High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The 968 is a sports car sold by Porsche AG from 1992 to 1995. It took over the entry-level position in Porsche's lineup from the 944, with which it shared about 20% of its parts. The 968 became the final model in an evolving line, starting almost 20 years earlier with the introduction of the Porsche 924 and ending with the Turbo S, Turbo RS, and Turbo RS Lemans, which are three separate versions of the 968. The 968 pioneered a number of sports car firsts including the first six-speed gearbox. Porsche's 944 model debuted for the 1982 model year, was updated as "944S" in 1987 and as "944S2" in 1989. Shortly after the start of production of the S2 variant, Porsche engineers began working on another set of significant upgrades for the model, as executives were planning a final "S3" variant of the 944. During the development phase, 80% of the 944's mechanical components were either significantly modified or completely replaced by the engineers, leaving so little of the outgoing S2 behind that Porsche management chose to introduce the variant as a new model, entitling it 968.