David Hurth Monday, December 05, 2016

Porsche wasn't always a major automotive manufacturer. Sure, the German manufacturer has made some of the best cars in the world, but in the mid-1970s, sales of the flagship 911 had started to slow.

The publication of Ralph Nader's book, "Unsafe at Any Speed," also threatened the future of the rear-engined sports car. The book questioned the safety of the Chevrolet Corvair, a vehicle with the engine out back, and many in the automotive industry thought the layout itself could be banned.

This led Porsche to start work on designing a new vehicle that could replace the aging 911 and provide a safety net if rear-engined (and possibly mid-engined) cars were outlawed in the U.S. (the most important market for the brand). Enter the Porsche 928 with its front-engine, rear-transaxle layout to help provide near perfect 50/50 balance.

The result was what perhaps is the best GT car ever made. With a V8 engine sitting up front, a comfortable, well-handling ride and plenty of leather, the 928 is just made for eating up the miles. Performance was good when the sports car first appeared, but it consistently improved as each new variant was released.

The Porsche 928 was perhaps is the best GT car ever made. (Image: Crwpitman).



While the 928 was the first front-engined car designed by Porsche, another model made it to market first.

The project that eventually became the Porsche 924 was originally planned as a sports car for VW. Porsche was contracted to design the cars, and officials chose to use a similar layout as the 928 — although the rear transaxle went behind the rear axle, where the 928's sits just ahead of the back axle.

VW eventually decided not to build the sports car, and Porsche bought back the design. The resulting 924 was initially underpowered even for its time — it had less than 100 horsepower when first introduced — and many detractors questioned whether it was a true Porsche.

At the heart of this was the fact that an Audi/VW four-cylinder engine sat up front, which was a combination for ridicule. An even bigger problem was Japanese competition that had similar styling and performance for a much lower price of entry.

That was until a turbocharged version was introduced.

The 924 Turbo achieved much greater performance than the standard 924, but the 924 Carrera GT would show its real potential. A 924 Carrera GTR even managed a sixth overall finish at Le Mans in 1980 (third in the GTP class). This helped earn the 924 some respect, but it also paved the way for a new sports car: the 944.

The 944 was first sold in the States for the model year 1983, and it featured a Porsche-designed inline four-cylinder engine. The initial specs placed it at 2.5 liters in displacement and allowed for 150 horsepower in U.S. form. Remember, this was the early '80s, and many V8's were not even hitting 200 horses.

Thanks to its use of counterbalancing, the engine in the 944 was silky smooth (unlike the 924 which had a noticeable rattle). Styling was similar to the 924 Carrera GT with its flared fenders, which gave it a more performance-oriented look.

The 924 was a good handler, but the 944 proved even better thanks to its more powerful engine. Over the years, power increased, and the turbo version gave the 944 the performance to compete with much higher priced exotics. The 944 Turbo and later Turbo S retained the 2.5-liter power plant, while the 944S and S2 received a 16-valve cylinder head, the latter also getting a bump in displacement to 3.0 liters.

The S2 was also the only 944 model to get the convertible treatment. It featured styling similar to the Turbo, including the integrated front bumper (the previous 944s and most 924s used the less attractive impact bumpers). Many consider the 944 S2 to be the best version of the 944, thanks to its good performance and the lack of the additional wear caused by turbocharging.

The 944 was first sold in the States for the model year 1983. (Image: Daniel J. Leivick).



By the '90s, Porsche had decided to do away with their front-end sports cars. The entry level would instead feature the mid-engined Boxster — the model that further cemented Porsche's financial security — but the four-cylinder front engine got one last gasp before receiving the ax.

The pinnacle of the front-engined inline four-cylinder development for Porsche was featured in the 968.

The styling was similar to the 944 in many ways, with the most noticeable change being in the headlight region. Where the 944 and 924 had covers popup headlights (with a few exceptions), the 968 got exposed headlights that popped up similar to the more expensive 928. The front fenders were also reworked, which made it look more in line with the 911 when the headlights were retracted.

