Vintage Aero

[Christ]

I'm in love... *drool*

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by Christ

Put this front on it, and you've got a deal!




Does anyone else think this looks like a Fiero?

Looks like a cross between an XR4Ti and a Capri convertible- love it!

[Christ]

With the GM Porsche fenders on the front.. 944, was it?

[Frank Lee]

[Christ]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

This thing... it's not a "real" Porsche... it's like 3-series to "real" BMW owners.

[mcrews]

Originally Posted by Christ

This thing... it's not a "real" Porsche... it's like 3-series to "real" BMW owners.

I seem to have heard (back then!) that the 924 was to be a top end VW product. THen the first gas crisis hit and VW said no way and 'they' swung the 924 to porshe. Porshe slapped on the fender flares and went to the 944 as soon as they could make a body change. The idea had been to have the 924 (or whatever VW was going to call it) in the vw stable and the 928 in the porche stable. VW ended up with the Sirracco(sp?)

That al may be complete bs......just what i remember

[Christ]

The Scirocco, as I'm told, has Porsche styling, but that's about it. The rest is VW.

The 944 has a GM (4.3?) engine in it, which is why it's commonly referred to as the "Poor man's Porsche" of the time.

[mcrews]

you want flares........I got your flares..........

Talk about working with what you got!!!

[Frank Lee]

Scirroco has Giugiaro styling.

GM as in General Motors? GM engine in a Porsche? Nope.

944 makes my Top 10 list of car designs!

[mcrews]

from wikipedia:

I was close! (Frank Lee, sorry to hijack your thread!!)

1985-1991 Porsche 944The Porsche 924 had originally been a project of VW-Porsche a joint Porsche/Volkswagen company created to develop and produce the 914 which was sold in Europe as both a Porsche and a Volkswagen. In 1972 a replacement for the Volkswagen version of the 914, code named EA-425 began development. The model was to be sold as an Audi as part of the VW-Audi-Porsche marketing arrangement. Although testing had begun in the Spring of 1974 Volkswagen decided to cancel the program due to the expense of production as well as the feeling that the recently released Volkswagen Scirocco would fill the sports coupe sufficiently. At the time Porsche was considering introducing their own water cooled front engine 2+2 coupe to replace the 912E and their model of 914 and Volkswagen's cancellation provided an opportunity. Porsche purchased the design and finished developmental. The vehicle drove and handled exceptionally well and received positive reviews, but was criticized for the Audi-sourced 2 litre engine; Porsche introduced a Turbocharged 924 to increase performance, but the price was considered too high for the time, which hampered sales. Rather than scrap the design , Porsche decided to develop the 924, as they had with generations of the 911; although model numbers would change, the 924 would provide the basis for its replacement.

944

Porsche re-worked the platform and abandoned the Audi engine, installing in its place a new all-alloy 2.5 litre straight-4 engine that was, in essence, half of the 928's 5.0 litre V8, although very few parts were actually interchangeable. Not a natural choice for a luxury sports car, a four cylinder engine was chosen for fuel efficiency and size, because it had to be fitted from below on the Neckarsulm production line. To overcome the unbalanced secondary forces that make other four cylinder engines feel harsh, Porsche included two counter rotating balance shafts running at twice engine speed. Invented in 1904 by British engineer Frederick Lanchester, and further developed and patented in 1975 by Mitsubishi Motors, balance shafts carry eccentric weights which produce inertial forces that balance out the unbalanced secondary forces, making a four cylinder engine feel as smooth as a six cylinder.[citation needed] The engine was factory-rated at 150 bhp (112 kW; 152 PS) in its U.S. configuration. Revised bodywork with wider wheel arches, similar to that of the 924 Carrera GT, a fresh interior and upgrades to the braking and suspension systems rounded out the major changes. Porsche introduced the 944 for MY 1982 to great anticipation. In addition to being slightly faster (despite having a poorer drag co-efficient than the 924), the 944 was better equipped and more refined than the 924, it had better handling and stopping power and was more comfortable to drive. The factory-claimed 0-60 mph time of over 9 seconds (8.3 seconds according to "Porsche the Ultimate Guide" By Scott Faragher) was actually rather modest. The factory-claimed top speed of 130 mph (210 km/h) was also pessimistic, Autocar having verified a top speed of 137 mph (220 km/h)[verification needed]. The car had nearly even front to rear weight distribution (50.7%front/49.3%rear) thanks to the rear transaxle balancing out the engine in the front.[1] This gave it very balanced, predictable handling at the limits of adhesion.