, a vented carbon fiber hood, a fiberglass front bumper and splitter, a sunroof-delete, and an enlarged rear wing with elevation adjustments. The car rides on staggered-width 18” BBS RS-GT wheels wrapped in used Hoosier R7 tires. An additional set of matching wheels (Front: BBS RS-GT 18" x 8.5", offset 56mm (2 sets) / Tires: Hoosier R7 255/35ZR18; Rear: BBS RS-GT 18" x 10", offset 65mm (2 sets) / Tires: Hoosier R7 285/30ZR18) with tires with minor remaining tread life will accompany the sale, along with a complete set of Mota wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport tires. The seller adds that the car has attended several HPDEs. Detailed images are provided in the gallery along with a clean CARFAX report.
The cabin has been extensively stripped for a race-focused, lightweight configuration, retaining only the original Porsche instrument cluster and shifter knob. Modifications include a Cobra Sebring race seat, Schroth Profi II 6-point harness, Brey-Kraus seat brace, Sparco Competition R330 steering wheel with Lifeline quick-release mount and cage storage hook, Rennline race pedals, a custom aluminum dash, fire suppression system, and Coolshirt kit. Gauges include Innovate digital A/F, AEM digital fuel pressure, boost, oil temp, and transaxle temp. Additional features include adjustable boost control, brake bias control, and an aircraft-style emergency cutoff switch with an exterior pull for marshals. The seller recommends replacing the speed sensor wire harness, given its age, with the included Lindsey Racing harness, which has not yet been installed. Additionally, they suggest upgrading the Lindsey Racing boost adjustment knob to a more modern, fine-tunable version, which is also provided. The seller also notes the engine oil pressure warning light turns off once the engine is started.
Power comes from a turbocharged 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine, which drives the rear wheels through a 5-speed manual transaxle. Notable upgrades include a Bosch high-volume fuel pump, Mahle filter, Siemens 55# injectors with Lindsey Racing harness, Fuelab regulator with sender, Lindsey Racing fuel rail with Marren damper, and Lindsey Racing flex fuel lines. The turbo system features a Lindsey Racing Super 61 turbo with thermal-coated housing, custom oil feed, a billet bypass valve, and a dual-port wastegate with in-car control. The exhaust includes Lindsey Racing race headers and a Speed Force Racing 3” stainless steel system, expanding to 4", without a catalytic converter or muffler. The ignition and electrical systems are enhanced with a Bosch ALRACE1 alternator, MSD Blaster coil, Bosch plugs, Magnecor 8.5mm wires, and a Braille B2317 battery. Transmission and clutch upgrades include a Fidanza lightweight flywheel, Spec Stage III clutch, Catellus Engineering transaxle, and Lindsey Racing custom half-shafts. The suspension features custom Akin-White A-arms, Racer’s Edge bearings and mounts, Moton dual-adjustable shocks, Hypercoil springs, Elephant Racing bushings, and Tarett sway bars. Brakes include Porsche "Big Red" front calipers, floating rotors, Pagid pads, and an in-car proportioning valve, while the steering is upgraded with a true manual Porsche rack and proper tie rods. The most recent service in 2023 includes new Racer's Edge billet aluminum wheel hubs, wheel bearings, and 65mm wheel studs, along with new VCI floating rotors and Pagid Yellow pads. These parts are said to have only been used in one event at Road Atlanta.
The sale will include two extra sets of wheels, and a full race trailer, which was stripped and freshly painted in June 2023. Additional items are an engine hoist, engine stand, corner balancing stands, and a nitrogen system (tank, hoses, gauge) for maintaining and adjusting the Moton shocks, complete with recommended settings and shock pressures for both front and rear.
The seller would like you to know: “This is a highly developed (dialed in), well-prepared, balanced & maintained lightweight 944 turbo. Ready to simply purchase and go racing or HPDE. Nicknamed "centerfold" because of how pristine it is maintained. This has been a labor of love for many years to make this one of the finest examples of this breed of race car.”
Auction Results
- Sold for: $27,250
- Auction End: Sep 16, 2024 06:50:00PM UTC
- Number of Bids: 7
Attachments
CARFAX_Vehicle_History_Report_for_this_1987_PORSCHE_944_TURBO__WP0AA2957HN152285.pdf 
1_page_parts_overview.pdf
Car_Show_Sign.pdf
Detailed_Parts_Inventory.pdf
Overview_-_1_page_in_words.pdf
Comments (44)
@Mccheez I have a well sorted 1986 944 Turbo track car, probably more horsepower than this. As fast around the track as my sons GT4RS. Rebuilt everything over the past 20 or so years I've owned it. HPDE only. Extremely reliable. Contact me if interested t q g 4 p l y at aol dot com. Howard Jacobs
Very well bought sir! Congrats, I got distracted there at the end or it would have cost a little more!
