Porsche 924 - today's tempter

By: Unique Cars magazine

Date: 27.07.2021

Porsche 924

Porsche 924

Front engine series has gained fans over time

There was a time when you might have been looked down upon by 911 owners if you owned a front-engined Porsche, even if it was a top-end V8 or turbo. That has changed as demand and prices have climbed.

Though dynamically far better balanced than its rear-engine siblings when it emerged in the mid-1970s, the new shape got off to a rocky start.

As Cliff Chambers points out in our 924 buyer guide from a year ago:

"The front-engine/rear-drive 924 was conceived as a sports-oriented Volkswagen, replacing the aged Karmann-Ghia. Porsche was contracted to design the car, using Audi mechanicals in a four-seat body, but by the time it was ready for the road Volkswagen didn’t want it.

"So, with the global ‘oil shock’ flattening traditional performance car sales, Porsche saw an opportunity to recoup some of the 911’s lost market and decided to market the hatchback coupe as its own."

See the full feature here, and note that prices may have moved since it was published. 

The 924 remains very much the entry model and prices tend to be tempered by its relatively modest performance compared to some of the performance hounds in this older front-engine series. However its handling is very good (or should be in a well-maintained car), so it can be an engaging drive.

This 1979 example in Gippsland in Vic claims a 20-year ownership and is said to be in decent mechanical order and it is a manual. It's priced at $12,000.

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