It’s always a little interesting to find something rare in the German world. The 924 Turbo does qualify as a bit rare; only about 6,800 of the early turbocharged models made it to the U.S., and the 1980 model year represents about half of that total. But teething problems, low residual values, higher cost of ownership and maintenance and the some 36 years that have passed since this car was produced mean there aren’t a huge glut of nice 924 models out there. But this car has something a little more unique than the already unusual 931. This particular car appears to have been modified in period utilizing Al Holbert’s D-Production body kit and magnesium BBS wheels. Rare? You betcha.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1980 Porsche 924 Turbo on eBay
Year: 1980
Model: 924 Turbo
Engine: 2.0 liter turbocharged inline-4
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 78,858 mi
Price: No Reserve Auction
Relisted due to a terrible Ebayer that did not have the funds to pay. For auction a 1980 Porsche 924 TURBO. This is first 924 that came turbocharged and a collective item that I was debating between restoring to original specs or making a Porsche 924 Turbo Carrera GT replica which is a model that never came to USA. The previous owner was a PCA member and I’m a PCA member as well. This car has a SCCA wide body kit on it which make it stand out over the regular 924’s typical narrow bodies. The last picture is when it had the 16″ wider BBS wheels but I sold them, so the car includes only the original 15″ wheels on the rest of the pictures. The original rear fenders are still under the side fiberglass flares, so the steel haven’t been cut, which is good news for collectors willing to restore it. The body needs to be re-painted due to the age of the paint. The engine has been rebuilt recently but it was done by previous owner. I restored enough to pass the TX state inspection and to go to work every now and then. It is in running conditions and you can drive it anywhere. I haven’t done troubleshoot of the A/C yet and maybe it just needs freon. I hate to let it go but I ran out of space in my house and the neighbors are giving me hard time if I park it out of my property. The Recaro seats are not included in the price, because they are the most expensive Recaro seats that you could buy for Porsche’s back then, they are electric with real leather and some ergonomic position features. The good news is that I am including the original leather seats that are similar to the 911 Turbo of that year (worth of $1,000 in good condition). If you want the Recaro seats you will need to pay $300 extra unless you use the Buy It Now option, then you choose which one you like more. It is a low miles car and you could tell by looking the engine and some features. The car is pretty fast when the turbo starts boosting which surprised me coming from a 924. It has a brand new stereo CD that it is not wired yet. It has a brand new carbon fiber shift knob and a new real leather shift boot with red stitching. The sunroof hardware works perfectly fine and it does not leak. As you can see underneath, there is only a superficial rust in the right drive axle, no leaks on transmission and the floor panels are intact without rust, also notice that the shocks were replace recently. This car has always been unappreciated for many years but it saved Porsche from bankruptcy and the history is pretty interesting for Porsche enthusiasts. I have the right to stop the auction due to local listing. I haven’t gone thru the whole car but I know the at least it does not have any rust or corrosion in the body because this year they came with galvanized body parts. It looks also like it never suffered any accident because the chassis and panels are all straight in one piece and the doors open and close perfectly. The value of this car is skyrocketing and now the high retail value as per NADA.com is $14,100 and the average value $10,200. You could make easy money on this one if you flip it. Priced to sell Fast!! My loss is your gain. Happy Bidding. If you do not have the money, do not buy it or your record is going to be damaged.
While I don’t have the price list, the original Holbert brochure including the D-Production flares can still be found. Back the graphics of the example in the catalog out and what you have is the car above. Holbert produced the pieces to commemorate their quite successful run in the SCCA D-Production catagory with the awesome factory 933 racers. Also available is the BBS E51 catalog which goes along with the flare kit; unfortunately, it appears that the seller has already sold those wheels. While this kit was no where as crazy as the Superwide 924 Turbo we saw earlier in the year, this was nonetheless a pretty cool period kit that is exceedingly rare to come across. The rest of the car in general looks salvageable, though reuniting the car with the BBS wheels will undoubtedly be difficult as the 4×108 pattern E51s are super rare and hard to come by. However, a set has recently been floating around eBay for a few thousand dollars – perhaps most likely the original wheels from this car.
