Classics to buy: Porsche 924

It's a fair bet that anyone with a millilitre of red motoring blood in their veins has at one time or another scanned the classifieds in search of an affordable classic Porsche.

That’s been a forlorn hope with any 911 for quite a while now, but the 924 has always been there as a kind of last resort entry into the Porsche fraternity. Yes, many perceive these four-cylinder cars as ‘not real Porsches’, but now that the company has been forced back into fours by Euro emissions regs, the focus is turning back onto 924s.

Now, as regards the provenance of the 924, it is true that its 2.0-litre engine was also used in the Volkswagen LT van, but it was a different version of the EA831 engine that made its way into the 924. Actually based on the Audi 100 unit, it had a Porsche-tweaked cylinder head boosting its power to 125bhp.

That might not seem a lot for any performance car, let alone one with a Porsche badge on it, but remember that the now-revered Ford Escort RS2000 that came out at about the same time as the 924 only produced 110hp from its 2-litre four, an engine that under a Capri bonnet could only churn out 99bhp.

Cars were much lighter back then too, unencumbered as they were with all those boring life-saving reinforcements that we have nowadays. That made the 924 a pretty handy performer, with the 0-62mph run coming up in a whisker over eight seconds. That was on a par with an entry-level 911 of just a couple of years earlier.

The later 924S benefited from the 944's 2.5-litre engine with added smoothness and speed, but the design brief of the 924 was a bit wider than simply delivering raw performance. It was about driveability too, and here the 924 really scored: it was a beautifully sweet and benign steer courtesy of its well balanced 52:48 front to rear weight distribution. Add precise, direct steering and a nicely adjustable throttle and you had something that could wag its tail through a switchback or nail a succession of apexes with crisp Germanic effectiveness, feeding back a full bulletin of information to the driver in the process.

So that van-engined accusation is all a bit daft really. The good thing about that association however, apart from cheap spares, is that it has helped to keep prices low. Your main problem when fishing for 924s now is that the dwindling supply of good quality cars is inexorably pushing up prices. We found a lovely 69,000-mile example with a basketful of period Porsche accessories, a big wodge of history and a new MoT for £9,990.

Then we spotted two nifty 924Ss. One was a clean, everyday specimen with 100,000 miles and a £3,650 price tag. That was snapped up quickly but there’s a 42,000-mile car with fully history coming up for auction soon at a guide price of £6,000-£8,000. Very, very tempting.

To some extent, you’ll be coming to the party a little late as cars like these would have been easily tracked down for under £3,000 a couple of years ago. You’d have to say though that even at 2017 prices there’s still some headroom in the 924 market, to at least not lose your money and probably make a bit. Classic Porsche prices aren't likely to drop any time soon. The old Marmite 914 has long since breached the £10k barrier, as has the 924's big brother, the 944, so 924 prices still seem quite bargainaceous. Grab one now, before you miss the boat.