Porsche does not build many cars like the Porsche 924: a 2-door 2+2 coupé with 2.0 , built from 1976 to 1988 as the oil crises and the first emissions rules rewired the industry. Its designer of record is Harm Lagaay (Porsche AG).
Where it came from
The Porsche 924 is a sports car produced by Porsche in Neckarsulm, Germany, from 1976 until 1988. A two-door, 2+2 coupé, the 924 replaced the 912E and 914 as the company's entry-level model. Although the 928 was designed first, the 924 was the first production road-going Porsche to use water cooling and a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. It was also the first Porsche to be offered with a conventional fully automatic transmission. Like the 914, the 924 began as a joint venture with Volkswagen (VW).
Although VW canceled plans to sell a version under its own nameplate, opting to market the independently-developed Scirocco instead, the 924 was assembled in a VW-operated plant and initially used a VW engine. The 924 made its public debut in November 1975, and a turbocharged version was introduced in 1978. In response to increasing competition, Porsche introduced an upgraded version with a new Porsche-built engine as the 944, which replaced the 924 in the U.S. in 1983. In 1985, VW discontinued the engine used in the 924, prompting Porsche to use a slightly detuned 944 engine instead, drop the Turbo model, rename the vehicle as the 924S, and reintroduce it in the U.S. The 924 was a sales success, with just over 150,000 produced.
Under the skin
Under the skin sits 2.0 other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 1242 kg. The gearbox is a 3-speed automatic / 4-speed manual / 5-speed Getrag manual. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 2400 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Where it sits in Porsche's history is not in doubt: the Porsche 914 came before it; the Porsche 944 followed it; it was built at Neckarsulm, Stuttgart, Germany. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Ford Fiesta, the Lotus Esprit, the Hyundai Pony. Nearby in the Porsche catalogue sit the Porsche P1 and the Porsche Type 12.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Porsche 924 has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.