In the world of Porsche, the most unloved model is undoubtedly the 924. Even while Porsche’s transaxle cars are gaining more respect among enthusiasts, the 924’s reputation as a slow ”Volkswagen trying to be a Porsche” seems to linger and the car is frequently overlooked. I’d like to change that. Aside from its attractive looks and balanced package, the Porsche 924 has the distinction of being Porsche’s second production car to be graced with a turbocharger. And it’s today’s Good Find Friday feature.

The Porsche 924 Turbo, launched in 1978, was a significant advancement for Porsche, bridging the gap between affordability and performance. Initially designed as an entry-level sports car, the standard 924 featured a 2.0-liter inline-four engine from Audi, which was considered underpowered by many enthusiasts. The 924 Turbo, known internally as the 931, addressed this by adding a KKK turbocharger, boosting output to 170 horsepower and transforming the model into a more competitive performer.

The 924 Turbo included several technical enhancements to manage the increased power. These included an air-to-air intercooler and a revised suspension system.

Despite some initial skepticism, the 924 Turbo proved its worth by offering balanced handling, impressive speed, and unique styling. It set the stage for future transaxle Porsches like the 944 and 968, demonstrating the viability of a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout.

Today’s Good Find Friday car is a 1980 Porsche 924 Turbo listed on the auction site Kickdown. It is located in the German town of Meppen, and after a no-sale result in an online auction the selling dealer is accepting offers via the platform.

A dead ringer for the brochure cover car for the 924 Turbo, this example is painted in two-tone silver with contrasting bright red flanks. I don’t recall ever seeing this combination in the United States and I have to admit—I’m kind of smitten with it. The paint condition is respectable, with some significant orange peel visible in some of the exterior photographs. According to the seller, the car is accident free but he won’t rule out a repaint in the past. WIth a vehicle this old,, nothing is certain.

Exterior features of the 924 Turbo that differentiated it from naturally aspirated models include extra ventilation holes in the front nose, NACA duct on the hood, a rubberized rear spoiler around the rear hatch, and grilles in the lower front air dam for brake cooling and the oil cooler. As a bonus, this is a slicktop car with no sunroof, saving weight, providing additional headroom and avoiding leaks from bad seals.

The interior is a truly exciting aspect of this car. Finished in partial black leather seats with gorgeous blue and red tartan seat inserts and door panels, it is in amazingly well-kept condition for a car that is 40 years old. Of particular note, the dashboard appears to be in a crack-fee state, which is remarkable for a 924. Sun damage is brutal to these older dashes, so to see one in this shape is fantastic. In a lovely nod to old-school Porsches, the gauges are green over black and apparently function perfectly.

Interior features include Turbo-branded door sills, electric mirror controls, windows and rear wiper. The gearshift is leather-covered as from the factory, and a period-correct Blaupunkt radio. Out back, a reasonable luggage space occupies the area under the large glass hatch. The rear seats on the 924 fold down to provide even more practical space, and a retractable luggage cover hides your valuables from prying eyes.

A KKK turbocharger with max boost of 10 psi paired with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel-injection generated 170hp vs 125 for the naturally-aspirated 924, at least in European trim. Fundamental changes were made to the cylinder head by Zuffenhausen to create a potent engine out of VW’s EA831 inline four.

The drivetrain of the 924 Turbo was lavished with performance parts cribbed from the 911 parts bin, including the clutch disc from the 911SC, 5-lug hubs and wheel bearings from the 911, and disc brakes from the 911 in the front and the 928 in the rear. A beefed up propshaft and differential helped the car sprint from 0-60 in just 7 seconds. Pretty impressive for a 1980 entry-level Porsche.

Wheels on the Turbo were special as well, with complex basket-weave design alloys in 15×6 size that look a bit of a headache to clean. It’s nice to see the subject car is fitted with Pirelli tires, as the original tires on these were also Pirellis.

Handling is a very important characteristic that Porsche focuses on religiously. For the 924 Turbo, the car kept its McPherson front and trailing-arm rear setup, but added uprated springs, dampers and roll bars to crispen up the cornering ability of the chassis. Inspecting the underbody photos of this car reveal some surface corrosion on brake shields and other components, but this could be rectified with relative ease. No serious rust is visible, thankfully.

Of the 924 Turbo’s performance, I’ll let Motor Sport magazine’s period test review say it all:

“The 924 Turbo is not perfect, but it is supremely fast, extraordinarily economical in relation to its performance, practical, comfortable and at times even very exciting. Here, then, is a VW which has grown up into a Porsche.” — Motor Sport, March 1980

The factory only built 12,702 924 turbos from 1979 to 1983 making it an uncommon vehicle that’s already hard to find due to age and its perception as anything but a ‘true Porsche.’

Values as a result remain generally low, with a good condition 924 Turbo running around $12,500 with concours condition cars, which trade very infrequently, pushing $40,000. This is still a very affordable classic Porsche and one worthy of much more respect, in my opinion.

My father had a 1978 Porsche 924 when I was a young teenager. He loved that car and surrounded himself with Porsche memorabilia and books, which had a huge impression on me as a kid. If not for his 924, I doubt I’d be the Porsche enthusiast I am now.

I, for one, really want a 924 Turbo in my garage and hesitated a little in even posting this car today for fear of drawing attention to it! If I had the space and the spare cash, this car would already be on a boat to Baltimore with my name on it.

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisal and auction services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. We also provide importation services. Give us a call or drop us a line!