The 944 has been an enthusiast’s car since its launch in 1982, offering a level of value, prestige, performance and engineering that led to some 163,000 examples being sold and making it one of the most successful production models in Porsche’s history.

A well rounded evolution of the narrower, rather 'budget' 924 from 1976, the 944 was offered as a coupé and cabriolet with a luxurious interior that matched the similarly styled, range-topping, 968.

Handsome, yet significantly cheaper to run on a daily basis than the V8-powered 968 and the fancier 911, the 944 was a huge hit in the UK, with the majority hitting seven figures on their odometers.

Consequently, most did not survive our climate and the uneconomic demands of stern MOT testers, resulting in remaining examples of varying quality.

Very few were treated to five figure restorations.

With a decade of global sales and numerous engine upgrades the model may seem ubiquitous to the UK classic market, but the single year producti...