1987 Porsche 924S

The Porsche 924 was introduced in November of 1975 and was the first production Porsche to be powered by a water-cooled engine mounted at the front of the vehicle. The 2+2 coupe had been a joint development project between Porsche and Volkswagen and was intended as a replacement to the 914. The car had exceptional handling due to the 48/52 front/rear weight distribution. The engine was mounted in the front with power sent to a rear-mounted gearbox/transaxle. The model was a huge sales success for Porsche, with over 150,000 examples sold during its 11-year production. In short, the 924 saved Porsche from financial ruin.

One of the criticisms of the original 924 was its poor performance from its 2.0-liter Volkswagen engine. In 1983, Porsche answered those complaints with the much-improved 944 which was visually similar to the 924, but with an all-new alloy 2.5-liter inline-four. In 1986, the 944 engine was installed in the 924 and named the 924 S. With the larger engine, the 924 S had 50 percent more power than the standard 924, and similar performance to the 924 Turbo, but with a lower price and improved reliability.

The 1987 Porsche 924S shared its 151.3 cubic-inch (2,479cc), overhead am, water-cooled four-cylinder engine with its 944 sibling. It had an aluminum alloy block and head, a DME fuel injection system, 9.7:1 compression, five main bearings, and delivered 147 (SAE net) horsepower at 5,500 RPM and 140 lb-ft of torque at 3,000 RPM. It was paired with a five-speed manual transmission or an optional three-speed automatic.

The Porsche 924 and 944 rested atop a 94.5-inch wheelbase and had an overall length of 168.9 inches. Both stood 50.2 inches tall and were 66.3 inches wide. The steering was a rack-and-pinion setup, with the suspension being MacPherson struts at the front with lower A-arms, anti-roll bar, and coil springs. At the rear were semi-trailing arms with transverse torsion bars.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2013