After a successful sales run of both naturally aspirated and turbo models, in 1981 Porsche decided to surprise everyone and a new 924 variant was unveiled at Le Mans 24 Hours.
By adding an intercooler, increasing compression to 8.5:1 as well as various other little changes, Porsche was able to develop the 924 Turbo into the race car they had wanted, dubbing it the 924 Carrera GT.
Visually it differed to the 931/932 in that it had polyurethane plastic front and rear flared arches, a polyurethane plastic front spoiler, a top mounted air scoop to feed the intercooler, a much larger rubber rear spoiler and a flush mounted front windscreen. It lost the 931’s NACA duct in the hood but retained the air intakes in the badge panel. This more aggressive styling was later used for as motivation for the 944.
In order to comply with the homologation regulations, the 924 Carrera GT and later 924 Carrera GTS were offered as road cars as well, producing 210 and 245bhp respectively. Club Sport versions of the GTS were available with a factory included Matter roll-cage and race seats. 924 Carrera GT variations were known by model numbers 937 (left hand drive) and 938 (right hand drive).
The ultimate development of the 924 in its race trim was the 924 Carrera GTR race car, which produced 375bhp from a highly modified version of the 2.0 litre I4 used in all 924s except for the 944 Carrera GTP which used a highly modified as yet unreleased 944 2.5 litre DOHC 16v Porsche unit. This last model variant achieved 7th overall at Le Mans 24 Hours and spent the least time out of any other competing car in the pits.
