The most affordable Porsche

THE MOST AFFORDABLE PORSCHE

I recently went up to Bear Mountain for some late winter nature time. Who knew I'd run across a cocaine edition '80s sports car? Behold!

This is a 1984 Porsche 944 in Black (I was hoping for a more interesting color name but no!). Everybody knows the flagship Porsche 911. The larger 928 had a starring role in Risky Business. The 944 is the forlorn and forgotten Porsche.

The flared fenders are from the factory, giving this ride a voluptuous look.

Way back in the 1970s Volkswagen and Porsche teamed up to develop a car that would be sold by Audi. This complicated alliance began to unravel while the car was being developed. At one point VW declared that they would be the only ones to sell the car. Then they decided to drop it altogether! Porsche bought everybody out, finished the car, and called it the 924. This small hatchback Porsche had an Audi engine which caused enthusiasts to turn their back on it.

This ride was introduced in 1982 as a replacement for the 924, this time with all Porsche parts. To me it has aged very well. We know this is pre-1985 because the power antenna is visible on the front fender. In addition these are the stock '82-'84 wheels. In 1985 new wheels were introduced that looked like rotary phone dials.

This sporty German has been around.

From this angle the evolution of the 924 is on full display. Both models have this large rear window.

The 944 uses a rear transaxle that helped even out the front and rear weight ratio almost perfectly. As a result handling is very good.

This was an unexpected state park find to say the least! 

The way Porsche values have been skyrocketing lately this is really the time to pick one of these up if you're so inclined. At the moment these are seriously cheap wheels. A 1983 example is currently on Ebay with a Buy it Now price of $3,000 that needs nothing but a paint job and speedo cable (supposedly). Even the most well documented mint condition examples seem to be under 10 grand. It wasn't long ago that a 911 could be had for that kind of money so act now!

Glatte schwarze Schönheit bereit zu stürzen!

Glatte schwarze Schönheit bereit zu stürzen!

I was sleep walking down my block for some coffee one morning when I noticed this sweet German waiting patiently for its owner:

This is a 1985 Porsche 911 Carrera in Graphite Black Poly. We know it's a Carrera as opposed to the standard 911 because of those clear fog lights mounted into the lower valance under the bumper. This car is totally amazing in its looks and performance! It is also as '80s as cocaine on Wall Street.

This sweet 911 has more in common with the classic VW Beetle than most other cars; they are both powered by air-cooled engines placed in the rear over the drive wheels.

For the 2 year span of 1984-'85 there were no Porsche 930s available in the States. The signature look of the 930 was that huge tail and wide fender flares. To fill this need Porsche offered the M491 option (known in the UK as Supersport and simply Turbo-Look here in the States). That super-badass whale tail means business!

It was early in the morning when this was sitting with its hazards on in front of a hydrant.

Under the center of the wing just above the reflector bar you can just see where it says Turbo in script. These cars lend themselves to upgrading better than most due to the longevity of the basic design so who's to say if it's original? With the Turbo-Look on an actual turbo 911 it's extremely close to a 930. The color, sunroof, and great wheels make this thing about as desirable as it gets.

I didn't want to explain myself to an angry owner so I snapped a very quick pic of the interior.

The oil cooler for the engine is up front which necessitates a lot of oil for the entire system. When you change it you'll need somewhere around 9 and a half quarts!

I detailed cars back in school and as a result got to drive tons of different cars very short distances. The big surprise for me the first time I sat in a 911 was that the clutch pedal doesn't hang from under the dash like most cars, but rather goes forward and down flat to the floor when pressed. Like the Beetle the accelerator and clutch cables run under the floor to the drivetrain in the rear.

The 911 went on in air-cooled style from 1963 to 1998 (obviously with tons of changes along the way). In 1999 Porsche broke the heart of the 911 purist by switching to water cooled engines.

The values of these stalwart 911s have skyrocketed lately which was frankly overdue. These cars combine pure athleticism and engineering with sexy good looks. The top speed of this car when new was around 150mph which puts it in supercar territory. The Lamborghini Countach claimed 183mph as a top speed in '85 but that was a much more expensive, less reliable, and much less comfortable ride. The Lambo would run you $100,000 in '85 while this Porsche was a measly $32,000!
With that we'll leave this for Gordon Gecko to jump in and drive away. Few cars are as immediately recognizable and classic as the 911. If you stumble upon one in decent condition for not too much money I suggest grabbing it quick!

Convertible Week continues with an ivory bathtub!

SPEEDSTER

Ah the Gold Coast of Long Island! The playground for millionaires and billionaires with 25,000 square foot mansions on sprawling estates along the beaches of the North Shore. It shouldn't be surprising to see a classic exotic parked in front of a sweet little antiques shop. However this was parked in the corner of a Key Foods grocery store in Mattituck. Let's investigate.

