Produced by Porsche AG of Germany, the 924 was sold from 1976 until 1988 as a two door sports car. The 924 was a replacement for the
914 and was an entry level coupe. The 924 was powered by a water-cooled front mounted engine. The 924 had an odd front engine, rear wheel drive arrangement that was standard for other manufacturers but had become anything but the norm for Porsche. Porsche considered the 924 to be a huge success as it helped to pull them out of financial ruin and it also helped provide the funds to continue to build the costly 911 models. The 944 would follow and eventually replace the 924, but anyone that is familiar with the 924 knows that it had a very good run.
What's interesting is that the 924 was originally produced to be the flagship coupe for Volkswagen with Porsche simply developing the chassis and the transmission that would work with an Audi I4 engine. Porsche put a lot of time into the 924 but with the growing oil issues Volkswagen decided that the 924 would have to wait. Volkswagen would eventually trash the entire idea to focus on their Quattro Coupe. Porsche decided if Volkswagen wasn't going to use the design they would buy it from VW to replace their aging 914 model. Porsche and VW could have never predicted how great the 924 would sell.
The 924 was equipped with a 95 horsepower 2.0 liter I4 engine that had been used in the Audi 100 as well as the Volkswagen LT van. The 2.0-liter was paired with a five-speed transmission that was originally a dogleg and then was replaced with the normal H pattern five speed with a three speed automatic transmission eventually being offered. The 924 sported hidden headlights, a sloped hood line, and a grill less nose that gave the 924 a wedge like shape. The base price of the 924 in the United Stated in 1976 was just $9,395. Porsche made small changes to the 924 during its production, but it was largely unchanged because it was cheap to make and it sold really well just the way it was!
