The Knowledge: Don’t knock the Porsche 924 – it’s the classic Porsche we can actually afford
It's a Porsche. It's affordable. And no, it doesn't have a van engine
Alex has been a road tester and motoring writer for more than 10 years, and has written on new, used and classic cars for What Car?, Autocar, The Daily Telegraph and PistonHeads, among many others.
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The cheapest new Porsche 911 will cost you north of £80,000. It's still very expensive. But what if you want a truly affordable classic Porsche – one that’s feasibly within reach of us all?
The Porsche 924 is just that. But before we go any further, we need to get one thing out of the way: it doesn’t have an engine from a van.
The truth is, the 924’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine first saw service in the Audi 100, before being co-opted into providing power for Porsche’s new, entry-level sports car. Granted, in detuned form, it also found a home in the Volkswagen LT – so while it did see service in a van, it didn’t come from one.
Besides, Porsche’s variant of the engine had its own, free-breathing cylinder head, designed in-house, which set it apart from lowlier versions. The result was 125hp, and while that doesn’t sound much today, it was plenty back in 1976. Indeed, the official figures suggest the 924 can hit 60mph in a shade over eight seconds, enough to make it as quick as hallowed contemporaries like the Ford Escort RS2000, BMW 2002Ti, and Volkswagen Golf GTI.
All this before we’ve even talked about the 924’s handling. With its engine up front and a trans-axle gearbox in the rear, it’s beautifully balanced, which makes it deft and deliciously accurate on a sinuous B-road. Skinny tyres mean its limits of grip are rather low, but when it does break loose it does so in an incredibly progressive manner, enabling you to steer it on the throttle or rein it back in without hassle. This is, in short, an exceptionally fun little car to drive, and one that will teach you loads about car control if you let it.
Porsche solved the 924’s performance problem – if you can call it that – in 1978, with the arrival of the 170hp Turbo; this proved to cook its turbocharger with disappointing regularity, though a series of revisions in 1979 helped shore it up. But both models were replaced in 1984 by the 924S – which swapped out the 2.0-litre for a Porsche-developed 2.5-litre already in use in the 944, the wide-bodied version of the 924.
This offered similar power and pace to the Turbo, but with better reliability, and the progressive, captivating handling of the basic 924. What’s more, don’t tell 944 owners, but the 924S was actually fractionally faster, its narrower body making it more aerodynamic.
Why you should buy one
As you might have guessed, it’s actually the 924S that looks like the best buy at the moment. Prices start at £2,000 for a do-er up-er; increase your budget to £4,000 for a tidy usable example, and expect to pay upwards of £6,000 for the very best around. You’ll pay slightly more than this for a good Turbo, and slightly less for a 2.0-litre 924, though the latter is now becoming hard to find.
What to look out for
One of the other benefits of 924 ownership – if you avoid the turbocharged models, that is – is its relatively mechanical simplicity. As a result, not only is it pretty simple to fix when it goes wrong, but it’s robust – and that means you shouldn’t have too much to worry about.
Do look for rust on the bodywork, though, most of all around the sills and rear suspension mounting points. It’s also a good idea to have a good prod around underneath the car, if you have the chance.
Any running issues could be fiddly to sort, as the 924 featured the notoriously temperamental Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection system, so beware a lumpy idle or misfires.
You’ll also want to listen out for transmission whines when driving along, which could be a symptom of worn differential bearings or a propshaft that’s on its way out.
Doesn’t sound too shabby, does it? So let’s not write the 924 off. It’s still a fantastic way into Porsche ownership, and one that simply doesn’t deserve to be treated as the poor relation.
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Comments (48)
Just bought an 87 924s for $350 to restore, wish me luck!
Rheally? Any photos to share? 😃
i will get more for my page later, this is right after we pulled it out of a barn.
They are cheap because they are rubbish, sorry but it's the truth I've had quicker tax rebates.
924 or a Beetle. I'd get the 924.
Was yours an auto? Manuals are very brisk
The reason I love and own one ?... Not only because it’s a good car, cleverly engineered which saved the company from crash... No I think that I love it everyday more because of all people who hate it 😋. Please go on guys ! 😂🤣
I won’t lie, I didn’t make it all the way through that before heading to Autotrader and looking up 924s.
Me too, but locally the cheapest ones are R18000 and R25000 and one of those doesn't have an engine and the other does not have an interior. 🤪
I do like them though, interesting read. 👍😎
The Porsche you can afford maybe but not the Porsche you would want to own