
The first time I drove a 968 was in 1994. It was a used ’92 that was traded in at Continental Porsche in Fairfield. I drove my 944 turbo to the dealer for the test drive. I loved it but when I ran the numbers I just couldn’t make ownership work. It would be 2 more years before I actually purchased my first 968, in 1996. Since then I’ve owned 7 of them and have driven close to a 100 but I have never had a 968 driving experience like I did a few weeks back.
Many people know that I’m one of the 968 model’s biggest fans and I’m often contacted by individuals to let me know a particular car is available for sale or in the area. I’ve also done a half dozen Porsche parades and numerous other shows so I’ve seen many other 968s over the years. But a few weeks back CVRer Paul Roth contacted me to let me know a 968 had found its way to Wayne’s place in Portland, F40 Motorsports. We all know Wayne has some choice machinery at his place and it was great to see a 968 join his inventory. Paul sent along a couple of photos of the cabriolet. It looked very clean in Cobalt Blue Metallic with a cobalt blue top, but that is not an overly rare combination with 26 being produced for the North American market. But then I noticed something unusual. On the fender of the car I noted the ROW (European) turn-signal repeater light so I knew I wasn’t looking at a North American market vehicle here and as I looked closer the most amazing difference appeared. This car was a right hand drive 968!
Now, there is not a lot of variation of the 968 model over its four year model run. Yes, there are coupes and cabriolets, 6 speeds and tiptronics, club sports and M030 suspension cars, and various individual options but nothing huge when comparing the cars. But when you come upon a right hand drive model, that is a pretty major difference.

I contacted Mike at F40 about the car and made an appointment to see it in person. When I got to F40 the 968 was parked right out front. As I approached it the car looked like a clean 968 but in a pretty standard configuration. When we popped open the door and I saw that RHD interior, wow. Just sitting in it was crazy as the steering wheel was on the wrong side!!! 😊
After receiving the keys I started the car and the sound of the 968 inline 4 cylinder was very familiar. Then Mike asked, “would you like to drive it?” I responded “no” as I would not trust myself with the most unusual driver orientation but then he said to just try it out around the parking lot. Okay, that seemed safe enough so I put my seatbelt on and shifted the car into drive. Wow, I can’t describe to you how bizarre it was to drive a RHD car after 23 years of driving left-hand drive 968s and 44 years of driving other left-hand drive cars. I looped the front parking lot and then returned her to her parking spot. So oddly different.

Next up was the tour of how a global company like Porsche goes about making a global car for different sales markets. It was fascinating to see the differences and similarities between this 968 and my 968s, especially with the engineering work that needs to be done to make a right-hand drive vehicle.
Just a short list of my observations:
The battery was in the left side cubby in the trunk on the UK car. My guess is to make room for everything being on the right side of the car. In my car, the battery is in the engine compartment, on the right side and that same cubby area in the trunk is used to hold the portable air compressor.
Hood opener – On my car, it is on the left side of the car and it was in the same location on the UK car. Interesting that Porsche chose not to move this. So, if you are in the driver’s seat in the UK car you have to get out and go over to the left side of the car to pop open the hood (or is that the bonnet?) This obviously saved Porsche some redesign money.
Exterior VIN location – On my car, the VIN is on the left side of the car, under the windshield, off the A-pillar. On the UK car, it was in the same location, away from the driver. I thought it was strange that the VIN wasn’t on the right side of the UK car with the driver.
Airbags – All North American 968s have dual front airbags. This UK car had the optional driver’s
(right side) airbag and no airbag for the passenger. Interesting.
Headlight alignment adjustor – standard on all European cars is the headlight adjustor. I knew about this but had never seen it in person. It is a dial on the console which allows you to adjust the line of the headlight beam based on the load in the car that you are carrying.
It was such an experience to see and drive this unique 968 that it made my day. Thanks to Mike at F40 for the test drive and Paul for letting me know about it. Paul, you saved me the funds I had planned to spend on a trip to the UK in order to drive one of these!
Will I be adding this machine to my fleet of 968s? Nope, I have 3 right now and have my eye on a couple more so no room but it would definitely be an experience to own this unique car. If it sounds interesting to you, head over to F40 and contact Mike. The car is clean and has been well cared for based on all those maintenance stamps in the book. And one thing is for absolute certainty, if you took ownership of this car you would definitely be the only Cobalt Blue right-hand drive 968 at any automotive event!

Jeff, just got the January/ February issue of Hagerty drivers club magazine # 71. Check out page 56 -59 on the Porsche 968 . Let me know if you can’t get it and we will figure out a way of getting it to you.
Regards, Joe Macauto
Jeff,
Thank you for the interesting article!
Allen
I remember driving in England years ago in a RHD, manual trans Opel Astra. It was terrific…except when turning and shifting through the roundabouts!
BTW, do U.S. auto insurers add a surcharge if you drive a RHD Porsche? LOL
Quite an interesting read and in keeping with Porsche struggles at the time to save money where they could… As always Jeff is very insightful when it comes to our beloved cars , thanks for a nice article!!
Jeff,
You have a way for finding, then enjoying, differences that others may not even think about. Porsche passion runs deep in you, thanks for taking us on the journey! As far as the location of the battery, I would suggest that this was on purpose to offset the driver weight. Keeping the heavy battery on the same side as the driver would make a noticable balance difference that simply wouldn’t do for such a well balanced car.
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