1980 Porsche 924

OFFERED WITHOUT RESERVE

As FIA regulations changed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Porsche 935 chapter was set to close. Its immediate replacement, engineers and executives in Zuffenhausen decided, would be based on the successful 924, which was set to spawn a higher-performance turbocharged model in 1978. Development of the 924 Turbo was not a well-kept secret in Zuffenhausen, and the regular presence of a Le Mans 24-Hour-winning race-car driver and head of Porsche’s Kundensport (customer racing department) Jürgen Barth in the generally quiet Stuttgart suburb hardly went unnoticed. Working with Porsche engineers, Barth helped create a largely hand-assembled version of the E831 2.0L inline-four — boasting, of course, an intercooler and a turbocharger. Porsche itself was leading the way in the ‘70s with automotive development and application of turbochargers, which helped more economical small-displacement engines perform as well as larger-displacement engines.

At the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1979, Porsche unveiled a shapely, white-painted version of its 924 emblazoned with Carrera GT labels — a name historically reserved for track-oriented performance vehicles. The concept was intended to be a stopgap before revised regulations arrived in 1982, allowing Porsche to compete in the GT prototype category. Porsche would have to homologate the car by producing a road-going version if it wanted to race.