These front-engined Porsches are the epitome of niche
Encompassing the four-cylinder 924, its 944 and 968 offspring, and the V8-endowed 928, Porsche’s line of transaxle models (using a combined transmission and axle, located at the rear for optimal weight distribution) always appealed to a certain kind of maverick marque aficionado.
The transaxle coupé quartet, perhaps more than any other Porsche line – 911, Boxster/Cayman, SUVs and even the latest Panamera/Taycan four-doors – lent themselves well to extensive reimagining, thanks to the versatility of their existing architecture and having their engines located conveniently away from the business end of any bodywork modifications.
So it’s no surprise that coachbuilders couldn’t resist fabricating their own bespoke visions.
Porsche toyed with a handful of intriguing transaxle variants, too; ultimately, though, the combination of conservative product planning and financial constraints (this was the pre-Boxster/Cayenne era) consigned the concepts to Raiders of the Lost Ark-style vaults.
A cherished example of any transaxle model makes a distinctive, reliable and rewarding ownership proposition, while the Stuttgart-sanctioned specials, such as the Club Sport versions of the 928 and 968, are like catnip to the cognoscenti.
But here we are going even rarer, so let’s venture deep into the realm of obscure one-offs and coachbuilt curios in this tantalising transaxle treasure-trove.
1. Porsche 928 H50
The conundrum of coveting a high-performance vehicle and needing to transport growing adolescents or business clients was vanquished by the introduction of the BMW M5 – proof that you could most definitely
have your apfelstrudel and eat it.
Porsche wanted a slice, however, and although 1984’s sensational 928-4 addressed the rear passenger accommodation needs, ingress and egress issues remained.
The unique selling point of the 928 H50 was a pair of ‘suicide’ rear doors, not dissimilar in execution to those on the later Mazda RX-8.
Rigorous developmental testing revealed an unacceptable shortfall in structural rigidity due to the pillarless construction (to aid access), and the project was canned.
Today, four-door models make up the lion’s share of Porsche’s sales volume, but style-wise none since has even come close to the H50.
Anorak fact Aside from boasting legroom for the most statuesque of 1980s supermodels, the rear cabin also featured electrically reclining backrests
2. Porsche 924 turbo targa
The Cabriolet made its debut during the twilight of the Porsche 944’s decade-long run, although the hood design was carried over to the soft-top 968.
Roof up or lowered, though, the open-top transaxles appeared to have been adapted from a bodyshell conceived originally as a standalone coupé – which is precisely what it was.
Porsche did toy with a different fresh-air option for its smaller transaxle offering with the 924 turbo targa prototype of 1979.
Its manually removable roof panel was indistinguishable in execution from the G-series 911 targa’s arrangement.
Had this variant been given the green light, successive 924/944/968 targas would have been a welcome antidote to that most unlovely of objects: the tonneau cover.
Anorak fact Research into the 924 targa at Weissach spanned from 1977 to 1980; failure to contain body flex resulted in the project’s demise, but lessons learned during that time were later employed in the engineering of the 944 Cabriolet
3. Porsche 968 Roadster
It remains a mystery why, even in the final years of the 20th century, most European car makers remained incapable of producing folding fabric hoods that didn’t sit like a perambulator’s collapsed canopy, when the Americans had mastered the art more than 50 years earlier.
Generations of Porsche cabriolets, including the 964, 993, 944 and the 968, all had their profiles disrupted by a pile of concertinaed cloth.
Happily, though, in the case of the 968 Roadster, this sleek, Speedster-inspired concept did a far better job of stowing its hood than the production Cabriolet.
Further modifications included chopping height from the side windows and windscreen.
Anorak fact The 968 Roadster was unveiled alongside the Boxster concept at the 1993 Detroit show and featured an asymmetrical, C-shaped, body-coloured gearlever surround that doubled as a passenger grabhandle. Disappointingly, only the Boxster made it to production
4. Porsche 968 L’ART
Evoking the late-’80s/early-’90s era of big hair, pastel-coloured Miami Vice attire and synth guitars, the retro-fantastic 968 L’ART – a truly curious collaboration between Porsche and fashion house L’art de l’automobile – represents a passion project masterminded by clothing designer and car aficionado Arthur Kar.
Built to commemorate the 968’s 30th anniversary and displayed at Paris Fashion Week 2021, the attention to detail on this road-legal one-off elevates it far beyond mere bauble status.
Every exterior panel was reimagined, while Recaro, Bose and TAG Heuer contributed bespoke accoutrements – the last in the form of a fanciful twist on its 1950s Rally Master dash-mounted clock and stopwatch duo.
Anorak fact You can go truly 968 L’ART crazy, because L’art de l’automobile produced a vast array of merchandise including a limited-edition 1:43-scale die-cast model, racing jacket, sweatshirt, cap, air freshener, keyring, T-shirts and socks
5. Porsche 928-4
Consider the abundance of automotive body styles: saloon, hatch, estate, off-roader and coupé (plus those faux coupés, the sloping-roofed saloons and SUVs).
