(First posted 3/10/2012) The Porsche 924 and 944 were the first Porsches with a front-mounted, water cooled engine. In the not too distant past, these Porsches, along with the more expensive grand touring 928, were sneered at by many Porsche enthusiasts who thought the Porsche marque started with the 356 and ended with the 911. When compared to some of the vehicles in Porsche’s current lineup, they look pretty good. While some may not find them as timeless as a 911, they are clearly sporty vehicles, unlike a 4500 pound Cayenne SUV.
Before the 944, there was the 924. Originally it was planned as a VW model to replace the 914. It was designed by Porsche and used many more VW and Audi parts than its predecessor, at Volkswagen’s request. After everything had been designed and engineered, VW backed out of the deal, so Porsche decided to sell it themselves, though VW contracted to build the cars for Porsche. It was introduced for the 1976 model year.
While the car was graced with the Porsche name, that did not translate into tire-burning performance. The inaugural 924 was equipped with the 2.0L VW/Audi inline four-cylinder engine with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection and a four-speed manual transmission. The 924 was praised for its handling but was not fast, with North American-market cars having only 95 horsepower.
Power was steadily increased, however. The addition of a catalytic converter midway through the 1977 model year bumped horsepower to 110 and a three-speed automatic transmission became available as an option, the first Porsche to be so equipped. A new model, the 924 Turbo, came out the following year with a 10-psi boost resulting in 170 hp. Finally, the car had some decent power.
A special homologation version of the 924 Turbo, the 1980 924 Carrera GT, would pave the way for what would become the 944. 406 were built to certify the model for racing and included plastic front and rear fender flares, front and rear spoilers and an intercooled, 210 horsepower version of the 924 Turbo’s engine. In 1982, the 944 appeared, looking very much like the Carrera GT but with steel fender flares and a normally-aspirated 2.5L 150 hp engine. The engine was no longer supplied by VW-Audi, being an all-new design that used half of the 928’s V8 as a starting point.
Now the car had more muscular looks to match its improved performance. In 1985, the 944 got an attractive new instrument panel, finally replacing the one that had been on the car since its introduction.
The big news, however, came in 1986 when the 944 Turbo was introduced. It used the same 2,479 cc engine as the standard 944, but with an intercooled turbocharger that produced 217 hp at 5800 rpm and 243 lb-ft of torque.
Zero to sixty came in 6.1 seconds and top speed was 152 mph. For all this performance, fuel economy was not bad, being rated at 19 city and 27 highway. A smoother front fascia with integrated fog lights and an underbody spoiler beneath the rear bumper improved aerodynamics, resulting in a drag coefficient of 0.33 and a frontal area of 1.89 square meters.
Interiors were suitably sporty, with leather bucket seats, console and full instrumentation, including a boost gauge. The 944 Turbo was the top of the line, so power windows, seats and a nice stereo were included. The Porsche 944 also has the distinction of being the very first production car with dual airbags. They were introduced for 1987. Other than adding a convertible version for 1989, the 944 would continue in the same basic format until 1991. It was heavily facelifted with a 928-esque front end and became the 968 for 1992-95.
A lot of times, I will deliberately go looking for CCs and will find nothing. This 944 found me. I had just left my place and was slowing down for a stop sign when I saw this Turbo sitting in the parking lot of the local community golf course. As I’ve always been partial to Porsches, I had to stop. This one appears to be an ’86 as it does not have airbags. It was in very good condition, and with the exception of an aftermarket stereo, looked original. The owner is clearly a Porschephile, judging from the PCA decal in the rear quarter window. For a time in the late ’90s, these were seen as cheap fun, and I saw quite a few 944s at the time that had clearly been driven hard and not maintained. I hadn’t seen one in quite a while, so was happy to see such a nice example. Porsche may not have planned on having the 924 and its derivatives in their lineup, but with a nearly 20-year production run, I think it worked out for them.
Nice and interesting cars. One of the few Porshes I would consider owning as a weekend toy.
There’s a few nice 968s running around Seattle. They come up for sale from time to time. They have a 3.0 liter engine (really, shouldn’t that be more than four cylinders?!) but apparently Porsche made it work.