Congratulations to both, buyer and seller. This was a fantastic deal! What an awesome car with great provenance.
TO: 2024RFDrp - feel free to use the PM/Direct Contact button to reach out. We'll both get emails shortly also.
Sold for $27,250
Bid in the amount of $27,250
Bid in the amount of $26,000
Bid in the amount of $25,500
Additional content has been added to the gallery for this listing.
Another photo being uploaded from its distant past, just for the heck of it. 2002-ish Nothing at all like the car is today, but it was still fun to own way back then.
Additional content has been added to the gallery for this listing.
Yes - it does have a window net with a quick release, not that you have to use it in the HPDE world, though of course a little extra safety never hurts. Posting the pic right now.
Minor additional items:
- Car naturally has a nice cover for it
- Trailer comes with heavy duty hitch and Load Balancing set-up (aka, torsion bars) by Draw-Tite
- Trailer tires are Goodyear Endurance Special Trailer (ST) tires: ST215/75R14. Installed May 2021 and barely used. 1 brand new mounted spare. 1 older tire on second spare wheel.
Bid in the amount of $25,000
Waaaay more fun video from a long time ago (2014) at my fav track in North America: Mosport.
Open session, so lots of cars in various groups at one time. The Orange & Black 951 in front of me had a 500+ hp V8 in the car, but as you'll see, he never escaped.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vurc5KuFXNo
Some folks have PM'ed and asked if I had any in car videos. Way back in 2013 (in an earlier incarnation of the car), I did some GoPro stuff. This is a fun video chasing down a nicely prepared GT3 during a simple DE event, as I was relearning this track after many many years away (nearly 20!). He clearly motivated me to get up to speed a LOT quicker than I had planned.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud06Ds1CkgM
@DavidC951s Just remember that compression on turbo motors is not like on American iron or NA engines.
@nsolson67 Don't have leak down or compression numbers. Will see if I can borrow the gear to do it. About 90 hours on rod bearings. Lash on valves measured about 40 hours ago/none needed adjustment.
Bid in the amount of $22,500
Do you have compression or leak down numbers?
How many hours since a refresh?
Hey guys, thanks for the bids. If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask away or PM should you need anything more; such as a visit to see the car.
Bid in the amount of $20,000
Bid in the amount of $10,000
@Bbean Certainly can put back the passenger seat. I used to even keep one in the car until I really needed the cool shirt system routinely and it was too much of a pain to work around the seat. Without the cool shirt cooler in the car, the passenger (or fellow instructor) just needed to keep their feet off the fire bottle. But the simple answer is "yes" - nothing to stop one from adding the seat back in. I'd put one back in for you, but I gave it to a charity some years back.
Awesome build! Would a second seat be able to be installed if the fire bottle and Cool Suit were moved?
@Phaster Weight: Haven't done this in a while on calibrated scales. Weighed 2480 back when I first stripped it all down, naturally without me. Don't recall specific amount of fuel, likely near or totally empty.
Most recently (10/27/23) I rolled onto the Daytona scales in the paddock garage area and it said 2818 with me, near full fuel, cool shirt ice/water.
I'm not very familiar with PCA race classes. Decades back, most highly modified 951s ran in GT 1, 2, and 3 depending on engine displacement and weight. By maintaining the engine as a 2.5, I recall the weight limit was 2700; under that and you jumped to GT2. But that was long ago and there are many new classes that 944s and 951s run in these days. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful on this item.
RWHP: Couldn't find my dyno sheets, so have hesitated to post anything. Lindsey would have indicated over 400 with the boost around 20. I recall 355 at only 16 psi (nobody runs that low) and around 390 at 18.5 . Many run these motors at 22 and generate amazing HP. Of course Lindsey built it to do that, but I've always run conservative boost for long engine life. His site has dyno runs for engines similar to this one if you want to peruse those.
Sorry if I missed any of this: 1) What does it weigh? 2) What's the RWHP? 3) any idea what PCA race class this would land in?