The Hobert modified cars are niche niche models – the already polarizing 924 Turbo taken to another level with period modifications. However, while there’s no legitimate race history to this chassis nor real link to the D-Production cars outside of the look, the Holbert association may be cool enough in some circles of the Porsche world to support a restoration. So far the car has only attracted a few thousand dollars worth of bidding, making this a tempting winter project.
-Carter
With those inboard rear wheels, the car looks like a sad joke. Even with the BBS wheels, it needed some spacers. Let us take this time to remind our readers why you add fender flares: because you have a wheel/tire/spindle set up that causes the tires to protrude beyond the stock body work. You do not install fender flares because you think it would be cool to further push in the wheels deep inside the bodywork.
@Christian, if you look at the catalog, 8″ or 9″ wheels were an option. Looks like this car originally wore 8″ in the rear. You’re right, it needed the 9s.
I’m not sure where you guys are getting that this is a “Holbert” kit. First of all, Holbert didn’t produce the D-Prod kits…they were made by the factory, but sold through Holbert and 5 other selected Porsche dealerships during the 1978-82 era of SCCA D-Prod racing. It is much more likely that this car has a reproduction fiberglass kit from American International Racing (AIR), particularly given the clues / cracking visible in the “cow-catcher”. The one on this car does not appear to attach in the same fashion as the factory-produced parts.
Also, those are not rare magnesium wheels. Those are standard 4-lug spider web wheels that were first available on the 1981 924 Weissach Special Edition, and then as an option on 1982 model year naturally aspirated 924s. They are cast aluminum, anodized black, and then diamond cut on the face. They are a variant of the standard silver-painted spider web wheels that were available for 4-lug equipped 931s and 924s starting in 1980. 1981-onward 931s got a five lug version as well.
@Ideology – follow the links, Holbert produced a kit originally. Also, the magnesium reference is to the BBS wheels it wore originally as part of the kit (again, follow the link above). They were E51 multi-piece racing wheels. The combination of the wheels and flares leads me to believe it was ordered from the Holbert catalog.
You are correct that as is the car wears factory ATS wheels.
Also, @Ideology, I did not state that Holbery made the D-Production cars, although (technically speaking) they did, since the parts were shipped from Porsche to be assembled
I said “Holbert produced the pieces to commemorate their quite successful run in the SCCA D-Production catagory with the awesome factory 933 racers”
The Holbert parts were reproductions of the factory pieces.
Again, follow the links above to take you to the original Holbert Racing brochure and the “Superwide” they also made.
I’m very familiar with the Holbert legacy and history. I have a Holbert D-Prod kit myself, and I personally know the guy that owned the wide body you referenced (which incidentally was just recently sold to none other than Magnus Walker). It’s certainly *possible* this is one of the Holbert knock-off kits, but I felt that the writeup made an assertion that is not made by the seller or documented. It’s possible that it is Holbert, but it’s also possible it’s an AIR kit as well. Just suggesting a little qualification to the Holbert claim, as I don’t see any documented evidence to support the claim, just supposition. Anyway, it’s an interesting car, and that turbo motor does look quite clean. If those are indeed the wheels sold by Holbert, it’s a d*** shame they’ve been removed from the car, as it would significantly devalue any Holbert provenance it might have.
I am not qualified to comment on the provenance of this car by any means, however, my family and I were long term customers of the Holberts, and I love seeing this car. Back in the day I used to sneak back to the racing shop behind the dealer and gawk at cars like this one in their better days. It’s fantastic to see it here, even if it isn’t real or perfect. It takes me back to another time, albeit if I take my magnifiers off.
And I can’t wait to see what Magnus does with that widebody……
@Ideola – neat that you have a D-Production kit! Is it on a racer or a street car? I was lucky enough to spend some time around Gordon Nagel (sp?)’s 933 at Road America back in the early 2000s after its recommissioning.
To be clear, you’re right – the seller does not assert that the car is related to Holbert. And you’re right, there’s a chance it’s not. But in my mind, the probability of the builder of the car both selecting the D-Production flare kit and then separately fitting the rare and obscure BBS E51 wheels – which were offered together by Holbert – seems more unlikely than the car having been assembled using the HR bits. But, it’s not proven, and as you mentioned, just a supposition. You’re also correct that with those BBS wheels now gone, it really does make it hard to tie the car at all to Holbert without some photographic or written evidence that the car had anything to do with them.
Nevertheless, we both agree an interesting and unusual 924 Turbo!