Balance shafts can do wonders for as big four. Never drove one, but reviewers loved its hugely fat torque curve as well as being able to rev. As far as I know, only the 1961 – 1963 Pontiac Tempest had a bigger four (3.2 liters), and lacking balance shafts, it was a mad shaker. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/12/curbside-classic-1963-tempest-lemans-pontiac-tries-to-build-a-bmw-before-bmw-built-theirs-and-almost-succeeds/
The Tempest 4 was known to overly tax the already weak Pontiac timing chain/gears. They did vibrate quite a lot.
International Harvester made a similar engine, a 152ci (2.5L) half-a-V8 that was pretty smooth for such a large 4-cylinder. The block having a GREAT attraction to the center of the earth may have had something to do with that.
The later IH 4cyls were 196 being half of the 392 so they were ever so slightly bigger than Pontiac’s half of a 389. In liters both are 3.2l
I once had the privilege of driving a 968 CS (light-weight version akin to the RS version of the 911s) as a 20-something old kid and can confirm that the Porsche four with balance shaft is a delightful engine. Combined with the low weight of the 944/968 body, it makes for a seriously fun ride.
On the other end of the spectrum, I once drove an IH Scout II with the 4 cylinder engine (196 cid according to Wikipedia) and that felt like a tractor.
I’ve always liked these, the 924, the 944 and 928 models and they were a nice representation of the times in which they were built.
I will agree that their design isn’t as timeless as the 911 but they have held up well over the years though.
Their heavy stylistic influence on other cars (the FC RX-7 being the most obvious example) might have had something to do with that. They became part of the general design language of the eighties and nineties, which makes survivors look less distinctive, but also more normal.
Nice write up!
These, together with the 928 and the later 968 are the only Porsches I’ve ever had any time for. To my eye their design is more timeless than the endless variations on “squashed beetle” that characterise 911 styling, certainly they’re infinitely more appealing than modern Porsches.
When the 924-series were new, someone (probably at Car and Driver) referred to them as looking like a ‘pregnant guppy’.
No accounting for taste (or lack thereof)
I think the 356s, 911s, and 944s are all timeless classics. After all these years I still lust after them. Amazing what a simple set of fender flares will do, as the 944 makes my Top Ten List of favorite car styling while the 924 doesn’t even register. I want a 944 in red, with the non-phone dial wheels which, like the 924, I find unappealing.
Yes, I see how old the thread is.
Being born in 1981 has made a soft spot in my heart for cars of that era. The 944 was definitely was of those cars. Especially the ones with the flairs. I always thought that these cars were very “tough” looking. It surprised me to read that they only made 170 HP with 10 lbs of boost. Imagine what you can do with some more boost/fuel and some chip tuning. I still see lot of these cars for sale online. Actually, now that I think of it. There was a special paint sceme with the early 924 that resembled the old Gulf racing colors. Anyone ever hear of that? I saw one a few years back house hunting with my fiancee. It was needing a full resto but, everything was there.
170 hp? Are you referring to the 924 Turbo? Because the 944 Turbo made 217 hp, and the Turbo S made 250.
Sorry, you were right. I was referring to the 924. I had a rough night last night lol.
I’ve never heard of a Gulf Racing color scheme, but I know there was one based on the Martini Racing colors. White, with tri-color stripping forming an elongated triangle along the side. I used to see them once in a while.
Yes!! Thats the one!! some reason Gulf was in my head. I saw one of those parked in someones front lawn with a for sale sign on it. My girlfriend and I were house hunting and the faded stickers caught my eye. I have a 75 Scirocco Ive always been working and tinkering, so her letting stop the car was all I could ever really be allowed.
I wonder how rare they are and if its still there….
“Being born in 1981 has made a soft spot in my heart for cars of that era. ”
With you there. The front engined 4-cyl Porsches have always been a seminal favorite of mine.
I fell in love with the shape of the 944 when I had a dorm room on the 10th floor of one of my university’s 3 high-rise dorms in 1983. You see the neighboring women’s high-rise was the home of the daughters of wealthier “Tech Dad’s” and one of these co-eds drove a brand new red 944. She parked it right below my 10th floor window, and the subtle flared fenders of the 944 give it a REALLY beautiful, almost feminine silhouette when viewed from above.