The writeup nicely covers all the bolt-on motor goodies, but wanted the engine savoy out there to know a bit about the internals. I used Lindsey Racing for this work that unfortunately you don't get to actually see, though a few pics are included during the build. We did extensive engine block, cylinder head and intake upgrades: Pauter rods, JE 100.5mm pistons (thermal coated tops and moly-coated skirts), fully balanced, knife edge cross-drilled and balanced crank, crank scraper, racing intake and exhaust valves, racing springs, conversion to solid lifters (8000 rpm redline) with custom ground cam. While I use the Porsche intake manifold instead of a third party, it has been extrude honed, balanced and flows to over 500HP. The cylinder head is Lindsey's Stage II workup; including port & polish, competition 5 angle valve job, high velocity exhaust and steam vent machining. Lots more, but hope this helps those interested in some of the finer engine details.
@bergeyscustomrods thank you very much. Greatly appreciated!!
@FastAndys lol - i like the way you think! Faster car and probably less money :-) Firehawk was a fun series.
@bartda great to hear from you. I didn't move to Florida until 2016, so first time at Road Atlanta wasn’t until 2017. We may still have crossed paths then!
Beautiful Car !! I have to agree. It is probably the best looking, best built and best presented car I have seen all year. Great history. Definitely brings back some memories.
The period race picture is arguably the best picture posted on PCAR Market this year. Good luck with the sale. I'm currently building a Firehawk tribute car with an S2 and thinking it would be less of a headache just to buy this one.
@DavidC951s This car looks very familiar. If you drove Road Atlanta between 2007 and 2014 I'm sure we crossed paths. I was track committee co-chair for Peachstate PCA during those years and led many a DE.
@nsolson67 Hope you do bid (of course, I say selfishly). Just a note on its setup. I like a very neutral car, so I can stand it on its nose and aggressively trail brake, yet jump on the throttle quickly mid-corner without fear of snap oversteer, especially with the available HP/torque, something I've never gotten totally comfortable doing in a 911 race car. As for corner "sticking power", hopefully you've seen the pic from Road Atlanta at the top of the esses with both inside wheels off the ground. Fun spot on the track there! I have one from Sebring as well like that, but only a 10x14 photo, not digital, so haven't posted.
Additional content has been added to the gallery for this listing.
Based on the question from uscarrera, I have just posted a pic from back in 1990 in its full Firehawk "attire". Sorry for quality of the pic, no high-res digital cameras back then!
@uscarrera Back in late 1989, German Auto in Avon, CT fully converted this vehicle to Firehawk race series specs (many safety upgrades, but the series required cars to be still pretty stock). At the last moment, the series barred Porsche from having turbo motors for the 1990 season and so this car was instantly obsolete (along with many others) for that series. The car had never actually been fully paid for by the original owner, who then defaulted on it and I bought it from the bank (and a payment to German Auto for the work performed). Think I have all these details correct for what occurred between Oct 1989 and Jan 1990 when I bought it. I can go back in my archives and post a pic from back then. Bottom-line, it never raced in Firehawk, which was kind of sad of course with the rule change. As for log books, I presume you mean racing ones. It raced a single time at Lime Rock in PCA back at the very dawn of PCA racing. No log book from back then. As for maintenance records, I do have many of the Speedsport and Ruf receipts, along with my own detailed records. Hope this helps.
@DavidC951s Congrats on the marriage and the cancer treatment! As I said, I am interested. I started my racing career with a 944 and frankly I enjoy them more than my current 911. GLWTS. I will be watching and hopefully bidding.
@nsolson67 Selling has naturally been a bit of a conflict in my head, but I just got married, am turning 70, and it's time to use funds to travel with my new wife (final cancer treatment today-yahoo!). I've been in racing for 44 years, so with a tear in my eye (sort of speak), moving onto different activities. I've over-invested in this vehicle, but someone (maybe you) will be the beneficiary of this. Feel free to ask any Qs at all.
I am curious why you are selling. Are you changing to a different vehicle or getting out of racing? I am interested in the car. I would have to get rid of my current 4 liter 911 track car first though.
Do you have any log books or Firehawk race history?
Thanks for taking a look at my listing here. Feel free to ask any questions at all, I'll keep a close watch for them.
I'm only the second owner, having bought it in January 1990. It has been maintained by three shops over its life; my own (I have extensive NASCAR and Porsche background), Ruf Auto in Dallas, TX and Speedsport Tuning in Danbury, CT. I can therefore answer any questions about the build and maintenance during its entire life.
This car gets the royal treatment all the time, both externally (it was nicknamed "Centerfold" by my track buddies because it would show up "too clean") and internally, meaning parts, fluid, engine, suspension, etc.
Fall season HPDEs or racing could be a bid away. And remember I'm including a full race trailer to make this really easy.
Additional content has been added to the gallery for this listing.