But the coolest vehicular silhouette of all? It surely has to be the stylish, suave and scarce three-door shooting brake, and Porsche’s transaxle models suit the metamorphosis better than just about anything else.
Longer by 25cm than the 928S from which it evolved, this verdant vision was built in 1984 as a one-off and presented to Ferry Porsche on his 75th birthday.
Its cabin is an oasis of olive hide and, thanks to that raised roofline and an additional 200mm of legroom, no longer was there a prerequisite for rear passengers to be diminutive yoga disciples.
Anorak fact The 928’s standard pop-up headlamps were replaced with faired-in projector lights, although Porsche opted to return to the original units for 1987’s conceptually similar 928 H50
6. bb-Auto 928 Targa
Rainer Buchmann, bb-Auto’s founder, had already caused a stir with his indiscreet, rainbow-liveried Porsche 930s and 924s, but it was his radical 928 Targa conversion that really set die katze among the pigeons.
Entirely reconfigured above the beltline from the A-pillar rearward, bb-Auto’s take on the targa theme differed from Porsche’s 911, 914 and (prototype) 924 formula.
Rather than having one large, open aperture, its 928 featured a central T-bar reminiscent of the Pontiac Trans-Am.
Inside, the floor mats and heavily bolstered seats were emblazoned with the signature rainbow motif.
Five were built, but, considering the conversion cost the equivalent of £90,000 today (plus a donor 928), it’s no surprise that numbers were limited.
Anorak fact Quirkily cool, ergonomically challenging and even downright dangerous, the relocation of the Clarion G80 stereo (complete with myriad graphic equalisers) to the driver’s side of the T-bar was a ludicrous move
7. DP Motorsport 944 Cargo
Many of the specimens hand-picked for this collection are absurdly rare – indeed, some exist only as one-offs.
However, should you possess the time, patience, funds and specialist collector contacts then maybe, just maybe, you might secure a seldom-spotted 944-based Cargo shooting brake, fabricated in the late 1980s by Cologne-based DP Motorsport.
While the concept itself was far from new – Aston Martins and Ferraris had undergone similar transformations in the 1960s and ’70s – there is something proportionally pleasing about the way the Cargo’s horizontal roofline runs parallel with those boxy 944 wheelarches.
Anorak fact What could be rarer than a 944 Cargo? A 924 Cargo – a Guards Red turbocharged example is known to exist, although those without the muscular stance of the 944 aren’t quite as well resolved visually
8. Carelli Design C928
Maybe it’s the challenge of accommodating a folded fabric roof above a rear-mounted engine, but of the long-running trio of 911 body styles – Coupé, targa and Cabriolet – it’s the soft-top that has consistently remained the least aesthetically cohesive.
It’s a surprise, then, that Porsche didn’t produce a top-down version of its debonair GT, but that didn’t prevent a handful of enterprising visionaries from trying.
The slickest interpretation came in the form of Carelli’s C928.
Its hood-stowed silhouette remained utterly unsullied by the roof assembly, which was stored beneath an elegantly integrated rear deck.
At $80,000, though (around $280,000 or £220k today), it proved a touch rich for all but the most well-heeled, and just eight 928s were converted.
Anorak fact The C928 was a tri-national product: an American reimagining of a West German automobile, with quality interior accoutrements provided by esteemed British trim stalwarts Connolly Leather and Wilton Carpets
9. Artz 924 Kombi
Few outfits took to providing alternative and otherwise unavailable body styles with as much gusto as Günter Artz’s eponymous tuning and coachbuilding works.
Niche-filling curios included a Volkswagen Jetta cabriolet, the Sciwago (a Scirocco station wagon) and the marvellously preposterous Golf 928 – a Porsche chassis and drivetrain clad in a widened (by a hefty 300mm) and lengthened Mk1 Golf body.
Manufactured in the early ’80s, and therefore predating DP’s Cargo, Artz’s Kombi was based on a 924 turbo and borrowed heavily from the Carrera GT’s styling.
It was available in any colour combination the buyer wanted – provided that was metallic blue/green with a caramel-brown interior.
Anorak fact You’re almost as likely to spot an actual unicorn in the flesh than one of these – although you could indulge yourself with a 1:18- or 1:43-scale model from Premium X
10. Hot Wheels Dirtmeister 944
In a surreal twist, the Dirtmeister, a collaboration between Porsche, Mobil 1 and Hot Wheels, was custom-built specifically for the purpose of being replicated in 1:64-scale die-cast form for the latter’s ‘Garage of Legends’ series.
Starting life as a stock 1987 944 turbo, the shooting-brake-style conversion was carried out by California-based Kundensport, while Jimco Racing handled the brawny hardware – which included Jimco’s own Trophy Truck long-travel coil-over dampers, along with a rollcage and fixed-back Recaro buckets.
Unveiled publicly at the Rennsport Reunion VII in 2023, at the time of writing the £20 pocket version has sold out (premium-priced examples are on eBay).
Alternatively, you could console yourself with a Hot Wheels 928 Safari in orange.
Anorak fact The Dirtmeister is as yet the only officially sanctioned Porsche to be built with a toy in mind from its conception