Gentle reader,
I am always so pleased to see the enthusiastic response to my humble blogging efforts. A few days ago, there were over 150 page views to my last edition. I can't thank you enough!
IF you saw that last one:
Then you know that for a while I was the steward for my first (and hopefully not my last) PORSCHE which was a 1987 924S.
Prior to finding and buying that car (for only $2,525!), I had never heard of the 924S. I will not go into the complete history of front engine PORSCHEs, even though I believe I have every English language book on the subject. Suffice to say the 924 was originally to be a VW model to replace the outgoing 914, which in places other than the United States was called: "Volkswagen-Porsche 914".
The vast parts bins of the Volkswagen-Audi Group which also includes Porsche, were raided so that a totally new type of German sports car was developed: Front engine with rear transaxle connected by a "torque tube". This gave almost perfect 50/50 weight balance, front to rear.
Volkswagen came under new management when the project was nearly complete and backed out of the deal. As a result, Porsche bought the program and decided to go ahead and use the combination of VW and Audi parts and to call it 924.
I saw my first Porsche 924 in 1977 or so, it was a Martini livery model, (white with red/blue stripes and a red interior). I was taking a walk and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw it. Well aware of Porsches for at least ten years prior (at around ten years old I decided the 912 would be a better choice than a 911). I knew that this was the strangest Porsche I had ever seen.
The engine used in the 924 was a modified version of an Audi inline four cylinder with an overhead camshaft head. The engine was tilted to the right to allow for a low hood.
So, after not telling you the history of the Porsche 924......what? You think I just did that? Let me look at what I just typed. Oh, that's nothing! Entire books have been written about those cars!
Anyway, the 924S came along in Europe two years after the 944 did, in 1986 and in the US in 1987. It combined the sleeker 924 body with the more powerful and true Porsche 944 engine. The 924S retained the 924 interior but gained the 944 underpinnings as well, such as four wheel disc brakes, five-bolt wheels, etc. Contemporary magazine tests and Porsche themselves, found the lighter more aerodynamic 924S to be quicker and faster than the same model year 944s. Much to the chagrin of 944 owners and lovers everywhere.
Whew! Now with all that said, in order for the 944 to grow from the 924, they needed a bridge model. This came to be called the 924 Carrera GT. It was more than the 924 Turbo, it had wider track front and rear which required wider body work. Which you will see.
Porsche of course had developed the 928 which used the same front engine with rear transaxle connected by a torque tube, but with a V8 engine, to be the replacement for the 911. A new Porsche boss came along, (an American one!) and stopped the demise of the 911, making the 928 a grand touring model, rather than an all out sports car.
The 944 engine is derived from the right bank of the 928's engine. They needed a way to test it and since racing at Le Mans had been a Porsche staple, they decided to create a 944 prototype for that type of racing but still called it 924 Carrera GT. See this excellent web site for more:
924 Carrera GT, Racing
924 Carrera GT, Racing
Whew, again! I do tend to talk too much and type to much, but people seem to like that I do both. To the subject of this post, there only exists one (reasonably priced) 1/18th scale diecast model of the street 944 and that is the 944 Turbo. There ARE various 924 models and I found and bought one that is a European version and a 1985 model year. I bought a red one a few years ago. I had one slot (filled at the time with a Bugatti EB110) in my 1/18th scale collection that I wished to fill. Thanks to the excellent web store:
I found that they have the excellent AUTOart depiction of the 924 Carrera GT for a very reasonable price. I chose a black one since it is the color my 924S was.
As I am wont to do, (I did a set of photos of my JDM Subaru WRX STi wagon and Porsche 924, but have yet to publish) I decided to do a photographic comparison of the two Porsche 924 models, the red 1985 924 and black 1980 924 Carrera GT. The former is made by Minichamps and as stated above, the latter by AUTOart. Without further ado, here are the photos; but first a note:
Diecast cars are meant to be viewed by the naked eyes, not the unforgiving digital camera's eye which shows all dust, pet hair and fingerprints. Sigh.
ONE other thing: Clicking on a photo will open them up larger and you can use your keyboards arrow keys to look through them.
OK, now for the pictures:
The first things seen that differ are the hood scoop which is for the intercooler, the larger rear wing and the famous Fuchs wheels.
Note the red one has that wild checkerboard pattern seats while the older GT has more subtle striped fabric seats. More of which you will see later on.
There are many differences that those which a close examination of the photos will reveal. For instance the GT has convincing looking struts that hold up the rear hatch. Also the GT has rear window defrost stripes.
See how much more crowded the GT engine bay is. Note also the extra grilles above the bumper to help cool the more powerful turbo engine. I didn't see the GT has a hood prop rod until seeing this photo, so tiny it is. The red car's hood tends to stay up unaided.
It wasn't until seeing and editing these images that I noticed part of the Porsche crest is missing from the red 924. Note below my fingerprints on the front bumper cover.
In a larger view of the above image, one can see that even though the GT is black, they still installed the PORSCHE lettering and stripes on the rear bumper. The rear of my 924 S was like the one below, with the "S" added. Note also how much more narrow the red 924's tires are.
These two photos show a great view of the sexy shape of the 924 and the more muscular shape of the GT. The front fenders are very similar to the 944 while the rear pieces are fiberglass add-ons to allow for the wider rubber without the expense of new quarter-panel stampings for a limited production car.
I just love how much detail these car makers put into these replicas. Note the seats appear to be fabric as does the seat belt, above. Note too the markings on the radio.
The carpeting is created by a process called "flocking" in which they spray small bits onto a sticky surface. Quite convincing. Another cool factor is real mirrors too.
At first I thought the Porsche crest should be colored then remembered that it was simply molded into the center covering of the steering wheel in my 924S. These shots look the cars are ready for you to step in and have a seat, don't they?
Check out those gauges in the red one above.
Look at the piping on the GT's seats above. It is less obvious in the seats below. I do like that wild checked pattern, though.
See the different height in the two types of flocking above verses below.
And now some views of the bottom of the two cars for educational and comparison's sake.
I have no knowledge as to when Porsche started putting a cover over the bottom of the engine compartment which the newer (1985) 924 has. My 924S had one. So did my TT, WRX and Capri XR2. So does my current car, a 2005 Volvo V50 T5. All added to smooth the flow of air under the car and help extract heat from the engine compartment.
Note that the 924 used an Audi engine and transmission, separated and connected by the torque tube. Note that the transmission in the GT appears to be ahead of the differential as was the transaxle in the 928 models. Minichamps did a better job on the rear axles. They are straight (below) where as they have a curve to them on the GT (above).
No starter motor is visible on the red 924 but is clearly there on the black GT. I believe the second, smaller pipe above is from the blow-off valve on the turbocharger on the GT above. Thus is on all turbochargers. When you close the throttle (let off on the gas) on a turbo engine, the suddenly unneeded compressed air has to go somewhere. That valve releases it back into the air.
Above is the 1/18th scale diecast collection (white Camaro is 1/20th scale plastic model) as it appears today, October 8th, 2016. Also shown is the majority of my much smaller camera collection. Two photos at the very bottom of this page show the collections in it's hay-day and eight years ago. The former photo I made with a fisheye lens. The cameras are mounted on my invention which I called: CameraLock. Obviously, I no longer need or use the CameraLock system.
And last off is all the cars shown closer. The ones we actually owned are the white 1996 Z/28 Camaro, 2002 Subaru WRX wagon, 2000 Audi TT quattro and 1987 Porsche 924S. Of course exact models of those cars do not exist, so these represent them.
Thanks for looking, I really appreciate it!
Scott
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