At first glance this is a 1957 Porsche 356A Speedster in Elfenbein (Ivory in German). This is without a doubt one of the worlds most sought-after sports cars with nice examples routinely trading for a quarter million dollars or more. Everything here looks correct from the turn signal/horn vent grills to the fender mounted mirrors and the split windshield. Even the body-colored bumpers are correct.

These cars are absolutely cooler than cool. Using essentially the same layout as the Volkswagen Beetle (and designed by the same Dr. Ferdinand Porsche) they are quirky and fun. The rear-mounted air-cooled engine puts out a warbling chirp not unlike the Beetle, and creature comforts such as heat are similarly feeble. Still, who buys a Speedster for the heating capabilities?

The first of the 356 models was introduced in 1948 in coupe form, and is widely regarded as the first Porsche automobile (there was a similar version built in the late '30s but it never went into production). Those early 356 models are known as "Pre-A" and were built from '48 through '55. The engine was a diminutive 1,100cc 4 cylinder culled from VW parts.
1955 heralded the 356A which came with numerous small improvements. Engines went up in size to 1.3, 1.5, and 1.6 Liters with many performance enhancements. They are so scarce and valuable that kits have been available to recreate them for decades.

Ultimately it came down to this luggage rack in confirming the identity of this little bathtub.
One of the companies to offer Speedster kits is the terribly named Special Edition company (YAWN). The Special Edition brand BECK Speedster boasts this very rack as an option for their kits. They describe it as a "loose recreation of the very early, smaller luggage racks". Since this is identical to their optional rack and they admit it is a loose recreation it must be BECK. *No I don't know why it is all capitalized but if you'd like to contact the president of Special Editions and ask him about his naming practices please do so.

So here we have it; a replica of one of the coolest cars on the planet. Luckily the 356 A Speedster lends itself to being recreated as a kit car better than really any other. Many kits involve placing a goofy looking approximation of a classic on a VW Beetle chassis and rolling with it (for serious groans look up VW kit cars and be prepared for horrific Lamborghinis and the like). However the original 356 was built on a Beetle chassis so if anything you could improve performance by adding the larger 1600 VW engine. No matter how real or fake I'm certain this is a hilariously fun car to drive in summer.
Glückliche Autofahren oh gefälschte Porsche-Fahrer!

Show Car Sunday returns with a mid-engined targa beauty

PORSCHE FOR VOLKSWAGON BY PORSCHE

I recently drove a quick loop through downtown Croton Falls when I saw this little number roosting in the MTA parking lot;

This is a 1976 Porsche 914 in Grand Prix White. When I was a kid I saw one of these and it really stuck with me due to the angled orange turn signals on top of the fenders. Nothing else has ever looked like this car before or since!

Even though this is a tight little sports car it is the U.S. import model so it has those large black rubber bumpers mandated by safety regulations of the day. 

The 914 was developed in a joint effort by Porsche and Volkswagen to replace both the VW Karmann Ghia and Porsche 912. From this angle you can see the similarity with the Karmann Ghia where there's a small passenger compartment between almost perfectly equal front and rear sections.

The main difference between the VW version (known as the Type 34 Ghia; a very rare car today) was the engine and its placement. The VW had a flat "pancake" engine hidden beneath the rear trunk floor, while the Porsche had either a 4 or 6 cylinder engine installed just behind the seats. All of the engines in the 914s were air-cooled. Being a low-slung, mid-engined car with the wheels near the far edges of the body meant for fantastic handling. 

Both the Karmann Ghia and the 914 had 2 trunks due to the mid-engine placement. The rear trunk on this car is pretty small, but will accommodate the removable fiberglass targa top with storage space underneath. The trunk in the front is surprisingly deep even with the spare tire installed.

This black mesh with PORSCHE written across it is actually the vented hood covering the engine. I feel like working on one of these would be like leaning down into your washing machine to fix something at the bottom.

This car is absolutely, show-stoppingly cherry in its condition! The carpeting is original (or a perfect replication) and perfect. The Blaupunkt cassette stereo even looks to be identical to the units available from the factory.

The only chrome on the car is the outline of the rear window opening.

These beautiful Fuchs wheels are original to the car and polish up nicely. They are definitely worth some money.

It was all I could do to not just sit in this thing! With the top off and open to the warm summer night I wish I was jumping in this ride to drive off on some twisty roads.

The headlights are hidden beneath those doors but the foglights in the bumper are about the same size.

914s are surprisingly affordable with regards to other classic Porsches. I found several that had recently sold for well under $10,000 in condition close to this. Even a show car such as this one could be had for $15,000 or so which is about what the cheapest new cars go for.

Oooh.

Ahhh.
This sporty little number is the best. Porsche and VW would collaborate one more time after this ride, resulting in the entry level Porsche 924. The 924 was meant to be a VW but that company decided to shelve it in favor of introducing the Scirocco. Porsche bought their own design back in a strange deal that had VW employees building the cars for Porsche.
And there you have it!