1979 Porsche 924 Sebring Edition

Porsche has never been one to shy away from special editions. You could probably populate the pages of this blog daily with the veritable cornucopia of limited-run models Stuttgart thinks up at every board meeting. So it comes as no surprise that Porsche’s tried and true formula of “Add Limited Edition” immediately found its way into their new 924 chassis as soon as it was released. I covered these special models last year over at The Truth About Cars, but you’re probably already familiar with a few as we’ve seen them before on these pages.

The first to hit was the Championship Edition (Martini) 924 in 1976-7. It was primarily an appearance package with the signature red/blue Martini stripes over a body in white with a unique interior, though the model also got sway bars for some performance gain. About 3,000 were produced. In 1978 that was followed by the Limited Edition; again, a special color with special Pascha interior, sway bars and the addition of fog lights. In 1979, to celebrate the 1978 victory of Porsche 935s at Sebring, Porsche introduced a new limited model. Dubbed ‘Sebring ’79’, the new model took aspects of both the Martini and Limited models and combined them. You got sway bars and fog lights (Sebring takes place partially during the night, after all!), and the model was presented in bright Guards Red paintwork with a Tartan interior inserts. Porsche upped the race decal quotient from the Martini car; not only were there yellow race stripes that flowed down the sides, those stripes encircled the car now. Giant “Sebring ’79’ decals adorned the front fenders and the tail, as well. And if you forgot what you were driving, Porsche slapped a huge ‘924’ white decal in the middle of the headlight filler panel. As 924 special editions went, it was the closest to a full-sized Matchbox car you could buy. This was option M429, but there was a further option to upgrade to the Turbo-spec 5-bolt hubs and ATS mesh wheels that is very rarely seen, as most have the black painted wheels with chrome trim rings that came standard, just as this example does:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1979 Porsche 924 Sebring Edition on eBay

Year: 1979
Model: 924 Sebring Edition
Engine: 2.0 liter inline-4
Transmission: 4-speed manual
Mileage: TMU
Price: $6,250 Buy It Now

1979 Porsche 924 Sebring Edition
This car shows well, has low miles and good condition – It would compliment any collection of Porsche cars.
The 924 Sebring Edition is a limited production edition built by Porsche in 1979 to celebrate Porsches success at the 12 Hours of Sebring race. The Sebring Edition features: Special Graphics, Red & Black Plaid Seats, Black Mahle Wheels, larger sway bars and a limited production run of less than 1400 Cars.
Runs and drives well
Body is in overall good condition except for a few dings. The car has been kept garaged by the past several owners. The paint has a good shine to it. All of the lights work and the front headlights raise up & down well. The power windows and mirrors work properly. Windshield wipers work fine. The sunroof is nice and it’s seals are good.
The interior is in good condition except for an area in the driver’s seat bottom that will need to be repaired – I believe that the plaid material is available to keep the interior original. The dash has a few cracks that a prior owner attempted to patch. All of the gauges are working properly, except for the odometer. I was told that when it stopped working at 47,296 the person I purchased the car from drove the car very little afterwards. I have owned the car for several years and have driven her less than 3000 miles total so I believe that this car has around 50,000 total miles from new – the overall condition seems to validate this.
The engine is very clean and the previous owner replaced the shifter bushings, muffler assembly, thermostat, flushed the radiator and oil. I have replaced the battery and changed the fluids. The engine starts easily, does not smoke, idles and runs great and has plenty of power.The clutch, brakes and tranny operate well – the car runs well and handles nicely.

So, is this the perfect collector 924 you were hoping for? Signs point to no immediately; the pictures aren’t great and don’t give a good idea of what the condition is currently. What is shown generally looks okay, but immediately several items stand out – or, in this case, don’t. The original fog lights are missing, as is much of the original Sebring decal set. As the original decals weren’t the best looking, visually that’s not much of a loss – but from a collector standpoint, the lack of originality really hurts the value. That value could perhaps be saved if the car had the quite rare 5-bolt option, but it does not. Inside, the original steering wheel has been replaced by a later 944 unit and the Tartan inserts exhibit some damage. The cracked dash is typical, but the attempted repairs should also raise eyebrows. Mechanical history seems to be generally good, but the car’s non-functional odometer effectively seals the deal. This is a decently presented 924, but it’s not the best limited model, nor is it the best example of the 1,292 Sebring Edition made that we’ve seen.

Consequently, though the $6,250 asking price isn’t outrageous in the realm of Porsches, in the more narrow focus of 924s it’s far overpriced. For example, at the same time this car is available, there’s a much nicer 1987 924S in Guards Red available for $6,500. For $250 more, you get a lot more performance with a ‘true’ Porsche drivetrain, suspension, brakes and transmission, a better overall original presentation, and lots of recent mechanical work that seem to make this car not only a better driver, but a much better long-term prospective. The 924, especially in S form, shouldn’t be underrated as an overlooked value in the German collector market – you just need to make sure you buy the right one, and I’m afraid as nice as this ’79 generally looks, it’s not the one to get.

-Carter