TOM BARKER
The 944 was a significant development in Porsche production, but even today, forty years after model launch, these front-engined, water-cooled sports cars can hold their own against modern traffic, especially when treated to a round of carefully considered modifications...
Periods of lockdown provided many of us with time to catch up on projects otherwise neglected due to busy home and work lives. I used the time to develop the next generation of my Augtronic plug and play ECU upgrade for the 944. As you’d expect from a Porsche specialist focusing on four-cylinder cars from the manufacturer’s transaxle family of products, I’m a big fan of the 944, but like many owners and enthusiasts, I felt the performance of the model’s standard eightvalve engines left a lot to be desired, even when subjected to turbocharging.
Sold through Augment Automotive, the predominantly 944-focused business I operate in partnership with my father, David, the Augtronic ECU came about as a personal project while I was studying control systems engineering at university. Though concerned with programming and electronics in the field of robotics, my studies extended to real-world applications, including engine management. Even a decade ago, when I first launched Augtronic, chipsets were a limiting and old-fashioned way of modifying ECUS, and they didn’t cater for the huge number of owners who enjoy applying a bespoke ECU tune to their own cars, using a supplied base map as a starting point.
Augtronic addressed these issues, but as the years rolled by, I wanted to improve the system’s features, not only to make it more comprehensive and offer even greater protection to the M44 inline-four, but also to cater for a changing general motoring environment, which has seen newer grades of fuel pumped at filling stations in recent times. Current semiconductor supply issues have delayed launch of the new Augtronic system longer than I anticipated, but I’m looking forward to rollout of the product later this year.
Not every enthusiast is confident enough or wants to map their own car, which is why we see a high number of 944 owners taking advantage of the chassis dynamometer at our Gloucestershire workshop, and why I conduct a significant number of mapping sessions remotely (we have many Augtronic customers living in the USA). Regardless of how ‘hands on’ these enthusiasts may or may not be, one thing unites them: a desire to improve the reliability and performance of their 944.
For Turbo owners, through the appointment of little more than an airflow meter delete pipe, an ECU upgrade, a MAP sensor and loom, this could amount to an extra fifty bhp without further work, but even normally aspirated 2.5-litre 944s can see significant gains. And, though what I’m describing here is an inexpensive route to power more in keeping with what you’d expect from modern sports cars — we live in an age where nobody bats an eyelid at a Ford Focus pumping out 300bhp — the increased desirability of Porsches from the 1980s means 944 owners are now investing in their cars more than ever, a result of enthusiasts feeling more confident in spending significant sums on the restoration or modification of their cars as a consequence of the 944 coming of age and, in many cases, fetching strong money.
There’s also a new breed of owner coming through. Some of these buyers have been priced out of the 911 market and are now looking at the 944 in a different light, realising how sensible these cars are to live with, not only in terms of their performance in today’s traffic, but also the comfort and practicality a 944 offers. And, for those who enjoy taking care of the maintenance and servicing of their cars at home, the 944 isn’t an especially complicated car to work on. The mechanicals were brilliantly engineered by Porsche and, providing service schedules are observed, a 944 should prove very reliable. In age where new cars are seen by many buyers as disposable items with a limited shelf life, the ‘analogue’ 944 — there are no challenging electronics to worry about — is a true survivor, providing driving enthusiasts and home mechanics the opportunity to connect with a purely Porsche product without breaking the bank.
I can’t talk about this excellent modern classic without mentioning its handling, which is nothing short of brilliant. The surefootedness of near equal front-to-back weight distribution will surprise many who have yet to experience time behind the wheel of a front-engined Porsche from the period.
The 944 is totally usable as a sporty daily drive. Granted, if travelling fast at all times is your thing, eight-valve models free of forced induction may seem to offer lacklustre performance against the output of modern (often turbocharged) cars, but even a base model 944 isn’t exactly a slouch and, as I’ve already alluded to, a remap can positively transform the way these cars behave.
Big-volume production means there are plenty of 944s to choose from, too, but it pays to keep in mind many of these cars were maintained in a manner corresponding with their former values. It’s certainly worth spending more for a well-kept example, which should reward you with a secure investment and many happy miles of motoring. ●