Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2021/01/25/a-porsche-with-the-engine-upfront.html
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Agreed about the 924 but what about the 944?
I recall that in its day it was considered something of a classic.
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Hideous. I recall seeing many for sale under $10k. Never driven one, but a gearhead friend of mine advised that their electronics were the result of 60’s drug use.
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Ha HA! Yes it was.
A high school friend of mine had one and on the rare occasions it actually ran, we’d tease him mercilessly about his “VolksPorschewagon”
Interesting info on Porsche’s tranaxle models of the 70’s and 80’s.
Don’t forget the iconic Porsche Tom Cruise used to evade “Guido the Killer Pimp” in Risky Business was a 928
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These things really bottomed out at one point; I recall looking at one that was asking 7000$ (late '80s or early '90s?) I was tempted, but not for long…
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Not a fan of the 928. BAT listings are nice and all but the prices are usually too high. There’s a few 928s local to me for sub 20k but I, too, remember when they were just about giving these away. I almost bought a porsche last fall but I was looking at the 996 offerings. I already own a over-engineered and quirky German car (a corrado g60) so I was looking for a more reliable coupe.
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1988 959 [not pictured / heavily modified & not street legal], we took one to the Salt Flats and I finally got a car over 200mph, like 202, I was scared shitless. Reflexes and lack of decent sight are not a speed demons good qualities, but I’ve had my fun, and then some.
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As long as we’re visiting Bring A Trailer…
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Meanwhile, you see a 914 and have to look again. So groovy!
But to be fair, faaarrrr too many of my adolescent years were spent drooling over the 911 Targa (sans whale tail).
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with the engine upfront
Hi, I’m the pedantic guy.
upfront = adjective
up front = adverb
This is the latter.
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What an affront. That shape was not my cup of tea. Yes to the 911 Targa
Or if you couldn’t afford one of those there was always the mid-engined Fiat X-19 (so so styling but apparently it handled like a go kart).
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Even a first-generation RX-7 embarrassed a 924, and that really wasn’t all that fast of a car, especially by today’s standards. Never mind the fast-car insurance premiums! Of course, when nseats=2 and VehicleType ≠ “truck” the premiums do tend to skyrocket. It was amazingly fun to drive, though, and its handling saved me from hitting an idiot who turned left into my path one night.
The 944 went a long way towards righting the 924’s wrongs.
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I was 15 when that was new. Thought that it looked like a sporty Japanese version of the Chevette. Still do.
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slow, but a blast in the turns - I had a 1976 model from 1980-83
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Friend has one from new. I keep telling him he needs to do a Honda engine swap
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I had one of these. It was pretty gutless with the 1.3L engine but cornered incredibly well at any speed. The seats were so low that my roomie was spooked when I pulled up beside a bus - the tire towered over the car.
I saw one that had been modified with a 2L engine; THAT was a sports car!
GM tried to replicate the FIAT X-1/9 with the Pontiac Fiero. They took the mid-engine design and threw all the other things that made the 128AX series a wonderful design. The FIAT stored the spare tire vertically in a compartment behind the passenger seat and the gas tank was behind the driver’s seat. There was a deep trunk behind the engine compartment and a full trunk under the front hood. Too bad some other manufacturer didn’t try to replicate the design with better construction and reliability. Toyota did an ugly version with the MR2.
Back to the Porsche 928 in all its iterations; a very stylish design that wasn’t executed quite well enough.
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I have fond memories of the time in college we fit 6 people in one of my friend’s father 924, and then drove to the movies an hour away.
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