To mark the 40th anniversary of the 1981 rally season, the Porsche Heritage and Museum department surprised two-time world champion Walter Röhrl with the freshly restored 924 Carrera GTS from back then. Together with his co-driver Christian Geistdörfer, Röhrl took four overall victories in the gold and black 924 "Monnet" in the 1981 German Rally Championship. It was the first and only rally season that Walter Röhrl contested in a Porsche.
In the first of seven races, the Metz Rally in May 1981, defects slowed the Porsche team down, but it was still enough for 2nd place in the overall standings.
Röhrl and Geistdörfer took first place in the Hesse Rally, followed by three more victories in the Serengeti Safari Rally, the Vorderpfalz Rally and the Baltic Rally.
In 1982, "the 924 GTS test car" was handed over to the Porsche Museum. The recommissioning of the museum piece now took place where the car was built 40 years ago: in the historic racing department in Weissach. The aim was to preserve the traces of time and the special stages on asphalt and gravel.
The most expensive production Porsche of all time at the time
The basis of the rally car, the 924 Carrera GTS, was the most expensive car in the model range in 1981 at a price of 110,000 marks and the most expensive production Porsche of all time to date. With the Carrera models of the 924 series, Porsche proved that the transaxle concept could also hold its own in racing.
The 924 Turbo (Type 931) provided the basis for further development. In June 1980, the further developed, 210 hp 924 Carrera GT (Type 937) appeared, which was homologated for Group 4. Its more powerful version was the 924 Carrera GTS (Type 939). The normal GTS produced 240 hp, the Clubsport version 275 hp and the GTR, which was designed exclusively for racing, even 375 hp. The production run remained small: between February and April, 50 left-hand drive 924 Carrera GTSs, painted exclusively in Indian red, were built. Including all prototypes, a total of 59 cars were built.
Test car no. 5
The 924 Carrera GTS Rallye, built on December 12, 1980, is also one of the pre-series vehicles and is the fifth of nine prototypes produced. The two-liter four-cylinder turbo engine installed is also a unit from the experimental stage; an engine without a serial number that survived a complete rally season in 1981 without damage and will continue to drive the gold and black 924 to top performance in 2021.
10,371 kilometers on the clock today. The originality of the whole, the preservation of the patina was the focus of the recommissioning, down to the smallest detail. Even the red seat belts, slightly faded by the sun in the rear under the large glass dome, are still the old ones. A large R is embroidered on the driver's side and the combination CG on the co-driver's belts: Röhrl and Christian Geistdörfer.
Patina must remain
With the exception of wearing parts, some chassis components and the fuel supply system, all existing components were overhauled, revised and reinstalled when the car was put back into service - from the original 911 Turbo brake callipers to the intercooler with its hand-welded housing. An endoscopy of the engine as well as the connected KKK 26 turbocharger remained without findings, the gearbox was disassembled and checked as a precaution, but showed hardly any wear. And indeed: the Porsche Museum workshop had a racing clutch in stock to complete the drive, and a set of 255/55 R15 tires with the contemporary tread was found at the supplier Pirelli.
The car still bears the signature of its creators. The specialists from Weissach were able to draw on the experience, know-how and complete vehicle documentation of a former colleague for the work: Roland Kussmaul, test driver, engineer and rally driver himself, had built the car for the 1981 Rallye-DM within two months and Schmidt Motorsport from Nuremberg took over the service during the events. The special features of the 924 in rally trim included rear axle control arms laminated in GRP to protect against stone chipping, thick metal plates on the underbody to protect the oil pan and gearbox and the flow divider of the V8 engine from its larger relative, the 928, which ensured the engine's fuel supply at high engine speeds. The dry sump for the oil supply is located at the rear and is filled through an opening next to the trunk lock.
Highest level of secrecy
"The biggest problem during commissioning," says Kuno Werner, head of the museum workshop, "was not the technology, but the secrecy." The 924 Carrera GTS was supposed to be on the doorstep of the two-time world rally champion for his 74th birthday. "But Walter Röhrl knows so many people here that it was difficult to keep the project a secret."
But the rally revival succeeded: together with Roland Kussmaul, the team from the Porsche Heritage and Museum department surprised Walter Röhrl with the ready-to-run "Monnet" Porsche. "It was a huge surprise for me. I got out of the car 40 years ago and never sat in it again. So I was incredibly surprised when Roland suddenly drove up in this car," said a delighted Walter Röhrl. "This car opened the door to Porsche for me. That's why I have a special bond with it. For me, this is a journey back in time. I immediately feel 40 years younger again."
Turbo - that was new 40 years ago. And unusual, as Röhrl recalls on the roads of his home track in the Bavarian Forest. "As a naturally aspirated driver, you went crazy with the turbo characteristics back then. The turbo lag was huge! To get out of the bend quickly, you had to accelerate again just before the bend, always keeping the revs high."
The newly formed Porsche team did not think they had much of a chance against the established competition in 1981. Getting through was the top priority. "But the car was fast straight away. In the beginning we had around 250 hp, later even more - the 924's strengths were not performance, but handling and traction. And everything held up. That's just the way Porsche is." A successful surprise.
