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

[J4CKO]

I think the 924 and 944 are blighted as a "cheap Porsche" when in fact they are decent cars in their own right, whilst everyone whips themselves into a frenzy over old Escorts and end up paying 15 grand for one because it has a 2 litre Pinto in it, you can have this,#

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1985-PORSCHE-924S-ALPINE...

For 2 and a half grand, possibly less, ok it isnt an RS Escort but they are faster, better built and drive better, plus they are still cheap, you can still get a 924 for a grand if you look hard enough it has a Porsche badge and is a classic but is largely ignored, Capris are more expensive, even ones with a wheezy 1.6 Pinto.

What I am saying is they are a bargain classic if you are happy to avoid something without the scene tax.

968 Club Sports are nice but the boat has sailed on those long ago, 944 Turbos are getting expensive but not when you compare them to a 911 of the same vintage.

[MarvinTPA]

Many many years ago I owned a 924 turbo. I've never owned anything else since that was able to change direction so quickly, it was a car that I didn't drive, I wore. From just 170 horsepower with a huge turbo lag I could make 100 miles of Cornish or Devonian A roads disappear very quickly. My 924 wasn't in the best of condition either. I happily put up with the door seals that squealed like banshees over 60 mph, the strange well in the rear that could hold a gallon of water unless reglarly emptied, the rear lights that liked to do the same ( I drilled little holes in the lenses in the end ). The front lights that liked to make a show of popping up or down by doing this several times before deciding on where they wanted to be. The windscreen wipers that loved being intermittent even when off sometimes.

All was forgiven on the next corner, the next overtake.

[Cheburator mk2]

I own a 928 GTS Manual, a 928 GTS race car and a 944 Turbo S race car. I also own quite a modified 996.1 GT3 CS.

This coming weekend the 944 and 996 will be at Rockingham. I will be in the 996 kettle, and my co-driver from the CSCC will be in the 944. I am actually genuinely worried that I will have my arse handed to me on a plate by the jumped up RWD VW

[Debaser]

I used to have a 944 turbo SE. I absolutely loved driving it, such good fun to drive fast!

[Rumblestripe]

The 924 is a much underrated vehicle. The silly "van engine" jibes etc. As a useable classic they take some beating, fully galvanised (well all survivors, very early ones weren't and are pretty much gone), 50:50 balance, cheap classic insurance. I could go on.

I shall have my 82 924 back on the road this spring and I hope to get more use out of it than I have managed for the last couple of years.

[Rangeroverover]

When I was in my early 20s I had a Mk1 928 DSJ???v in silver with the pasha interior, it was about 4 years old but felt brand new, I loved it and should have kept it. Prior to that I had a 911 SC. The difference was the feeling of security in the 928, not being a driving god I always felt the 928 would somehow get me through the corner I had entered way too fast.

Alas I wastempted by a swap to a 308 GT4, what a pile of crap that was, I still hanker after an S4 but where I now live in Devon its just too wide, it would hurt every time I had to pull in towards the hedge, the automatic scratching that locally is known as "Devon Pinstripes" visible on the left hand side of every car in the area is too heartbreaking so I resist the urge ............for now

[shoestring7]

Feeling the transaxle love on PHs!

I've owned a 924S, 944t, 968 and 968CS and would love to have another in the garage. All because of the old man's 924 purchase back in 1980 (once he'd stopped paying my school fees )

SS7
PS 1980 was my first Le Mans; the 924s were one of the few 'British' teams to support that year

Edited by shoestring7 on Monday 7th December 17:02

[HorneyMX5]

I've been thinking of buying a 924 on and off for years. The prices have started to really creep up for decent ones. I think the cheap ones could be a thing of the past soon.

[kambites]

I'm confused. Surely the 911 is also a transaxle, as was the 356 and probably numerous older Porsches?

[smilo996]

You can keep the 924, 944 and 968. Too much VW and over rated.

However the 928. A car Porsche fought for and built, mostly by themselves. Innovative and less popular than it should have been only because of the timing.

It would be great if Porsche stopped being so dull and got on with building a new one. If they kept it from looking like a 2 door Panamera then it could be beaufiul and more importantly different and innovative.

[angelicupstarts]

kambites said:

I'm confused. Surely the 911 is also a transaxle, as was the 356 and probably numerous older Porsches?

Yep , your right .
porsche 911 . 356 . 914 , 912 all transaxle as well .
so are karman ghia , all old vw beetles , so are minis
almost every car i can think of that has engine driving the wheels in same location , e.g rear engined cars driving rear wheels and front engined cars driving front wheels .
then most mid engined cars are as well !
i guess the Porsche 944 , 924 ,928 is slightly different that they are front engined driving rear wheels with transaxle at back ....so quite well balanced .

[Henry Fiddleton]

I've just bought a 1986 oval dash 944.

Great bit of kit, and feels so well built/different compared to the modern stuff.

Doing it up over the year - not sure Guards/India Pink was an option back then.

[PistonBroker]

There's a white E-reg 944, on teledials, parked up near me that's for sale.

I'm struggling to resist it! Though, putting it on eBay with a starting bid of £2k, iirc, when it has no ticket and needs work, did help me resist it a few months back.

Every time I walk the dog past it I daydream about bumping into the seller and him revealing that he'd be happy with £500 . . . . !

[Turbobanana]

angelicupstarts said:

kambites said:

I'm confused. Surely the 911 is also a transaxle, as was the 356 and probably numerous older Porsches?

Yep , your right .
porsche 911 . 356 . 914 , 912 all transaxle as well .
so are karman ghia , all old vw beetles , so are minis
almost every car i can think of that has engine driving the wheels in same location , e.g rear engined cars driving rear wheels and front engined cars driving front wheels .
then most mid engined cars are as well !
i guess the Porsche 944 , 924 ,928 is slightly different that they are front engined driving rear wheels with transaxle at back ....so quite well balanced .

A good point, well made.

Why not just say "40 years of front-engined Porsches"?

[kambites]

In fact when was the last time Porsche produced a car without a transaxle?

[anonymous-user]

I had a long hard look at the 944 (and TVR 350i) many years ago before opting for a Lotus Esprit instead. All good cars though.

By the way, if anyone wants personalised registration 968 *** ideal for front-engine Porsche, just drop me a PM.

[shoestring7]

Turbobanana said:

angelicupstarts said:

kambites said:

I'm confused. Surely the 911 is also a transaxle, as was the 356 and probably numerous older Porsches?

Yep , your right .
porsche 911 . 356 . 914 , 912 all transaxle as well .
so are karman ghia , all old vw beetles , so are minis
almost every car i can think of that has engine driving the wheels in same location , e.g rear engined cars driving rear wheels and front engined cars driving front wheels .
then most mid engined cars are as well !
i guess the Porsche 944 , 924 ,928 is slightly different that they are front engined driving rear wheels with transaxle at back ....so quite well balanced .

A good point, well made.

Why not just say "40 years of front-engined Porsches"?

Because he's not thinking of KNs or PanAms.

SS7

[tr7v8]

kambites said:

I'm confused. Surely the 911 is also a transaxle, as was the 356 and probably numerous older Porsches?

Correct, I think they mean Front Engined.....

[GC8]

Gecko1978 said:

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

I was buying the Earl of March's Guards Red 937 but the deal fell through because the dealer was over-valuing it. The previous owner didn't increase its value to me. May 2000 and £11,750 from memory. I wouldn't pay over £10,500.

Seems ridiculous now, but it was a strong price for a Carrera GT then.