 A Porsche 924 Turbo (left) and 924S (right) The Porsche 924 was an automobile produced by Porsche AG of Germany from 1976 to 1988. A two door, 2+2 seat sports car coupe, the 924 replaced the 914 as the company's entry level model, and was the model that finally retired the 912. It was the first Porsche model powered by a water-cooled, front mounted engine to make production, although the similarly configured 928 was designed before the 924. The front engine, rear drive arrangement was normal for most other manufacturers, but it was unusual for Porsche, who had previously only used mid or rear mounted engines of a boxer configuration, all of which had been air cooled. The 924 was a success, and not only helped to take Porsche out of financial ruin, it created the revenue stream needed to continue building and developing the 911. The 924 was replaced by the 944, but the two were produced together for some time.
History
The 924 was originally intended to be Audi's flagship sports coupe. Audi commissioned Porsche to help with the car, who developed a fresh chassis and gearbox that would work with an existing Audi straight-4 engine. They also handled the suspension and the interior and exterior design. Porsche decided on a rear wheel drive layout, and designed a rear transaxle to help provide 50/50 front/rear weight distribution. Audi, however, eventually lost interest in the the project, instead deciding to go to market with the rally-derived Quattro Coupe. Porsche, who needed a model to replace the disastrous 914, took the opportunity to use the design themselves. Audi agreed to sell Porsche the rights to the car for next to nothing, but on the conditions that the 924 would be built at Audi's Neckarsulm factory, which was underutilized, and that Porsche would keep the Audi engine. Porsche agreed to the terms of the deal, and initiated production of the 924.
The original design used a four-speed manual transmission that Porsche designed specifcally for the 924 (no automatic transmission was offered), and a 2.0 litre, straight-4 engine producing 125 bhp at 5800 rpm. North American versions required added emissions equipment and as a result had lower power output. The brakes were discs at the front and drums at the rear.
Porsche made small improvements to the 924 each model year between 1976 and 1985, but nothing major was changed.
J. Pasha, writing in Excellence magazine, at the time, described the 924 as "the best handling Porsche in stock form".
924 Turbo
Once the 924 had proved successful, Porsche soon recognised the need for a higher-performance version that could both do a better job of bridging the gap between 924 and 911 models, and take advantage of the model's popularity. Having already found the benefits of turbocharging with several race cars and the 1975 Carrera Turbo, Porsche choose to utilize the technique again for the 924, and in 1978 introduced the 924 Turbo. Porsche started with the same Audi sourced 2.0 litre I-4, and engineered a turbo system for it from the ground up, along with new intake and exhaust systems, helping boost output to 170 horsepower (127 kW). In order to help make the car more functional, as well as to distinguish it from the naturally aspirated version, Porsche added a NACA duct in the bonnet and air intakes in the nose, 15-inch spoke-style alloy wheels, four wheel disc brakes and a Getrag five-speed, dog leg gearbox. Porsche called it 931 (left hand drive) and 932 (right hand drive) internally, much like the Carrera Turbo, which had been "Type 930". Porsche briefly produced a Turbo S model, featuring "S" decals on the bonnet, an M471 racing suspension setup with Koni shock absorbers and 16 inch wheels.
The turbocharged engine allowed the 924's performance to come surprsingly close to that of the 911 SC, thanks in part to a lighter curb weight, but it also brought reliability problems. Intense heat in the engine bay lead to short turbocharger life and turbo related seal and seat problems. To fix the problems, Porsche released a revised 924 Turbo series 2 (although badging still read 924 Turbo) in 1981. By utilizing a smaller turbocharger running at increased boost, an oiling system that ran cooled oil past the turbo for a short period after shutdown and an improved fuel injection system with DTC ignition triggered by the flywheel, reliability improved and power rose to 177 horsepower (132 kW).
After a successful sales run of both naturally aspirated and turbo models, Porsche decided to try the 924 as a race car, and set out to develop a modified version capable of running long endurance races. By adding an intercooler, making mass weight reductions and "tweaking" other key areas, Porsche was able to develop the 924 Turbo into the race car they had wanted, dubbed it 924 Carrera and set out to race it at the 24 hours of Le Mans. In order to comply with the homologation regulations, the 924 Carrera GT and later 924 Carrera GTS were offered as road cars as well, producing 210 and 245 bhp respectively. The final and ultimate development of the 924 in it's race trim was the 924 Carrera GTR race car, which produced 375 bhp from a highly modified version of the 2 litre I4 used in all 924s except the S. Carrera versions were known by model numbers 937 (left hand drive) and 938 (right hand drive).
Production of the 924 Turbo ceased in 1983.
924S
By 1986, 924 sales were dwindling, and Porsche was relasing the 944, it's replacement. The 944, however, was more expensive than the outgoing 924 had been, and Porsche wanted a slightly lower priced model to stay in the lineup while the 944 picked up steam. In came the 924S, also introduced in 1986. Featuring the 944's new 2.5 litre engine, minor revisions to the interior and suspension and new rims, the 924S was really a value leader for Porsche. It was, in fact, capable of slightly quicker 0-60 times than the new 944, thanks to a lighter curb weight, but wasn't as luxurious or fresh. Production of the 924S ceased in 1988, only 4 years before the 944 and 944 Turbo were replaced by the 1992 968.
Reference
External link
|
