The Porsche 944 was yet another successful release for this well respected German manufacturer, although its lifespan between 1982 and 1991 meant that it straddled the car on which it was based and the car which would eventually replace it, not quite getting the production longevity that had originally been intended.

The 944 began life as a revision of the platform that was already in action under the guise of the 924 moniker.

The 944 was basically a faster and more luxurious alternative to the 924 and featured a top speed of 130 miles per hour, although subsequent testing actually found this to be closer to 137mph in real world conditions.

After three years on the market the 944 was updated, with various aesthetic improvements on the interior being outweighed by the number of components that Porsche actually replaced. This included things like the aerial and the alternator as well as the fuel tank.

The 944 Turbo was introduced in 1986 and this would up the power output of the standard engine thanks to a turbocharger, bringing it to 220bhp.

The gearbox had to be improved in order to take the extra strain put upon it by the increased engine performance and Porsche also worked on the car to make it more aerodynamic.

The 944 Turbo S arrived in 1988, once again upping the power by a significant margin and effectively packing on 30 more horsepower than the standard Turbo.

This gave it a reported 0-60mph time of around five and a half seconds in contemporary road tests.

Various other iterations of the S and the Turbo were introduced over the next few years and in 1991 there was even a cabriolet model which emerged with the same 250hp engine onboard.

While the start of the 1990s saw Porsche start to develop an updated version of the 944 which would still use this name, it eventually decided to use all its work to develop a fresh car called the 968 which would act as the lowest priced model that it offered at the time.

While the Porsche 944 was not the company's most prestigious car, it has accrued a good following over the years and values of classic examples are increasing in line with its growing popularity.