The 944 evolved through the racing program of the 924; specifically, the 924 Carrera GT, GTS, and GTR. In the early 1980s, these cars dominated their classes in IMSA racing. In 1981, Porsche Motorsports built a highly evolved version of the 924 GTR called the 924 GTP or 944 GTP Le Mans, which finished 7th overall at Le Mans sporting a newly developed 2.5-liter engine which would be, in part, the basis for the road going 944.

At the same time, the U.S. based Fabcar run by Dave Klym had modified some winning Porsches for Paul Miller and Bob Akin. Al Holbert, who was head of Porsche Motorsports North America at that time, contracted Klym to make a new evolution of the 944 which would be called the 944 GTR. Unlike its predecessors, the 944 GTR was a tube frame race car, which did not utilize the chassis of the 944-road car. Brakes and wheels from a 962 were fitted, and the 944 GTR received a specially developed all aluminum 2.5 liter turbo under its silhouette body.

The early 2.0 and 2.5 liter turbos had developed between 250 and 450 horsepower; the new unit in the GTR developed between 525 to 650 hp.

A veritable who’s who of Porsche motorsports history worked on these cars, including McLaren and ANDIAL. Slated to race in both the SCCA Trans Am series and IMSA GTO, the GTR achieved moderate success but ultimately fell victim to bad timing and a lack of funding following the death of Holbert. Despite this, they were the fastest front engine Porsches ever raced.