The cars the 911 crowd ignored, and the value that created.
The overlooked half of the lineup
Through the 1970s and 1980s, Porsche built a parallel line of front-engine, water-cooled, transaxle cars alongside the 911. The 924, the 944, the 968, and the V8 928. For decades these were the unloved Porsches, dismissed by 911 purists and priced accordingly. That dismissal created the best value in the entire Porsche market.
The four cars
- 924
- The entry car, originally developed with Volkswagen. The base 924 is the cheapest way into a Porsche badge, often under $15,000, but the early cars are slow and the value play is the 924S, which uses the 944 engine. A genuine bargain that drives better than its reputation.
- 944
- The volume seller and the smart buy. The 944 is a genuinely good driver's car with near-perfect weight distribution thanks to the transaxle layout. A clean base 944 runs $12,000 to $20,000. The 944 Turbo, with up to 250 horsepower, runs $25,000 to $45,000 and is the performance value. The 944 is the car to buy if you want a usable, affordable, genuinely good Porsche.
- 968
- The final evolution of the transaxle four-cylinder, built 1992 to 1995 in small numbers. Three liter, 236 horsepower, the most refined of the line. The 968 is climbing because it is rare and was the last and best of its kind. Clean examples run $35,000 to $60,000, and the lightweight 968 Club Sport is already a collector car.
- 928
- The V8 grand tourer that was meant to replace the 911 and never did. For decades the 928 was the cheap way into a Porsche V8, the car you could buy for $10,000 and spend $30,000 maintaining. That era is ending. Clean, sorted 928s, particularly the late GTS, are now genuine collector cars at $60,000 to $120,000. The cheap 928 was a maintenance trap; the sorted 928 is an appreciating classic.
The thing to understand about these cars
The transaxle cars are mechanically excellent and were held back only by badge snobbery, not by any real shortcoming. They handle better than contemporary 911s in many respects, because the front-engine transaxle layout gives near-ideal weight distribution. They are also more usable as daily cars, with proper trunks and more forgiving manners.
The value they offer comes entirely from the fact that they are not 911s. As the 911 market has priced out ordinary enthusiasts, attention has turned to the transaxle cars, and the best examples have started to climb. The 968 and the 928 GTS are leading that move.
The buyer's warning
The transaxle cars share one trait that makes the cheap example dangerous. Deferred maintenance is expensive. The 944 and 968 use a timing belt that, if it fails, destroys the engine, and the service interval is strict. The 928 is a complex V8 that punishes neglect. A cheap transaxle car with unknown service history is a gamble. A documented, maintained example is one of the best values in the hobby.
A note on values. The numbers here are enthusiast perspective drawn from public auction results and market observation, not financial advice. Collector car values move, sometimes sharply, and a car is first a thing to drive and only second a thing to own. Buy the car you want to live with. If it appreciates, that is a bonus, not a plan.