We don’t often feature Porsches in our Prime Find slot, and yet while the iconic 356 and 911 have long left the financial realms that we (usually) explore each Saturday, there are a surprising number of sub-£20,000 classics available bearing the famous badge. While it’s true that they aren’t the Porsche’s everyone – well, almost everyone, including yours truly – wants, the 914, 924 and 944 – even a few 928’s – regularly come up for sale at below our self-imposed budget ceiling, although it’s true that good 914’s and 928’s under that price are getting harder to find. And if Youngtimers (or future classics, if you prefer) are your thing, then 996 variants of the 911 and Porsche Boxsters are plentiful within that limit.
Sadly out of reach for most of us…
By the late 1960’s Porsche were becoming over-reliant on the already-ageing 911 and needed to add some variety not only to their model range but also to their prices – the 911 was starting to get expensive, and with the dropping of the 912 in 1969, there was no entry level Porsche for the aspiring owner.
The 914 – introduced in 1969 – while finding more favour over the last few years, was not particularly well received at the time despite its superlative handling, thanks to its mid-engined layout, a first for Porsche – both for its shall we say unconventional styling, and its perceived lack of pedigree, thanks to VW’s involvement.
And yet… despite this mixed reception, Porsche again looked in the direction of VW to help them with their next entry-level car, intended as a replacement for the 914. In fact, the 924 was originally meant to be a Volkswagen, but this tale was well told by our own International Editor last year when discussing a previous Prime Find, a cooking and remarkably cheap 924, so I won’t repeat it here.
When the 924 appeared in 1976, it could hardly have looked more different to the 914 and, contrary to some expectations, became a significant success for Porsche, thanks to its cool, smooth styling, typical Porsche build quality and fine handling (due to its almost perfect 48/52 weight distribution) but there was one major problem. No, not it’s Audi-derived 2-litre water-cooled engine, nor it’s front-engined layout, but it’s relative – despite being capable of 125mph – lack of outright performance. While it was more than adequate for most buyers, “proper” Porsche enthusiasts wanted more.
Of course, being a Porsche, this state of affairs was never going to last long, and the team of engineers at Zuffenhausen and Weissach quite rapidly upgraded the 924, adding a turbo version in 1978, followed in 1980 by the astonishing 924 Carrera GT, and finally the ultimate road-going 924, the 245bhp Carrera GTS, but these were built in very small numbers (just 406 of the GT and a mere 59 of the GTS), were expensive, and are now much sought after.
You could argue that the 944 – introduced in 1982 – was effectively an upgraded 924. However, it was the 944 that eventually gave Porsche the means to give its smaller brother the ability to perform more like a real Porsche. This upgrade was actually driven by necessity, as the stock VW-Audi based 2-litre was being discontinued, meaning Porsche would have been without an entry-level car again.
The solution was to drop a slightly de-tuned version of the 944’s 2.5-litre 4-cylinder – one of the biggest 4-cylinder engines available at the time – into the 924’s engine bay. This gave the 924 – now the 924S – a significant power boost over the 2-litre, putting 148bhp as opposed to 125bhp underneath the driver’s right foot. Visual differences to the base 924 were subtle – a slightly deeper front lip under the bumper, a small rubber spoiler around the bottom of the rear window and those smart telephone dial alloys. Other than that, the 924’s clean, uncluttered lines were unaltered.
Motor Sport magazine tested the 924S back in February 1986 and despite a few minor reservations, were full of praise for the new base Porsche – with the interesting insight that a fully-specced 924S might make a decision to buy the 944 more difficult than one might think. Indeed, many think the 924S is the best all-rounder of all 924’s and the one to buy.
A maximum speed of 137mph was reached by the magazine’s testers, and a 0-60 time of a decimal point over 8 seconds, considerable improvements over the old 924 and only just shy of the 944, thanks to the S’s engine being slightly detuned. Incidentally, both those figures were better than claimed by the factory.
There were – and remain – a number of alternatives to the 924S, such as the Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV, Datsun 260Z, Audi Coupé GT, Mazda RX-7 and Toyota Supra, or even a 944. CAR magazine did a Group Test comparing the two Japanese cars with the 924S in September 1986 – by which time the Porsche was already a decade-old design – and, despite being more expensive and being less well equipped as standard, still opted for the German car, principally for its driveability, and it’s hard to overstate the kudos of the badge.
Choices, choices….
Before 924S production came to an end in 1988, it was treated to a further power increase up to 156bhp, taking top speed up to almost 140mph and covering the 0-60mph sprint in just 7.7 seconds, making it actually faster than the base 944 due to its lighter weight.
In the event, this was the 924’s swansong, unfavourable dollar-exchange rates (the US was the car’s biggest export market by far) reduced profit margins to the point where the company decided it was better off focusing on the 928 and the car that refused to die, the 911, and it was discontinued in 1989.
Over 150,000 924’s were sold over its 11-year lifespan, with 16,669 being 924S’s, a success by any measure for a sports coupé. However, despite the fact that 924S’s were built with fully galvanised steel shells and the desirability of the badge on the bonnet, there are not so many around, at least in the UK.
So we come to our Prime Find, a RHD 1986 924S, so a relative Youngtimer yet still 34 years old, in the ever popular Guards Red (or re-sale red, as our own Mr Bilidt likes to call it) with Cream Linen cloth upholstery, which makes a nice change from black. Personally I think it’s a very acceptable colour combination, and suits the car well. The dash is free of cracks, the carpets are said to be in very good condition, and the glass is free of scratches.
According to the selling dealer, this particular 924S is “one of the finest 924’s available”. It certainly looks exceptional and has a remarkably low 37,199 miles under its 15” alloys. The paintwork is claimed to be unmarked – as are those very cool wheels – and all the original stickers and decals remain in place.
It transpires the car spent its first 30 years with the same family, including a period of several years in storage and has had only two owners since. It’s been subject to full recommissioning, has a full service history file and is claimed to be in “superb mechanical condition”.
I have to say that if the dealer description and photos are anything to go by – as usual, we’ve borrowed a few for this piece – this really does look like an exceptional 924S. Of course, as such, it’s not the cheapest, yet it still come in under our £20,000 ceiling at £18,295. You can get a 924S for considerably less, and there are a few around – 126 on the road in the UK at the last count – though few are likely to be as good as this one. In fact, you can still buy a 924S for less than £10,000; whether you should is another matter.
In any case, this example looks to be an excellent one, though it’s low mileage might tempt the next owner to limit how much he or she drives it – I hope not. If you don’t need the 944’s wider wheels and flared arches and generally more muscular look, but want a bit more oomph than a standard 924 offers without advertising the muscles under your jacket, this 924S might be the car for you.
You can see the full dealer advert here, and as always, we recommend arranging an inspection before parting with your hard-earned cash.
With our Saturday instalment of Prime Find of the Week, we’re offering our services to the classic car community, by passing on our favourite classic car for sale from the week that passed. This top-tip might help a first-time-buyer to own his first classic, or it could even be the perfect motivation for a multiple-classic-car-owner to expand his garage with something different. We’ll let us be inspired by anything from a cheap project to a stunning concours exotic, and hope that you will do the same.
Just remember – Any Classic is Better than No Classic! We obviously invite our readers to help prospective buyers with your views and maybe even experiences of any given model we feature. Further to that, if you stumble across a classic which you feel we ought to feature as Prime Find of the Week, then please send us a link to primefindoftheweek@viaretro.co.uk