Porsche 924
| Porsche 924 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Porsche AG |
| Production | 1976–1988 |
| Designer | Harm Lagaay (Porsche AG) |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Sports car (S) |
| Body style | 2+2 coupé |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 2.0 L, 2.5 L water-cooled I4 |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 4,200 mm (165.4 in) |
| Width | 1,685 mm (66.3 in) |
| Height | 1,270 mm (50.0 in) |
| Curb weight | 1,080 kg (2,381 lb) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Porsche 914 |
| Successor | Porsche 944 |
The Porsche 924 is a sports car produced by Porsche AG of Germany from 1976 to 1988. A two-door, 2+2 coupé, the 924 was intended to replace the 914 as the company's entry-level model, but when 914 production was ended early it retired a resurrected 912 instead.
Though the water-cooled, front-engined 928 gran turismo was designed first, the 924 was the first roadgoing Porsche with that configuration. It was also the first Porsche to be offered with a fully automatic transmission.
The 924 made its public debut in November 1975. It was panned by enthusiasts for its mediocre performance, but a sales success with just over 150,000 produced during a 1977-1988 production run, and an important profits generator for the company. The closely related 944 introduced in the U.S. market in 1983 was meant to replace the 924, but 924 production continued through 1985, followed by a 944-engined 924S through 1988.
The 924 was originally a joint project of Volkswagen and Porsche created by the Vertriebsgesellschaft (VG), the joint sales and marketing company funded by Porsche and VW to market and sell sports cars (Ludvigsen: Porsche, Excellence was Expected). For Volkswagen, it was intended to be that company's flagship coupé sports car and was dubbed "Project 425" during its development. For Porsche, it was to be its entry-level sports car replacing the 914. At the time, Volkswagen lacked a significant internal research and design division for developing sports cars; further, Porsche had been doing the bulk of the company's development work anyway, per a deal that went back to the 1940s. In keeping with this history, Porsche was contracted to develop a new sporting vehicle with the caveat that this vehicle must work with an existing VW/Audi inline-four engine. Porsche chose a rear-wheel drive layout and a rear-mounted transaxle for the design to help provide 48/52 front/rear weight distribution; this slight rear weight bias aided both traction and brake balance.
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