Saturday 12th December 2015

40 years of transaxle Porsches

Next year marks a big anniversary for the 924, 944, 968 and 928 - here's what we have to look forward to!

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Think about significant car debuts in 1976 and you will probably imagine the Golf GTI, progenitor of the hot hatch. You may not think of the Porsche 924 because, well, it's never really enjoyed the best reputation.

Arches there to house 12-inch wide (!) rear wheels

The various jibes are part of motoring folklore now but it shouldn't be forgotten how significant - nor indeed how talented - the front-engined, rear-wheel drive Porsches were and remain. Remember that back then the aim was to replace the 911... So to mark 40 years of the transaxle Porsches in 2016, a raft of anniversary events will be taking place, much like the 911's 50th a couple of years back. Which also means if you have one of the four models and have noticed prices creeping up recently, it's surely worth keeping hold of the car for a little longer!

The 40th anniversary was launched last week at Silverstone, with arguably the most exciting project of them all: a restoration of the 924 Carrera GT Le Mans car. Yes, 35 years after it last competed and 33 years after it was put into the Porsche Museum, the #2 924 is to be 'sympathetically restored' by four Porsche Classic Partner Centres. They've allocated six months for the restoration...

As is often the way with racing cars, this 924 has a fascinating history. For the 1980 Le Mans 24-Hour, Porsche AG ran three 924s in the national liveries of Britain, Germany and America. It was in fact the initiative of Michael Cotton, UK PR man at the time, to convince Porsche that it was worth entering cars that wouldn't really have a chance of winning outright against the prototypes.

Front end has seen better days!

The car itself remains very special though. Under the project code 937 - another product number for the Porsche nerds - the 924 was made into a Le Mans racer under the watch of Norbert Singer. Power was upped to 320hp from the road car's 210, the brakes were from a 917, the titanium driveshafts were off a 935 and the car weighed just 930kg, 250kg less than the road car. Originally set to be driven by Derek Bell, Andy Rouse and Tony Dron, Bell eventually had to race for the American team.

The two remaining drivers were at Silverstone last week to see the car again and share their stories of the race. Rouse took the first stint and was using the tree tops to see where the track was going because the rain was that torrential (!). Dron describes it as a "very underrated car" with "superb" handling, so hopefully we can see him back behind the wheel with the work complete.

The restoration is being shared between the Official Porsche Centres at Glasgow, Hatfield, Leeds and Swindon. The biggest task that appears to face them at present is working out what was done to the car between the end of Le Mans in 1980 and its arrival at the Porsche Museum two years later. It currently has no fuel tank, incorrect wheels and a completely reworked intake system. The drivers will tell you that damage certainly wasn't them either!

Cage, manual, no airbag - proper!

But what a way to kick off the transaxle Porsche celebration. It's also believed to be the only Porsche factory racing car to have competed with a full Union Jack livery, so it must be worth rescuing purely on that basis. We'll keep you posted as there is more news.

Moreover, there's another restoration competition between the dealers, as there was for the 911 plus the Turbo and Targa models. There are 19 of the 35 dealers signed up, with everything from 924s to 928s with 968 Club Sports, 944 Turbos and plenty more in between. Expect regular updates on their progress as the anniversary year progresses. There's surely plenty of pride at stake...

Though the transaxle cars are unlikely to ever match the 911's heady heights of covetability, this anniversary should serve as a good opportunity to remind ourselves just how good those cars were. Now where can we borrow a 968 CS from?

[Gecko1978]

Ok I dont own a porsche and have never driven one. yet they are my favorite car of all time. 911 turbo in black oneday please. But also how about a 928 GTS manual in seal gray, or a 968 CS in Riviera blue or a 944 Tbo in white with telephone dial wheels. or a 924 CGTS in Red Loard March style....you just can't say the same about the boxster. Cayman in close but another 968 CS would be amazing but I suspect impossible these days like the Toyota GT86 a FE RWD coupe needs way more than 200bhp to lug about saftey rubbish