1981 Porsche 924 Carrera GT By Greg Zyla

Q: Greg, my step dad recently passed away and left a 1981 Porsche 924 Turbo Carrera GT to my mom. The car needs the leather seats redone, and the paint is red and oxidized. There is one hole in the front ground
spoiler half the size of an orange. There is no other body damage, and the floor pans do not have any rust. The car is a manual transmission, sunroof, and mom says the car ran a year ago when it was parked. I read your column in Auto Round-Up all the time, and I get Hemmings, too, but I don't see many Porsche 924 Carrera GT Turbos. Were they a flop? Is the car worth paint-body-interior work? How much would the car be worth fully restored? Thank you very much, William C. Bowers, Lincoln, Nebraska.

A: William, right up front I'll tell you that you have in your possession the most valuable of the Porsche 924 series, notably the Carrera GT Turbo. The other 924's aren't worth much today as even in fully restored condition they might fetch $17,000 tops.

However, that's not the case with the 1981 924 Carrera GT Turbo, built specifically with racing in mind and standing lighter, wider and way meaner looking than a "normal" 924. This car at one time was going to replace the 911 Series, something that, of course, never happened.

Here's the best news: a total of only 406 Porsche 924 Carrera GT Turbos were ever produced, with 75 of them right hand drive. You also say your car came with a red finish, which is one of only three colors available with the 924 Carrera GT Turbo, the others being black and silver. As for the suspension, Porsche was way ahead of everyone, as your car features fully independent four wheel suspension, four wheel ventilated disc brakes, Getrag 5-speed manual, and much more.

Top speed was 150 mph for the a Carrera GT Turbo, with zero to 60 mph in
six seconds, all still coming from the 1.984-liter, 121 cubic inch
4-cylinder engine but with more compression and more turbo boost. The
racing models were called GTS and GTR, both of which competed at Lemans.
Still, the road built 924 Carrera GT Turbos also received lightweight
components and a wider track for better handling and weight distribution,
so much was transferred to the car you have parked in your garage at mom's house.

Not surprisingly, the 406 production car models sold out immediately.
William, you have a lot going in your favor with this car if it's not a
clone, so make sure your mom doesn't let it go to someone looking to steal
it for next to nothing. I also feel that since the car is in fairly good
shape, the cost for paint and repairing the interior could be well worth
it if everything else checks out.

As for the VIN number you sent, I was unable to cross check it as an
official Turbo GT Carrera. The chassis numbers should run from
WPOZZZ93ZBN7 00 001 to 406. WPO is the world manufacturer code for
Porsche. ZZZ tells us this is a Europe/Rest Of World spec model. 93zbn7 is
the internal Porsche model designation for the 924 Carrera GT. Z is a test
code. B is model year 1981. N is the factory at Neckarsulm in Germany. As
for price, these cars sell for big money and even appear at major auctions
now and then. (I would say $65,000 and up, up, up restored).
If your VIN is other than this, it's not an original Carrera GT Turbo as
many companies made Carrera GT kits to turn a 924 Turbo into a Carrera GT.
Recheck your VIN and get back to me. Hope this all helps.

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