The 968 had increased power from its 3.0-liter four-cylinder engine over the 944 S2. This was largely thanks to the introduction of the VarioCam system. The wizardry allowed for the car to act calm and be more fuel efficient on the road, but it could come alive and offer much more power thanks to how it changes the timing of the intake valves.

The 968 never sold well — which makes them hard to find today — but the 944 was a sales success, and it helped keep the company afloat during some tough times. Just under 140,000 944s were sold worldwide during the model's production run.

The 924 was also a decent seller, unlike the lower-production 928, which had much lower sales largely due to it being the most expensive road car in the lineup most years of production. All the front-engined sports cars paved the way for the Porsche we know today, but that wasn't the end of the front-engined Porsche.

While Porsche hasn't made a pure sports car with a front engine since the '90s, the engine placement continues. In model year 2003, Porsche shocked the world (and especially purists) with the release of the Cayenne SUV.

The vehicle is capable of hauling the family, going off-road or driving quickly around a track. It is a technical achievement to make a heffalump like the Cayenne give its driver that sports car feeling. The performance of Cayenne models — especially the turbocharged V8's — rival that of many pure sports cars.

The S and Turbo models featured the first V8 in a Porsche since the 928's final year of production in 1995. The base Cayenne used a 3.2-liter V6 sourced from Volkswagen. This was the first time any production Porsche had used a V6 engine.

In model year 2003, Porsche shocked the world with the release of the Cayenne SUV. (Image: OSX).



The Cayenne reached an entirely new market. Many of the Cayenne buyers wanted a Porsche, but needed to be able to haul more than a 911, Boxster or Cayman could hold.

While many purists hated the idea, it has been a huge sales success. Much of what shaped the company's ability to further improve the 911, Boxster and Cayman has been helped by the funding that Cayenne sales provide.

The Cayenne's success helped open the door for additional four-door vehicles wearing the Porsche badge. In model year 2009, the Porsche Panamera hit the market as their first high-performance sedan. While the initial styling was met with mixed reviews, the drive and performance made up for it in most minds.

The V8-powered Panamera has the soul of a 928, but with two extra doors. In fact, not too long ago, rumors of a new 928 that would essentially be a two-door Panamera made many Porsche enthusiasts quite excited.

2009 was also the year Porsche was close to bankruptcy. Fortunately, Volkswagen loaned them $980 million, which helped them stay afloat. While the Panamera didn't sell as many units as the Cayenne — largely due to its higher cost — the additional sales helped in paying down the debt of the loan.

As you likely know, Porsche would eventually get in a position to attempt to purchase VW group, but things took a turn last minute and VW bought Porsche instead.

The V8-powered Panamera has the soul of a 928, but with two extra doors. (Image: M 93).



Porsche wasn't done with expanding their markets into more family-friendly vehicles. For model year 2014, they introduced the Porsche Macan. The smaller SUV initially only featured a V6 power plant, but it has recently become available with a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine. It is the first time a Porsche has featured an inline-four cylinder sitting in the front since the 968 went out of production in the mid-'90s.

The Macan has had good sales and looks like it will be another successful model for Porsche. Largely, thanks to the production of front-engined models, the brand we love did not go extinct. With the purchase by Volkswagen, Porsche has more backing to create even better performance vehicles. However, it also puts a lot of pressure on the company to please their parent company.

The more recent front-engined Porches have not been the traditional two-door sports cars. As an enthusiast of the brand, I wasn't a fan of cars like the Panamera and Cayenne when they first came to market. My thoughts were that a Porsche should always be a pure sports car.

That was until Porsche had me out to Atlanta to experience the Panamera lineup on the road and track. One lap around the track, and all of those preconceived notions were gone. I realized just how good the four-door Porsches are, and I wouldn't mind adding a four-door Porsche to my traditional current sports car wearing the badge.

The early front-engined sports cars were supposed to replace the 911, but they ended up helping to keep it in production. Now, the newer Porsches with their power plants sitting in front are helping fund development for the 911 and 718 Boxster/Cayman.

If you enjoy a modern traditional Porsche two-door sports car, then take a moment to thank someone who bought a Porsche with its engine ahead of the driver. Their purchase helped make your purchase possible.