Porsche once considered replacing its iconic 911 with a bold V8 grand tourer. Decades later, that misunderstood machine is ...

There are exceptions, of course, and Porsche ... 944 Turbo by ordering the individual items from the options sheet, they would cost you more than $9000, and you wouldn't get the high-output engine.

Sure enough, the prototype 944 convertible shown at the 1985 Frankfurt Auto Show was powered by just such an engine, rated at 181 horsepower. In the intervening months, Porsche's engine wizards ...