One of the more surprising models ever to leave Stuttgart was the 924 Carrera GTS Clubsport. Yes, Porsche made a track-ready racer 924 that was originally destined as a homologation model for FIA Group 4 racing. It was a 924 Turbo with aluminum body panels, 16″ Fuchs wheels, 930 Turbo-style brakes, Bilstein coilover suspension, an integrated roll cage, plastic window treatments, 935-style seats, and a fire suppression bottle. Also it looked really menacing compared to the standard 924 Turbo. Only 15 road-legal cars were produced, which puts this in the rarest of the rare category when talking about the special cars from Porsche. Today, we happen to have one for sale up for sale in Miami with a crazy 37,000 miles on the odometer. Although that maybe isn’t so crazy after I tell you the price.
Tag: 924
In its second full year for production, Porsche’s entry-level 924 model sped out of the gate – at least, in terms of sales. Some 11,638 traded in 1978, the model’s single most successful year by quite a margin. In fact, if you find an early non-Turbo 924, odds are it’ll be a ’78 since about 30% were when new. Obviously, the appeal of a (relatively) inexpensive Porsche worked; consider that even in the heyday 80s, Porsche never sold more than 2,700 928s a year here – often quite less – and the 924 comprised about 70% of the firms sales in the 1970s. This is the model that kept the lights on, Mr. Turbo Carrera.
Of course, by itself that doesn’t make an early 924 exciting, nor is it solely a compelling reason to buy one. But there were some neat options for the early 924, not least of which was the Turbo. There were also a plethora of limited edition models, from the most famous Martini World Championship model to the Sebring ’79 edition, the ’78 Limited Edition, the M471 S models and the Weissach Commemorative Edition to consider. We also seen some cool later models with neat options and neat colors – plus they got a 5-speed manual, and that’s if you choose to ignore the much better later 924S model, too!
Today’s car is none of those special models, but it’s still worth a look – as it is claimed to have traveled just 8,000 miles from new. That’s roughly 185 a year, if you’re counting…and you better be able to count if you want to pay for it.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1978 Porsche 924 on eBay
Comments closedBack in October I took a look at a very nice 931 over in Europe for sale; one of the best examples I’ve seen on the market recently:
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, and the transaxle was shared with the B2 Audi inline-5s. Today’s example is loaded like most and comes from the end of the first series, so it has power windows, locks, mirrors, air conditioning, rear wiper and sunroof. It also has the M471 package, which added Koni shocks, 5-bolt forged 16″ wheels, 928 calipers with 911SC vented discs, larger swap bars, a quicker steering rack, and a small-diameter four-spoke leather covered steering wheel. 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?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1980 Porsche 924 Turbo on eBay
5 CommentsUpdate 10/23/19: This cool 924 sold for a surprising $8,100.
Update 12/4/19: This car has been listed again for sale at $14,900 by the new dealer.
Early Porsche 924 models are one of the most interesting paradoxes in the Stuttgart world. They were the entry model into the fabled badge and, as a result, generally disregarded by those who love the classic 911. For front-engine cars, the mighty V8 grand tourer 928 thoroughly outshines what was admittedly originally intended to be the car for Volkswagen that became the Scirocco. The engine in the early models is an Audi 2.0 8V inline-4 found in the 100 and rated at 110 horsepower – hardly a headline grabber.
But then there’s the other side of the 924; many were owned by enthusiasts who likely didn’t have deep enough pockets for the more illustrious models. Though they were short on money they lacked nothing in passion, and today it’s still possible to find very clean examples of the early 924 for sale. And because Porsche tried hard to offer many special incentives to jump into Porsche ownership, there are a plethora of early special editions to choose from. But those were almost entirely appearance packages; smart money looks for the later upgraded examples as Porsche threw the parts catalog at the 924 on its way out: