One-of-75 Porsche 924 Carrera GT | Spotted
Porsche has built more successful homologation specials - but you'll find very few with this kind of provenance
Catnip though it might be to a certain sort of GT3 buyer, the advent of the new S/C does threaten to move the model another conceptual step further from the race track. Hasn’t affected the pleasure you’ll derive from driving one, of course (which based on our recent experience, will likely be off the charts), but being able to peel the roof off at the flick of a switch does not, traditionally speaking, an homologated hero make.
The Carrera GT from 1980 shows how it used to be done when it was simply a question of ruddy-faced Germans manfully rolling up their sleeves and simply getting on with the business of taking a road car racing. The 924, lest we forget, arrived in 1976, after the 914 and before the 944, as Porsche's front-engined entry point. It had a big hatch, tidy balance and a cabin with obvious VW-Audi roots. But things got serious when its maker announced its attention to go racing: the GT was built to homologate the 924 Carrera GTR for Group 4, meaning it sat above the 924 Turbo.
Its intercooled 2.0-litre four pot made 210hp, while wider arches, revised aero, Bilstein dampers and bigger brakes gave it circuit smarts. It was also genuinely scarce. Porsche built 406 Carrera GTs in total, of which just 75 were right-hand drive. And the racing programme it unlocked was no paperwork exercise either: 924 Carrera GTRs finished sixth, 12th and 13th overall at Le Mans in the same year as the car’s launch.
That matters because seller states this silver car is not merely one of the 75. Rather it was the tip of the spear, arriving in the UK as a constituent of the 1980 British Motor Show, and then becoming Porsche UK’s press demonstrator. It stayed on the fleet for the next 14 years, but rather than being wrapped in cotton wool it was loaned to Porsche Isleworth in 1982 for the British Sports Car Championship. At the hands of Tony Lanfranchi, it even won the final round at Brands. Those were the days, right?
The car entered private ownership in 1994 where it was returned to its road car spec, and has been with the current owner since 2008. Mechanically and cosmetically, the recent stuff reads as it should at this level. It has been serviced within the last 150 miles, given a glass-out repaint in 2021 and dry-ice cleaned underneath in 2022. Apparently it has just over 27,000 miles recorded, with a documented speedometer change in 1995 after the trip meter jammed; the original unit, showing 20,557 miles, is retained with the car.
Much else comes with the car, too, including the original Porsche press releases, factory technical literature, Porsche Cars GB chassis enquiry records, championship results, historic MOT certificates, tax discs, press photographs and the original keys. Which is good, because £89,500 is proper money in 924 terms (the Carrera GT we featured two years ago was £30k cheaper). But a rare homologation model with genuine Porsche provenance and actual period rare results does ratchet up the ‘want’ meter a bit. Also, Derek Bell himself apparently said the customer version felt ‘very similar’ to the race car. Try getting that level of kudos in a convertible...
The cills are a huge red flag....why present a car that on the whole looks fantastic and no address those cills?
The cills are a huge red flag....why present a car that on the whole looks fantastic and no address those cills?
This was my car, bought in 2004 and sold in 2006.
It was LHD and bought new by a German football manager.
Certainly one of my poster cars as a child, it looked / looks amazing.
It was tricky to keep on the boil, nothing like as fluid or user-friendly as my 944, but it went well.
The Carrera GT had a really long 5th gear, making motorway cruising relaxed and economical. I recall that it was better on fuel than the standard Turbo.
Anyway, glad to have owned it.
It’s quite cool but would have to be keen to spend 90 grand on a 924, of any description seems mad. One for the transaxle beards.
It s quite cool but would have to be keen to spend 90 grand on a 924, of any description seems mad. One for the transaxle beards.
A 968 clubsport for under half the price or 944 Turbo for a third of the price. Which are for all intents and purposes just as rare on the road.
A 968 clubsport for under half the price or 944 Turbo for a third of the price. Which are for all intents and purposes just as rare on the road.
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