The Porsche 924 Carrera – Evolution to Excellence

Key information

Author:Roy Smith
ISBN: 978-1-845846-45-9
Publisher:Veloce Publishing Ltd
Specifications: 25x25cm, jacketed hardback, page extent 320pp
Illustrations: 408 photographs, including colour
RRP: £75.00

 

 

 

Every now and then a truly good book comes along, one that is not only excellent in its content, but is also significant due to the rarity of the subject it covers. Roy Smith’s book on the Porsche 924 Carrera is one of those books because it covers a worthy, mostly overlooked subject that was just looking for an author. What makes this work all the more credible is that Smith owns one of the models covered by this book, and so he is well qualified to write this account.

Porsche must be one of the most written about car makes around, but Smith has found a branch of the family tree that has largely escaped the attention of other authors. It is true to say that the Porsche 924 Carrera has been covered in many other books, but only to scratch the surface of this rich and unknown model. No book has previously covered the 924 Carrera in as much detail or so comprehensively, as this one does.

Credit must be given where credit is due, and it would be fair to say that Smith has left no stone unturned in his research. The author has spoken to both drivers and engineers concerning this model, and his web of contacts has proved invaluable in generating hitherto unknown facts about the model.

This book offers an in-depth study of this rare supercar, with research being conducted in the Porsche archive where Smith discovered material that had remained unopened for years. In its many guises, the story behind the 924 Carrera will surprise many, especially as one can discover the design evolution of this car from concept through to the road, race and even the rally models.

It covers the 406 homologation models built to qualify for Le Mans, and the 59 special competition models, as well as the 17 GTR racing models. With race details covering Europe and the USA, from the Sports Car Club of America production D racers, to the GTO and Trans Am class 924 GTRs of the mid-80s, this is the first time that the full history of this rare supercar has been told. The racing history also covers the story of how the 924 Carrera GTP finished in an incredible sixth place overall in the 1980 Le Mans 24-Hour race. The author also details some of the race component failures which were eventually developed and improved, prior to being productionised for the general public.

The Porsche 924 Carrera – Evolution to Excellence is an impressively researched, well written, thoroughly grown-up account of this oft overlooked model. This is not a book that you want to let slip by – get a copy! It will make a worthy and admired addition to the bookshelf of anyone professing to like Porsches.

Written by: Glen Smale