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Tag: ATS

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Face Off: 1980 Porsche 924 Turbo v. 1988 Porsche 924S Special Edition

Face Off: 1980 Porsche 924 Turbo v. 1988 Porsche 924S Special Edition

Published January 24, 2018 by Carter

Increasingly as some of our childhood (or, adulthood) heroes get priced out of sensibility for weekend warrior on a budget status, there are still some bastions of hope for the shoestring enthusiast. One of the best must undoubtedly be the underrated Porsche 924. As Sciroccos, GTIs, 944 Turbos, Quattros and the like take off in value, here lies a plethora of well-cared for, well-built and fun-to-drive cars that have good parts accessibility, reasonable repair costs and surprising amounts of practicality. Sure, it’s ‘just’ a 924, and Porschephiles will probably poo-poo your choice. So, too, will most of the rest of the automotive world. Their loss is your gain. Try as they might, outside of some very special 924 Carreras, these models that helped to keep Porsche afloat in the 1970s and 1980s still haven’t caught on with collectors.

So today I have two special 924s to consider once again. The first is a lofty Turbo model; finicky even in period, they’ve developed a reputation for lack of reliability and expensive repairs, but then have you ever seen the bill on a proper flat-6 rebuild? I’m going to compare it to the end-of-the-run 924S, and this one is the lightweight Special Edition model, too. Both are quite affordable and both appear to be in great condition, so which one is the winner?

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First Dimension: 1978 Volkswagen Scirocco Callaway Turbo

First Dimension: 1978 Volkswagen Scirocco Callaway Turbo

Published September 6, 2017 by Carter

There aren’t too many period-correct tuned Volkswagens that we get to see. Those that do turn up are usually home-brewed, and consequently usually aren’t built to a high standard.

Today’s is something special, though.

Finding a clean first generation Scirocco is difficult enough. This one also happens to be one of the limited Champagne Edition cars, though you’d not know it unless I told you so, because so little of the original outside of the silhouette remains. From top to bottom, this Scirocco has been through a whirlwind of changes. But this car is far from a garage project, as some of the more legendary VW tuners in the U.S. had their hands on it since it was close to new. This car was the original test bed for the Santa Clara speed shop New Dimensions, and features some of the best items you could source. New Dimensions bought the production rights and experience of Callaway Turbo Systems in the mid 1980s, and continued to offer turbocharging for Volkswagens into the early 2000s. The result, after a painstaking period of rebuilding it, is a nearly flawless execution and one of the best tuned VW 2-doors out there:

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1982 Porsche 924 Turbo

1982 Porsche 924 Turbo

Published July 22, 2017 by Carter

Edit 9/30/2017 – The asking price has dropped to $11,995.

Back in June and into early July, I spent some time covering the various iterations of the 924. In each case, there was something unique or interesting about each variation of the model generally overlooked in Porsche history, but nonetheless important to the survival and success of Porsche as a company. Paving the way for the 944 model, the 924 was an efficient, reliable and (reasonably) affordable premium sports car that lived through an economic and resource crisis period. Without it and the subsequent 944/968, Porsche may well have been forced to close its doors a few times.

I looked at a 924 Turbo a little over a month ago. 931s are broken into two periods – Series 1 (launch in ’79 -late ’80) and Series 2 (’81-’82). Series 2 cars all had the 5-lug, 4-wheel disc upgrade that only some of the Series 1 were equipped with. Additionally, they had a revised ignition system, improved intake, higher compression pistons but a smaller turbocharger. The transmission was shared with the B2 Audi inline-5s. They were mostly loaded examples, so like this one they have power windows, locks, mirrors, air conditioning, rear wiper and sunroof. Outside of the wheels, these changes were mostly invisible to the eye, and generally speaking don’t make a difference in the value of the vehicle. What does is condition, and when you’re looking at a 924 Turbo you want to buy the best one that you can afford. Is this the one?

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1981 Porsche 924

1981 Porsche 924

Published June 30, 2017 by Carter

Update 1/17/2019: the seller of this clean 924 apparently hasn’t had any luck selling it, and it’s back on eBay with a $4,500 asking price today.

Update 8/11/2017 – the Buy It Now has been lowered to $6,500.

Another 924? Sure, but there were so many special models during the production run that popped up that they could occupy most of a week alone! Recently, I’ve looked at a ’87 924S, a modded ’78, a Carrera GT replica and a clean ’80 Turbo.

Today is one that’s slightly different in that, at least on the surface, it’s not a special edition. However, what is interesting about this car is that it appears to have several of the items from the ’81 Weissach Commemorative Edition. One of the 2,100 1981 924s imported, the Platinum color, mudflaps and two-tone ATS wheels seem to match the limited model. Is it one, after all?

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1978 Porsche 924

1978 Porsche 924

Published June 19, 2017 by Carter

I’m going to continue my string of 924s with an interesting 1978 today. This car represents the early run of the original design. It was a simple, no-frills, lightweight sports car – in essence, what Porsche was all about. However, Porsche’s headlining cars had moved on to powerful 6- and 8-cylinder designs, and turbocharging ruled the roost in performance options – so the EA827 derivative normally aspirated 4-cylinder from corporate partners Volkswagen and Audi was selected. That relegated the 924 to only about 100 horsepower, but with good handling and excellent aerodynamics they were still entertaining – albeit relatively slow – drives.

And, at less than $10,000 new, they were an affordable sports car with good build quality and a name established in winning prestigious races around the world. Yet, as Porsche does, sales success didn’t stop them from launching marketing-targeted limited production models nearly every single year – and charging a lot more money for them with options (up to around $15,000!). Today, if you want to collect an early 924, they’re generally the ones to grab. 1976-7 saw the Martini World Championship cars, while in 1978 you could have the Limited Edition model, and in 1979 the Sebring model. There was a 1980 Le Mans edition and further specials that we’ve seen, too. Along with the addition of the Turbo to the lineup in 1980, then, there generally isn’t much of a call to look at a non special edition early 924. But, this is one that might buck that trend….

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