Porsche 924 Carrera GTS

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Porsche 924 Carrera GTS

The Porsche 924 Carrera GTS is an unusual car, as a thinly disguised Group 4 car it is a fun, fast and lightweight factory built car. Work began on Porsche's first ever front engined, water cooled car, the 924 in 1972. The idea to modify the 924 originated with the production of the Porsche 924 GT which was designed for Group 4 (modified production car) racing. In 1981 Porsche began building the GTS and the Mathews Collection car is number 17 of only 59 cars Porsche homologised for Le Mans 24 hour race. It is made ever scarcer by the fact this is one of only 15 of these cars that were fitted with 270 bhp engines. The factory Porsche 924s did well at Le Mans in 1981 and finished an extremely respectable seventh overall.

To make the necessary weight savings required for racing, Porsche had to make extensive modifications between the standard 924 and the GTS version. The front fenders and rear bumper extensions are formed from fiberglass. The wafer thin doors and hood are made from lightweight aluminum, in fact only the bare necessities - the sills and roof - are made from steel. Another pointer to the GTS's race pedigree is that it sits a lot closer to the ground than the standard car and the usual 924 retractable headlights are replaced with these slat shaped lights. Porsche also tried to save as much weight as possible in the cockpit. Obviously for safety reasons, the weight saving did not go as far as the seats which are huge, rally style. All the weight savings added to the power of the Porsche 4 cylinder turbo engine that gave almost double the power of the stock 924. The 2 litre SOHC four engine is fitted with an air to air intercooler and can produce 245 bhp at 6,250 rpm and 245 pounds-feet of torque at 3000 rpm. The power is controlled by a standard 924 5 speed manual gearbox but it is modified with a separate oil cooler and a 40% limited slip differential.

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http://www.rpmsportscars.com/door28.htm

[The_Canuck]

Why does it have Carrera in its name? 924s wern't carreras...weird...

[Wouter Melissen]

Originally Posted by The_Canuck

Why does it have Carrera in its name? 924s wern't carreras...weird...

Why not? Does it not have a twin-cam engine?

[The_Canuck]

Originally Posted by Wouter Melissen

Why not? Does it not have a twin-cam engine?

Umm no it has a Single cam I belive...

[Wouter Melissen]

hmm interesting

[The_Canuck]

Wait, so any Porsche with a DOHC engine is a Carrera?

[Wouter Melissen]

Originally Posted by The_Canuck

Wait, so any Porsche with a DOHC engine is a Carrera?

That used to be the case in the days of the 365 and 911 models.

[The_Canuck]

Originally Posted by Wouter Melissen

That used to be the case in the days of the 365 and 911 models.

Ah I see...Then they came up with Different names like Cayman and such? Or do I have this way wrong

[Wouter Melissen]

Originally Posted by The_Canuck

Ah I see...Then they came up with Different names like Cayman and such? Or do I have this way wrong

Well it was never a separate type, so there were the regular 911 and 356 models and the fourcam 911 Carrera and 356 Carrera models.

[zeppelin]

It's used in honour of their wins in the Carrera Panamericana race

[The_Canuck]

Originally Posted by zeppelin

It's used in honour of their wins in the Carrera Panamericana race

Yeah, Carrera is race in spanish aswell, I know why, my question is what, as in what models are designated Carreras and why (other then Carrera Panamericana)

[henk4]

Originally Posted by The_Canuck

Yeah, Carrera is race in spanish aswell, I know why, my question is what, as in what models are designated Carreras and why (other then Carrera Panamericana)

Porsche mostly used the most sporty version for that designation. Like the twin cam 1600/2000 of the four cylinder 356 engines and later versions of the flat six, which however did not necessarily had twin cam engines. As far as I know the 924 never had a TC engine, but 924 Carrera GTS was a really tough performer, hence it earned the famous name too. As soon as Prosche will launch a Cayenne Carrera, then they disqualify their own history again.

[The_Canuck]

Originally Posted by henk4

Porsche mostly used the most sporty version for that designation. Like the twin cam 1600/2000 of the four cylinder 356 engines and later versions of the flat six, which however did not necessarily had twin cam engines. As far as I know the 924 never had a TC engine, but 924 Carrera GTS was a really tough performer, hence it earned the famous name too. As soon as Prosche will launch a Cayenne Carrera, then they disqualify their own history again.

Ok I think i get it now...So now the loose equivelent to Carrera is the "S" versions of cars and Carrera is now just another name added onto 911. Right?

[henk4]

Originally Posted by The_Canuck

Ok I think i get it now...So now the loose equivelent to Carrera is the "S" versions of cars and Carrera is now just another name added onto 911. Right?

yes, just use an old famous brand name and Bob's your uncle

[The_Canuck]

Thanks for the explanation