Porsche 924 Turbo, Porsche 924 Turbo Family cars

PORSCHE 924 TURBO

THE POPULAR ELDERLY MAN IN PORSCHE EXTENDED FAMILY

Launched in 1976, 924 was the cheapest model and accounted for 60% of Porsche's sales.
The 924 was a success in the United States. Most people not only praised the model for its beautiful and elegant exterior, but they also were impressed by the first class handling, superb steering feel and stable cornering.

However, since the 2-litre injected engine (125 hp in Europe, 95 hp in US) did not provide sufficient punch, performance was just OK. Autocar measured 126 mph and 9.5 sec for 0-60 mph. Obviously, the US version was much worse. Of course, Porsche introduced 924 Turbo into the market with the aim to fulfill users’ demands from all over the world.

The Exterior

The Porsche 924 Turbo had distinctive visual cues, but wasn't enhanced by this
paint option. Nose and hood vents helped set the Turbo apart from other 924s.

Visually, the Turbo can be easily recogised thanks to its unique features as follows: lovely “spider web” alloy wheels, a functional NACA hood duct, four cooling slots on the nose, Turbo tail script, and a modest spoiler rimming the big back window.

The Porsche 924 Turbo had distinctive visual cues, but wasn't enhanced by this
paint option. Nose and hood vents helped set the Turbo apart from other 924s.

The Interior

When you first drive a 924 you will feel like you are sitting on the floor. It seems to be strange and your view of the road and surroundings may be unusual but you will get used to it soon. The handbrake is on the right, between the drivers seat and the door. The gear lever may seem stiff, especially when engaging first or reverse; this does not necessarily indicate a fault. The gearbox is located at the rear of the car, has a long linkage and, combined with a short shifter, can require quite a lot of force to get into gear.

The engine
The turbo engine worked best towards its top end, which means users had to use the gearbox more often than in the unblown car, changing down while driving on a fast road, to maintain performance. The turbo could be heard only at low speeds; if you tried to accelerate in a high gear, you could hear the high musical whine rising, but it wasn't noisy.

With this sort of power unit, you had in effect a choice of two engines. There was a 2-litre unblown one for pottering about town or touring gently which would easily return around 25 mpg - and the at-least 3-litre equivalent employed when you used the performance for high speed cruising or very fast driving, which understandably increased the thirst a lot - to around 20 mpg.

Post: Tram Nguyen