You don't know what you're talking about.
Not only have I owned a 944 turbo, but I am a dedicated member of rennlist; probably the most respected Porsche forum. Your statements are so far from the truth is laughable. This is a Ferrari forum, and you're still standing alone on that one buddy. For the record; a stock 944 turbo will be competive with a stock (pre 3.6 liter) 911 turbo on any track. The tighter the track, the more advantage the 44' will have too! There are numberous articles out there from several publications making this comparison. And IIRC, there are more than one that lean towards the 951. So, unless you think the 911 turbo is 'junk' as well, do not discount the 944 turbo. Advantages of the 944 turbo. Amazing power band. Really strong driveline. Inexpensize prop shafts. The clutch lasts forever (pretty much!) Great suspension geometry. Perfect steering feel. Same brakes as the first gen Viper (Brembo 11.9's in the front IIRC). 168mph stock for a 1986.
From what I understand, the main problem with the 944 turbo is lack of reliability and high cost when it breaks. In this case, the original poster said nothing about reliability, nor did he say anything about cost of fixing it if it broke. So, assuming the 944 turbo can hold together for a couple of laps at Road America (let's give it a warm-up lap), it looks pretty good.
I don't know if this falls within your rules or not, but with 10k I would buy an early 90's Miata, then carry my happy azz to the nearest salvage yard and cherry pick a 5.0 Mustang engine. Then I would spend the other 6k on building the engine and tweaking the chasis & suspension to cope with such massive amounts of torque and power. My cousin in Houston did this very thing in the mid 90's. That car was a BEAST & he built it for less than 10k (Of course he did the majority of the work himself...) You can beat the he11 out of Mustang 5.0 engines and they simply will not die...
Well suspension mods wouldn't have to be done if we're talking about top speed like you quoted now would they....
So you've seen a handful of cars and write the whole group off? Not a wise thing to do on a car board and without a clue as to what you're talking about. I've seen a bunch of Ferrari's totaled by idiot drivers, does that mean all Ferrari driver are crappy? No. Get a brain.
They only seem unreliable to those who have NEVER owned them because most guys tear them limb from limb. They are the best bang for your buck under 7k US and 10k US for the 951 if my prices are still correct. They can be made reliable just like any other car but they are older and most are track cars, so think about what they're used for before deciding that their all junk. Hummm TRACK CARS THAT NEED, HOW ABOUT THAT! It's almost like racing a 20 year old car makes things wear down quicker! Stop bashing the old Porsches just because you don't like them, people could bash the old Ferrari's just as easily ans they are even MORE expensive to buy and fix.
dammit, i was gonna say that. although if you want to get picky, a zx6r or R6 would probably get faster lap times. and i dont think you can get new liter bikes for less than 11-12k edit// and fastest top speed? jeebus, i dunno, my $4800 bike got up to 150 with room to go earlier today. god help you on a liter bike, maybe 170? 180?
You have to chill, I didn't bash...but the guy wants a 10K car....don't you think it should be a car that is cheaper and easier to fix....???? By the way, my friend had a 944S, it wasn't that reliable, and it was't cheap to fix....
the guy doesn't want any car, it's a hypothetical question. THe 944 requires preventative maintenance, something foreign to most automotively inept drivers out there. If done, it runs like a champ.
1973 or 70's superbeetle hands down. You can buy a superbeetle for about 500-1000, and with 2-3k, you can build a turbo motor to spank any car on the street in terms of accelaration. For track purposes, you can build a torquey and responsive, 1776, or 1914 with dual weber or dellorto carbs, short gear race tranny, and suspension upgrades. All this for under 5k, and you'll have raw street/race car and track monster with all the character in the world. If something breaks, very easily and cheap to fix. oh and the sound of the carbs are very addictive. Now if you want to spend the whole ten thousand with the goals of going very fast, you'll have no problem building a 9 sec turbo street car.
If you find a Porsche 928S4 5 speed manual for less than 10K, then thats the car. I take that you said bone stock.
My brother is got a 944turbo he bought almost new back then, the car is as fast as his 996C4S up to 100mph, it is very reliable and fast at the track. He doesnt sell it because for the money theres nothing like it, first of all its a Porsche.
Out of my mind?? As an owner of TWO RX7s in the past, I think I have a pretty good take on what you can do with those cars. Not to mention an old Kelmark back in the day powered by a 12A rotary. I didn't say you could even buy a sway bar or brake kit or even an A-pillar cluster pod with money left over (since you would pretty much be maxed out........ But, you can EASILY find a steal on a 3rd gen RX7 for around $7k. And you can set it up with a single turbo for 3k. It can be done. Trust me....