1981 Porsche 924 Carrera GT
Details
The Porsche story is a fascinating one and its roots go back to the 1930’s when Professor Ferdinand Porsche was instrumental in the design of the first Volkswagen and also Auto Union race cars. By 1939 he had built three Porsche cars to compete in the 800 mile race from Berlin to Rome. Unfortunately the race was cancelled due to the war and Porsche was forced to focus on supporting the German war effort, however, he had always wanted to build his own cars and that dream lived on. In 1944 Porsche was forced to leave Stuttgart and he set up a small operation in Gmünd, Austria. Soon after the Porsche family and many of their engineers were captured and sent to jail. Ferdinand Porsche’s son Ferdinand junior, or ‘Ferry’ as he was known, was released six months later and he returned to Gmünd to rebuild the family company. Things moved quickly and Porsche was involved with cars again and shortly thereafter in mid-1948 the first Porsche 356 was built. It is understood Porsche built some 50 hand built aluminium bodied cars in their small factory at Gmünd before relocating back to Stuttgart, Germany. The rest they say is history as the 356 evolved into one of the most successful sports cars ever built. A hard act to follow indeed . . . but its replacement, the Porsche 911 went on to become a legend!
The 911′s trademark was that it was powered by an air cooled engine mounted in the rear. The model evolved over the years, however, Porsche remained true to the 911′s original concept only changing to a water cooled engine with the 996 series in 1998. The 911 excelled as both a road car and as a race car and it is arguably the most successful sports car ever built. Today, some 56 years after it was first shown to the public, the 911 lives on and the latest 992 series cars, still manufactured in Stuttgart, are as popular as ever. The Porsche 911 story is one of motoring’s finest
Back in the early 1970’s Porsche were looking at options to replace the 911. Sales were in decline and it was viewed that the 911 was nearing the end of its development. Porsche were thinking their new car should be a grand tourer, combining the creature comforts of a luxury saloon car with those of a true sports car. What ultimately evolved was the radical Porsche 928. Development was slow and the 928 didn’t enter production until 1978.
In parallel to the 928 project, Porsche was also very keen to build a sporting car that could be built in reasonable volume that was affordable but still had the DNA of Porsche. In essence they wanted a new model to replace the 914. The 914 was a collaboration between Porsche and Volkswagen and it was intended their new car be developed the same way. Changes at Volkswagen resulted in them withdrawing from the project so Porsche purchased the rights to the car and ultimately the 924 was born. The 924 was revolutionary for Porsche as it was their first front engined, rear wheel drive production car. It was also offered with an automatic transmission. The 924 entered production in 1976 and even though the motoring press of the day were hard on the car (claiming its performance was not that of a real Porsche!) the car was an outstanding success selling very well all over the world. Just over 120,000 924’s were built from 1976 – 1985 before being replaced by the 924S which was built for a further three years with another c 16,500 cars built. Following on from the early success of the 930 Turbo, Porsche decided to build a turbocharged version of the 924, with this model offering the level of performance many 924 customers were craving. In fact the 924 Turbo was a very successful car in its own right with just over 11,500 cars built from 1979 – 1983.
Porsche wanted to take their 924 racing and developed the 924 Carrera GT to do exactly that. They needed to build at least 400 cars for homologation, which they did, and subsequently entered the 924 Carrera GTR in Le Mans in 1980 where the factory team cars finished an impressive 6th, 12th and 13th overall. In 1981 the cars finished 7th and 11th (class win).
Only 406 Porsche 924 Carrera GT’s were built, of which only 75 were factory right hand drive. Porsche also built 59 Carrera GTS / GTS Clubsports and 19 Carrera GTR’s for racing. Hence these cars are incredibly rare by today’s standards!
Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer for a sale an absolutely stunning, factory right hand drive Porsche 924 Carrera GT.
These cars were only available in three colour choices – red, silver and black. This particular example is finished in black which is the perfect colour for this car. It was delivered new on the 1st August 1981 through Porsche dealer Lancaster Group, Ipswich Road, Colchester, UK to its first owner Mr G Reptowski, Hornchurch, Essex, UK. The car was first registered as XNO794X. There is a letter from Porsche on file confirming the car was delivered with the following options: limited slip differential (40%), heated and adjustable passenger’s door mirror, forged alloy wheels and a sun roof.
Interestingly this very car was purchased in 1985 by English singer / song writer Paul Young. By the mid 1980’s Young’s solo career was flying and hits such as ‘Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home)’, ‘Love of the Common People’ and ‘Every Time You Go Away’ were smash hits around the world. The car passed through a number of UK owners before being acquired in 2010 by an Australian living in the UK. He returned home to Australia and fortunately brought this fabulous car with him. There is an Import Approval on file dated 12th July 2011. The car was acquired by Mark & Michelle in 2014 and kept as part of their car collection.
Today this rare Porsche presents and drives superbly. The paint is in excellent condition and it has a very high gloss and strong depth of colour. You have to look extremely hard to find a blemish or stone chip! All the exterior trim is in excellent condition also, as are all the lenses, glass, badges and decals. The Porsche Fuchs wheels, which are a feature of the 924 Carrera GT, are also in excellent condition. The interior is totally original and incredibly well preserved for an almost forty (yes forty!) year old car. The dash, steering wheel and instruments are particularly good, the uber cool velour seats and door cards have no rips or tears and present with just the right amount of ‘patina’. The red piping is slightly faded as you will see from some of the photos. The car retains the original Blaupunkt radio which is a nice touch. Under the rear glass the privacy cover remains intact and in excellent working order. The engine bay is also clean and very well presented.
As you would expect the car runs and drives magnificently. The engine pulls like a train and the performance is simply breathtaking. This car is just so ‘uber cool early 1980’s turbo’’. There is some turbo lag, as you would expect, but wind it up and the car flies! The Carrera GT is quite heavy on the road, particularly at low speed, but it is very well balanced and it handles particularly well. The brakes are more than adequate to pull the car up as and when required.
When acquired in 2014 the car was in excellent condition, however, over the last five years the following work has been done to bring it up to the condition it is in today: a new battery was recently fitted, the bolts holding the rear fibreglass guards were replaced and the guards repaired/repainted, new under bonnet insulation fitted, gearbox synchros replaced and all of the suspension removed, powder coated and refitted.
This Porsche 924 Carrera GT has a full set of books (including a fully stamped service book), a factory service information booklet, a factory press release with photos, a thick & comprehensive history file, lots of documentation & magazine articles, two sets of keys, unused space saver spare wheel, a tool kit, jack and a compressor . . . it’s all there!
This car is one for the ‘hard core’ Porsche collector or enthusiast. They are super rare, they look incredible and they are fantastic cars to drive. There’s no doubt this model Porsche is somewhat of a sleeper, a hidden secret perhaps, but surely for not much longer!
There’s something about the aura of this particular car that just makes it so compelling. Everything is just ‘so right’ . . .the colour combination, its condition, its history, the documentation that will accompany the car . . . it’s just fabulous.
Today the odometer reads 78,269 miles. The fully stamped service book and impeccable history file substantiates the mileage as genuine.
The car is currently on full Queensland registration and it has a current Queensland Roadworthy Certificate.
We promise to supply a cassette of ‘No Parlez’ with the car to get you in the mood!
Specification
- -
- Porsche 924 Carrera GT
- 1981
- Coupe
- Manual
- 78,269 miles
- 1984cc
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