The early 1990s was a tough time for Porsche as it battled a global economic slump and competition from more advanced, more affordable Japanese coupes like the Nissan Skyline GT-R with its own lineup of cars that could trace their roots back to the 1970s, and in some cases, even earlier.
But Porsche worked hard to keep those cars feeling fresh, refining the design and improving the power outputs, which is why the front-engine 968 is highly prized today. In fact, like for like, you’ll pay far more for a 968 than an early Boxster.
And it looks like someone is about to hand over a huge amount of money to get their hands on this very special 968. Built in 1992 and painted in stunning Amethyst Metallic, it’s covered just 8,222 miles from new and is currently being auctioned on Bring-a-Trailer where bidding has so far reached $75,000 with four days still to go.
Looking almost as clean underneath as it does on top, this 968 is nearly indistinguishable from new; even the stupidly impractical white cloth Porsche logo upholstery appearing bright and clean. We’re not as enamored with the purple steering wheel, dashboard, headliner and sat piping as we are the exterior color, but it’s kind of period-cool.
Related: Porsche Builds A One-Off 968 Speedster With Fashion House
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Under the hood is the stock naturally aspirated inline-four that started life as half of a Porsche 928 V8 in the 944 back in the early 1980s. But by 1992, Porsche had expanding it from 2.5- to 3.0-liters and added Variocam variable valve timing, plus a six-speed manual transmission.
That setup sent 236 hp (240 PS) and 225 lb-ft (305 Nm) of torque to the rear wheels via a limited slip differential according to Porsche’s original figures, and with only 8,000 miles on the clock, there’s no reason why every one of those horses shouldn’t still be present 30 years later on this car. Rolling stock consists of the original 16-inch five-spoke wheels, but we know we’d find it hard not to swap them out for a set of 17-inch Cup wheels normally seen on the Club Sport that would fill those arches so much better.
Would you sell the family jewels for this amethyst 968? Leave a comment and let us know.