Does anyone know what the cost and availability of parts are like? Are there any glaring weaknesses in the mechanicals that make it difficult to keep these on the road?
I’m not sure about availability, but according to RockAuto’s “Repair Index”, they cost about the same as parts for a late-model (2005.5+) 2.5L VW Jetta and a somewhat less than 1980s Porsche 911 parts. So, they’re reasonably affordable.
It’s a Porsche. Which means all parts are still available. I recommend Auto Atlanta, have been dealing with them for four years now, absolutely no complaints. Just remember you’re dealing with an interference engine, so that cam belt is critical. I’ve heard enough quibbles to steer clear of the turbo models. They’re not disasters, but they are more highly stressed than the FI models. Biggest weakness on the car is the (relatively) low resale value, which limits how much you’re willing to put in one unless you absolutely love the car and aren’t worried about resale.
Out of curiosity, what other car companies do not discontinue parts? Off the top of my head, BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche have a policy of never discontinuing parts.
That’s about it. I’ve always known about BMW’s Mobile Traditions, which is one of the bigger money makers in the company. They cover cars going back to the late 30’s 328’s, and motorcycles from 1946 /2’s on. Didn’t know about Mercedes.
My buddy owned a 924… being a mechanic, he could keep it running… but, since the parts are made by Porsche, even the cost of parts was insane. Common problems with these cars are worn camshafts, bad engine mounts, bad bearings in the clutch/ gearbox, and broken odometer. Fuel pumps only go 50,000 miles at most, and numerous electrical problems are commonplace, as well as intermittent start and stop problems.
According to my buddy: “The 924 is a car full of problems that Porsche never addressed. Practically the entire rear suspension is made of white aluminium, very easy to crack and practically impossible to weld, and costly to repair. The cold start valve (sensor) requires that the engine to be lifted above the firewall to replace. Sensor failure is common, which will cause hard starts. The timing belt is basic Porsche: when it breaks the engine can get seriously damaged. The AC coil is mounted under the passenger seat, so when the AC is on and you hit a bump the overflow tray will spill all over the interior. The seating material will easily crack and the entire interior will also crack very easily. I can go on and on… An old Porsche 924 is cheap to buy, because, basically, you’ll have to rebuild the whole car soon after buying it.”
The 924 doesn’t have enough guts to justify the service costs. At least the 944 and 968 have much more performance – especially the 968.
It should also be noted that Porsche owners will LIE about the cost of repairs (and the CONSTANT, FREQUENT need to do repairs)… evidently, it is embarrassing to buy a fancy car, only to have it break down all the time. Just like BMW drivers, most Porsche drivers are into STATUS SYMBOLS… not real driving… This is just my impression, after meeting owners at the Northern California PCA… they seemed to be a bunch of fat, old, rich, white guys who spent more time polishing their cars, then really driving them at the limit… You are better off getting a Miata, if you want a fun, affordable sports car… and if you’re truly worried about status, just put Porsche badges on the front and rear… Most girls won’t know the difference!
If Porsche owners were primarily interested in owning a Porsche for the status, and considering that most high-end sports cars require routine costly maintenance, why would they lie about the frequency and cost of maintaining a Porsche? If anything, I am sure they wouldn’t hesitate to tell you they just dropped $150 on something as simple as an oil change.
No, I find most members of the PCA love and adore their P-Cars not for the status they confer. I know this because I have owned several USED Porsches (see, not rich or old, just White and a bit overweight) – 986’s and 996’s – and have been a member of the PCA for years. I also do much of the routine maintenance myself (if you want numbers, I’ll send them; I’m meticulous in my record keeping).
Sure, owning a used 996 isn’t as proletariat as owning a stripped-down Miata or a riced-out CRX, but I’ll take it. I find most men who claim Porsche owners are in it for the status are more or less lacking in status, imagined or otherwise.
“…a three-speed automatic transmission became available as an option, the first Porsche to be so equipped.”
