#070 front-engined Porsches

Last update: November 8, currently 9 models in this collection

Porsche is famous for their rear-engined 911, but they also produced some very fine front-engined cars with very good handling and balance. Nowadays the German brand produces a whole range front-engined cars such as Macan, Cayenne and Panamera but these don’t appeal to me at all.

Porsche 924 GTP & GTR race cars

1980 Le Mans 24h, Porsche 924 Carrera GT. Porsche was in financial trouble, the sales of Porsche 924 and 924 turbo needed a boost. Porsche developed the 924 Carrera GT, a version with much more power and wider body work based on the 924 turbo. In 1980 Porsche System entered three 924 GTP’s for Le Mans using the 924 Carrera badge. The cars were entered in GTP, proved extremely reliable and did very well.
#2 Andy Rouse (GB) / Tony Dron (GB) – 12th / 5th GTP
#3 Derek Bell (GB) / Al Holbert (USA) – 13th / 6th GTP
#4 Jürgen Barth (D) / Manfred Schurti (FL) – 6th / 2nd GTP
Porsche 924 Carrera GT – 2.0 liter Porsche M31.50 straight-4 turbo, approx. 340 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 945 kg. Steel monocoque, chassisnrs. 924 GTP #002, #003 & #004

SPARK S0982, S0983 & S0984 (resin)

1981 Le Mans 24h, Porsche 944 LM. After the success in 1980, Porsche entered this 924 GTP with a new 2.5 liter engine. In fact it was half a V8 engine from a Porsche 928 and the first Porsche with electronic fuel injection. The car was a prototype of that would become the Porsche 944, so Porsche already used this name for their entry. It finished 7th because of its steady pace and low fuel consumption. Another car, a 924 GTR (the one in the YouTube video) finished 11th and won the IMSA GTO category.
#1 Jürgen Barth (D) / Walter Röhrl (D) – 7th / 3rd GTP
Porsche 944 LM – 2.5 liter Porsche 949 straight-4 turbo, approx. 400 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 990 kg. Steel monocoque, chassisnr. 924 GTP #006

SPARK S0984 (resin)

1981 DRM Championship Zolder, Porsche 924 GTR. Other than the Le Mans GTP’s, the Porsche 924 Carrera GTR was homologated as a Group B GT car. This 924 GTR was entered by Kremer Racing and driven by “John Winter” (real name Louis Krages). As there was no seperate category for Group B cars, it had to run in Division 1 against the 700 hp Porsche 935’s and stood no chance.
#72 “John Winter” – 14th
Porsche 924 GTR – 2.0 liter Porsche M31.50 straight-4 turbo, approx. 360 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 985 kg. Steel monocoque, chassisnrs. #unknown

SPARK Kremer 50 years MAB 005, #105 / 300 pcs (resin)

1982 Le Mans 24h, Porsche 924 GTR. After the Porsche factory team raced 924 GTP’s at Le Mans in 1980 and 1981, they turned again to the prototypes. Richard Lloyd Racing and some other privateers took over and raced Porsche 924 GTR’s (the group B car) at Le Mans. The British entry retired early in the race.
#84 Andy Rouse (GB) / Richard Lloyd (GB) / Jeff Allam (GB) – DNF / gearbox
Porsche 924 GTR – 2.0 liter Porsche M31.50 straight-4 turbo, approx. 360 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 965 kg. Steel monocoque, chassisnr. #BS70006

SPARK S0989 (resin)

Porsche 924 GTS rally cars

1982 Boucles de Spa, Porsche 924 GTS. The 924 GTS was the road-going version of the Group B GTR. It was used for rally’s, such as this one in which racing driver Jacky Ickx participated in the Boucles de Spa. Unfortunately he had to retire after only 4 stages.
#4 Jacky Ickx (B) / John Igrec (B) – DNF
Porsche 924 Carrera GTS – 2.0 liter Porsche M31.50 straight-4 turbo, approx. 270 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 1025 kg. Steel monocoque, chassisnr. #unknown

IXO RAC367 (diecast)

1982 Rally Monte Carlo, Porsche 924 GTS. Jürgen Barth was development engineer and test driver for the Porsche factory with lots of experience. He raced Porsches 911, 908, 936 and also the 924s in 1980 and 1981 and in 1982 he competed in the Monte Carlo rally. Barth is not a super fast rally driver like Röhrl, Mouton or Mikkola but he knows very well how to bring a car over the finish line and does that also in this occasion.
#25 Jürgen Barth (D) / Roland Kussmaul (D) – 10th.
Porsche 924 Carrera GTS – 2.0 liter Porsche M31.50 straight-4 turbo, approx. 270 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 1025 kg. Steel monocoque, chassisnr. #unknown

MINICHAMPS MC400 826625 limited 1428 pcs (diecast)

Porsche 928 V8

1994 Daytona 24h, Porsche 928S. All attention went to the new Porsche 962 that made its debut. But in the back of the grid another exceptional Porsche was present. The car was a special project by Brumos and the Porsche factory: a near standard Porsche 928S with a light weight aluminum chassis entered in IMSA GTO. Behind the wheel good old Vic Elford and Richard Attwood and two experienced American Porsche drivers. The car did well and was in 5th position overall at a certain moment, some problems delayed the car and they finished 15th. It was the only race the car ever drove, now it’s stored probably somewhere in a cellar of the Porsche museum.
#92 Vic Elford (GB) / Richard Attwood (GB) / Bob Hagestad (USA) / Howard Meister (USA) – 15th / 4th GTO
Brumos Porsche 928S – 5.0 liter Porsche V8 90°, approx. 330 hp. Goodyear tires. Weight 1350 kg. Aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. #unknown