WHAT IS IT? Porsche sure got its money's worth out of the old 924. It started life as a sports car project for Volkswagen and when VW passed Porsche snapped up the finished car for itself. After a few years the 924 was beefed up with butch-looking flared wheel arches and more power to become the 944. And, in 1992, the 944 made way for the 968. By then, there was little commonality of parts. Porsche claimed only 20 per cent of the 944 made its way into the 968.

WHEN WAS IT MADE? Porsche was seriously strapped for cash in the late Eighties and couldn't afford to design and build a new entry level car from scratch. The 968 started out as the 944 S3 but, by the time it was finished, so much had changed that Porsche chose to introduce it as a new model in its own right. To underline this production of the car was moved to Porsche's own factory, previous 944 and 924s having been made by Audi under contract.

WHAT MADE IT GREAT? The 968 was powered by an up-dated 944 power plant – a 3.0-litre four cylinder unit that felt a bit uncouth even in 1992. But the engine's gruff nature was compensated for by the sweet handling, particularly in latter Club Sport variants which stripped away luxuries in search of lower weight.

WHAT DID OWNERS HATE? Whenever someone said “A 968? Oh, that's not a real Porsche”... because the engine was fitted up front and not hung off the back like a 911.

IS IT WORTH GETTING ONE? Definitely. The 968 is becoming a sought-after classic these days. Great build quality and engineering means it's a tough car to break. A well-loved 968 makes a very practical classic.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST? You can get into a 968 for the price of a Ford KA. High miles examples can be found for less than £6,000, although you'll want to see lots of service history before taking a chance. The engine's relative simplicity makes it cheap to maintain – for a Porsche. The cambelts require changing every four years, or 45,000 miles, and that's not a cheap job. The plastic chain ramps used for the Variocam system are also prone to wear and this can lead to expensive cam sprocket damage – requiring a new set of cams. Ouch.

Sunroofs (leaks) and instrument lights (too dim) are also well known problem areas.