I was under the impression that an automatic became available on the 911 sometime in the late ’60s or early ’70s. I’m thinking that was the case only because there was apparently another Car & Driver “assassination” (much like the Opel) where they photographed the automatic 911 in front of a nursing home to imply that an automatic Porsche was for old people.
The 911 was offered for a while with Sportmatic, which was a four-speed semiautomatic transmission with a torque converter as well as a manual clutch. There was no pedal, but there was a switch on the shift lever to engage or disengage the clutch for shifting.
You’re right, thanks for jogging my memory. So it wasn’t a fully automatic tranny, but I’m pretty sure that C/D did another hatchet job on it anyway.
I remember Car and Driver’s hatchet jobs,they were outrageously funny and made it a buff book worth buying. Yes, they ruffled feathers but they had a loyal readership and loads of subscribers. When they turned into yet another industry mouth piece, all the fun went away, and with it loads of their loyal readers, me included. At least you could get a good review of a car instead of just another advertisement.
What you’re saying confirms what Consumer Reports has long insinuated: Conflict of Interest in car magazines financed by advertising. It’s not that they’re ●necessarily● selling out, it’s merely the ●appearance● of it, which is the ethical issue.
There’s also Conflict of Interest in accounting firms which report on publicly-traded companies while being paid by them, but just try & find an accountant who’ll admit it.
I get it what’s in it for the car companies to have complete control of automotive journalists. Half the companies we have today would be gone if people knew the truth about them. I get it what’s in it for the automotive ‘journalists’ that sell out. What I don’t understand is why they still have a readership.
Standard 10s and Armstrong siddeleys from the 50s had a similar system manumatic it was called from memory
Ate Up With Motor,
The switch was the gearshift lever itself. The gear knob was mounted on a three position, self centering rocker switch. When you pushed the gear lever forward or moved it back, you activated the switch and disconnected the clutch. When you let go of the knob, you engaged the clutch. The torque converter was to smooth out the binary nature of having a clutch that was either completely engaged or completely disengaged.
On the right is the Sportomatic shift lever. Parts 22-28 comprise the micro-switch that commands the electrically operated clutch during shifting.
VW’s auto stick worked the same way. But the 4 speed gearbox didn’t use 1st gear. It was supposed to be shifted once around 45 mph to high. Low gear was for steep hills. It could be shifted like a 3 speed. Those contacts under the shifter wore out from time to time. A lot of people had to quit the habit of resting their hand on the shifter, it would disengage the clutch while driving if they did that.
I have an Auto-Stick Super Beetle; it has all the inefficiency and lack of gear ranges of an old-school automatic plus the inconvenience of still having to shift it, all in one overly complicated Rube Goldberg package. Oy what a mess. Bad enough to find one in a VW but a PORSCHE?!?
Even though the styling is distinctly “80’s”, the 944 remains a sharp and attractive car today. The 924/944 definitely influenced others’ styling (the “FC” Mazda RX-7, third-generation Camaro, and some Chrysler products come to mind). Even the Volvo 700 series had very similar taillights.
If one of these came around in good condition, for the right price, I would consider it as a weekend toy…
Also, that interior (minus the steering wheel) could pass as a 1990s or even early 2000s interior.
As the overjoyed owner of a 1987 924S (924 body, 944 drivetrain, non-turbo) if you’ve always dreamed of owning one, DO IT! I’ve had mine for four years now, and it was my daily driver until the Scion xB entered the stable last fall. Reliability has been good. Having no service records when I bought it, I immediately spent $2k on the cam belt, water pump, idlers, etc. to be on the safe side. I probably average one trip to the local independent garage that knows the model very well, to the tune of about $500-600 a year. For a 25 year old car with 127k on the clock, I’m not complaining. It’s been very solid for me, and lord knows it’s a ball to drive. My motorcycle time has dropped radically since the 924 entered the garage.
You can find these cars in nice shape for around $3000-6000. At the latter price, you better expect complete service records to go with it. 968’s go in the $10-12,000 range normally.
I cannot recommend one of these cars highly enough. No, it’s not massive on acceleration, but take it to something like The Dragon, and you learn the real meaning of ‘sports car’. And it’s damned civilized to live with, too.
