May I suggest to the Original Poster that you, if you haven't already, read every magazine article & Wikipedia description, read every review. I realized after owning the 924 and 944, that most of the magazine articles by reputable brands were essentially accurate about the driver's experience when these cars are in 100% brand new condition.

But the car you buy won't be in new condition. You'll need parts and information. I found the 924 online community to not be as helpful as the 944 online community. I found the only information and references were not as plentiful as the 944 (early or late). I found parts like exhaust manifold ("they all crack") and fuel pump relays NLA. I wouldn't take a 924 for free if you gave it to me. I spent $7000.00 on Gramps & worked almost everyday in the Garage for 6-8 months doing a nearly frame up rebuild & it still had a host of problems that were unacceptable to me. I'm a professional mechanic. In the end I sold Gramps for $1250.00. He turned me off of even early 944 cars. That's racist and unfair, but I'm still angry.

 

Same here. I was already thinking the guy was kind of a dipsh!& up to that point, but when he said that, it sealed it.

Well, you do have the benefit of direct access to Euro-spec vehicles, as Porsche intended them to be. Lucky you.
One could argue that the North American-spec 924 was not a 'proper 924' (nor the 944 and the rest as well).

Hard to argue that.

Agreed, in my mind the differences between the late 924S (with 2.5) and the early 944 NA are almost negligible.

 

I don't think anyone can seriously argue that Porsche constantly improved the platform from the first 924 till the last 968. At least from a mechanical perspective. I personally like the 944 styling better than the 968. But that's me. I kicked around the idea of a 968 instead of the 951, but to me it's got to much 928 in the styling. I had also kicked around a 928, and may still get one some day, but to me the 951 is just the sweet spot of all the early "transaxle" cars. I may still own an S or a 89 some day.

But back to the OP, and the subject at hand. I've seen people autox cars no one else could do crap in, and seen them do very well. Autox is more about knowing your car and how to get it to perform than just simple facts on paper. I used to autox (SCCA) 3rd gen F-bodies and we never won our class (I was in an F-body club) but we had tons of fun. One weekend a guy shows up from Nationals. This is a guy who places 1st a lot on the national level. He just happened to be in the area and showed up. He had a 3rd gen like me, and let me ride along. Not only did he get fastest time of the day with me riding along, he threw that car around the track so fast I it was just a blur. I can't even express the experience.

I'm pretty sure I saw some Miata drivers crying, they always got FTOD.

My point is, if you know your car, you can do amazing things in autox. And no matter what, if you love your car you can have lots of fun. And that's what it's about anyway, right?

 

I think the 968 is an acquired taste. Didn't like it at first but i learned to like it and i'd like a 968.

Regarding the 924/924S/944 debate.

I still keep my opinion that you wont take an un-prepped car to any track event. In north America yea the 924 and even the 944 are not proper but for a track/events car running costs matter...and in ROW spec i think you cant beat the 924 at fun/dollar.

Check out the links below to learn about a very interesting project.
A GTR tribute car, with a 2L NA engine.
To be honest at first i was shocked that he didn't at least go 2L turbo if not 3L from S2 or 968...but then i realized...he can race it for cheap and its barrels o' fun, the car is underpowered but that makes it easy to learn and control..and that engine is so cheap to run...and still quick in a light car.


http://bringatrailer.com/2016/01/22/...-mans-tribute/
http://germancarsforsaleblog.com/198...o-gtr-tribute/

 

Lol, always funny to read US people talk how slow and bad 924 was Of course, you got the 95 hp (and later 110) version 924's...

Early 924 Euro with its 125 hp and 1070 kg's dry weight beats US spec 143 hp 944 *** in acceleration and auto-x, BTDT many times.

 

Yeah sure, rub it in...

Well, at least my favorite Scirocco is full Euro spec (UK import... RHD to boot).
So... at least I have that to comfort me.