Porsche 968 Club Sport (1993)

Long-term Porsche devotees will be all too familiar with the 968, introduced to the world back in 1991, and as it turned out, was to be the end of the line for Porsche's enduring front-engined four-cylinder model line. The 968 was developed directly from the 944, which meant adopting its well-honed and well-proven running gear, whilst presenting a fresh design aesthetic that made it feel like a significantly new model.

The standard 968 was a great all-round sports car, but as a last 'hurrah' to this enduring lineage Porsche wanted to create a car tailored more for the pure enthusiast and, in particular, one that would excel in competition. In late 1992, the 968 'Club Sport' was introduced and, whilst it was mechanically identical to the standard 968 and shared the same 3.0-litre engine (producing 225lb-ft of torque and 240bhp) and 6-speed gearbox (situated at the rear axle, which helped give the car it's excellent weight distribution), it differed in a number of important ways.

This track-focused run-out model adopted the philosophy of 'less is more' by removing all luxury-related equipment from the basic build specification. With the no-frills approach, less weight and clever suspension, Porsche could now focus media attention on the Club Sport's fast road and track abilities. As soon as the press got hold of the Clubsport and discovered what a brilliant drivers' car it was, the credibility of the 968 went through the roof. Even Walter Rohrl reckoned it was the best handling car that Porsche made. The CS achieved a 'Performance Car of The Year' award in 1993 from Performance Car magazine in the UK.

In total, just 1,923 CS examples were produced worldwide, of which only 179 were UK right-hand drive models, making the Club Sport a very rare Porsche indeed.