Yes, I’m getting the laugh now. Front engines are back with Porsche. And this time they’re staying.
I had an 80 924 Turbo for a very brief period. I bought it with the sole intent of getting it running and flipping it on Ebay. The brief time I had it after getting it going was great fun.
My friend is providing the use of his 928 for my daily use, he obviously wants running costs but I am wondering how much is fair to put towards the use of this car to run around locally as I am stuck for transport. I have been giving him $60 a week but think this is too much am I being unfair please?
Yolanda: $ 60 per week equals out to about 3,000 per year. I recon that is more than the running cost (i.e. insurance, tax, standard maintenance and replacement of consumables) for a 928, unless you drive a lot. I’d say $ 100 per month sounds more realistic. On the other hand, what would a rental car cost you per week?
Good looking cars, I’ve ridden in a non-turbo model that was owned by my company president at the time. It was an Arizona car he brought up here. After some detailing and engine tweaking the guy enjoyed his 944 for a year or two before selling.
As good as it looked, riding in the thing gave me the impression it had been driven hard. Squeaks, rattles and a rough sounding engine turned me off. Surely a better cared for example would be a much better driving experience.
Perhaps my favorite factory wheels of all time.
I own a red 1984 944 with 27,000 original miles. To my eyes, it is still the sexiest car on the planet and it is still incredibly fun to drive through the twisties. A downside is that 944 owners don’t seem particularly welcome within the Porsche Car Clubs.
This just in: Family Feud at VW involving the Porsches:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/the-families-at-the-center-of-the-power-struggle-at-volkswagen-a-1032210.html
Article has a good graphic of the dynastic pedigree.
I wouldn’t bother with a troublesome and slow 924. But an 85.5 or newer 924S or 944 would be a fun car. Never even drove one, sold lot’s of parts for them and always had a soft spot for them. Maybe some day.
my preference is for the 924S
When I lived in Dallas during the 1980s, one driver’s education school made a huge news when it acquired a fleet of fire engine red Porsche 944 for teenage students. It was a marketing gimmick to set itself apart from the intense competition. If I remember it correctly, the name was Classic Driving School in Plano, Texas.
Of course, typical of Americans, all of 944 were equipped with automatic gearboxes. Nothing was mentioned about the auxillary brake pedal fitted in the passenger side for instructors to killjoy the aspiring race drivers.
According to the article, the addition of a catalytic converter increased power. This is backwards from the thinking that malaise era smog controls decreased power. I’ve heard of this happening in the Honda Civic also when it got a cat.
When catalysts were introduced, vehicles previously had other technology for compliance. The catalyst is a substitute for a less efficient method of compliance.
I love Porsche 944. It is one of my favorite cars when I was young — other vehicles are Civic Wagon, Miata, W124 300E and E28 535i. Besides it is a very good handling vehicle, this car has incorporated a list of technology features we found later on the main stream vehicle — 4-cylinder fuel injection engine with counter balance shaft, 50-50 weight distribution, multi links independent rear suspension. I believe its transmission is mounted at the rear axle to improve handle as well. Those produced after 1988 were with improved engine from half block of 928 as I read somewhere, it further enhanced its appeal, it is called 944s. Even its interior dashboard is superior, simple and functional, look like someone shaved off a chunk of hardwood to create a space for gauges and vent holes. In my opinion this is the best interior design. In 80s one version of Mazda 626 has the interior design inspired from 944 design. But the problem for us the price of 944 has gone up a lot since this article posted in yr2012
I owned an early 944 for several years and while it was no rocket ship off the line, it was a blast to put some sticky tires on and take to the track (with the PCA driving school). No mods except front brake cooling ducts. I did my own repairs and most commonly replaced parts prices weren’t too bad. I always kept up with timing belt/rollers changes and never had ran into the bent valve syndrome in 250K miles (I was able to get $2800 for it when I sold it in 2015). Clutches are probably the thing that ended the useful life of many of these since it is quite a job to replace. The all galvanized steel bodies held up well too.
Having driven both (924 & 944); I can honestly say the 944 was a huge improvement over the 924.
I even considered paying for a used-but-not-abused 944 with my own money!