Help me understand some results from the RM Sotheby Porsche auction last weekend? An 11k mi Guards red '84 944 sold for $29,120 and an 11k Minerva blue '80 924 sold for $53,760. https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/po18.
Both looked like very nice cars, but why was the 924 almost twice as expensive? Thanks.

 

 

Production numbers?
1980 924 - 3700 US
1984 944 - 16618 US

 

Blue is worth more than red. Lot 221 was sold how many drinks after lot 162 was sold. Someone had to have a 924. Remember, these two car will not accumulate many miles over the next few decades so how nice they drive is irrelevant.

 

^ Blue being less common than Red and coming later in the Auction after bidders were well lubricated probably adds up to a higher selling price IMHO.

 

Every 924 I've come across has been either a rust bucket or a parts car (or both). They've always been junkers that no one wanted. Because of that, they've become rare. To the point that you can't even find 924's anymore. They've all been crushed. A red 84 944 on the other hand, you can find any day of the week and you'll have dozens to choose from all over the country in varying conditions with a plethora of mileages to choose from.

 

My thoughts Bill:

-Marketing
-924 was in a very desirable and uncommon color
-A previous history of Concours perfection
-Excellence exposure and a following from that leading to who wanted it the most
-Marketing

on the 944:
-A very nice example but non o.e. in many respects
a) cookies never came from the factory in red
b) aftermarket alarm
c) broken dash on an otherwise near perfect example ( expensive fix )
d) center reflector WAS a factory ( thru Porsche Parts Dept. ) but Dealer added option. ( It has a VW part # )
-Non Concours participant ? without same hype and MARKETING

by the way that red 944 was made just 15 cars away from my own red 944 which I bought new in 1984. These were both February production builds and I know for a fact were produced during the height of the Metalworkers Strike in Germany. I never picked mine up until July 10th 1984 as it was held up 'in house' and in an incomplete state apparently.

And I do still own it.....

 

the Porsche 944 always was a way better car ( because of the new slant four, Porsche derived drivetrain ) than the Audi/VW based 924. The earlier built 924 was much simpler but very primitive and rough about the edges in comparison to the 944. I have driven them both. Part of the reason I still own multiples of the 944 and none of the 924. The balance shafts refined the 944 and power delivery was much more spirited and Porsche like; a well driven 944 was very close in comparison time wise to 911s of the era in a track setting. 924 Audi engined sportscars much less dynamic WITH the exception of the 924 GT, GTS, and GTR. ( the cars which put the race pedigrees and trophies in the Win Books for Porsche )

 

One thing to add to this debate...924 Turbo.

 

but this Minerva blue car ('80) was a normally aspirated 924,
not a turbo

 

Yes, I should've specified that intended to add the 931 into the debate in response to your saying the 944 was/is a better car. As it stands right now, objectively, my 931 is better than my '84 944 was, even though I owned the 944 for three years, and only got the 931 in driving condition a couple months ago. The 944, while an outstanding car in it's right, I feel is more of what a modern Porsche driver would crave if sent back in time, and the 931 what typical enthusiast would often wax poetic about, and for good reason.

 

I have driven several 931s and other than the dogleg 'snail' transmission 5 speed, found it a delightful car. Both were low mileage cars but had serious issues with the synchros well before the time they should have. I agree about the modernity of the 944 and 951; the series one cars can be slightly different in feel to the series two cars, but all are tremendous Porsches. One may sense the development from year to year with each progressive model change becoming better and better

I must be truthful:
I love them all from the earliest 356 thru to the cars on the lot this morning ....

 

It seems all the dogleg cars have synchro problems and it all stems from Porsche's baulk ring synchros, rather than using conical synchros. Even my '80 931 with 52k on the clock (not sure that counts as low mileage) has synchro problems on 1st and 2nd gear. It's gotten better the more I've driven it, I just accept it as a quirk of the car and shifting carefully.

I definitely felt shifts in modernity between my '80 931, '84 944, and my friend's '87 944, each one is progressively easier to drive and easier to manage on the road. In the sense they're becoming easier to drive, they're getting better and better; however, in becoming easier to drive, they're loosing the connection from driver to car that I've always respected Porsche for. Make no mistake, the connection is still there, and greater than contemporaries and others of the era. It's just gotten less and less as technology improved, I feel. The newer the car is, the less of a need there is to wrestle with the steering wheel, think about what's to come ahead, and plan for it. It's just about the here and now, and the car takes the place of thinking we were used to in decades prior. The human engagement has become less and less.

Even though I didn't grow up with these watercooled cars directly, that's what I feel from my 23 year old mind. I'm certain of it.