In praise of the 951

[tazzieman]

Off Landsharkoz forum ; sometimes it's worth people knowing the history of Porsche in detail & via the horse's mouth , in this case our own BB. Bad thing ; it's got me wanting a 951.

 

 

Hi Mark , history is littered with amazing decisions by car makers , sometimes the decisions are OK , sometimes a disaster  & sometimes somewhere in-between  

 

Its not by chance that I/we decided to develop the basic last century 951 }

 

Perfect weight distribution ( small low weight all alloy 4 cylinder up front ) & like the 928 , there is no transmission directly behind the engine , so the engine can be mounted further back & T tube drive to the transaxle at the rear like the 928 , lots of V12 Ferraris & the later Chev Corvette's 

 

These point alone ( perfect weight distribution ) is the most important thing in getting a car ( any ) to go around a track that can give the driver the greatest amount of feed back & confidence 

 

The standard 951 engine is to me the world’s most perfect engine from the perspective to modify with a budget to get gobsmacking results 

 

The basic 951 engine is in many ways just half a 928 single cam per bank engine , there are very few moving parts as compared to the same era 6 cyl 911 engine & a 951 engine like a 944 engine can be dismantled ( if need be ) in the engine bay , bit like a early 1970's Ford escort etc 

 

In fact there are so few moving parts in the 2.5L 951 / 944 engine( as compared to a 911 from the same era) thats its quite stunning in its overall simplicity 

 

The Porsche 951 ( 944 Turbo ) was the original Porsche Cup Cars ( 1986 - 1990 ), and from that race series & whole industry ( world wide ) in developing go fast bits for these cars 

 

There is so much scope for the perfect sports cars I could go on for hours 

 

Here are some basic specs }

 

Standard 1986 951 , tuned to accept the fuel we had here in Australia back in 1986 ( 91 unleaded ) usually with its high sulphur ( rotten egg gas smell ) from all unleaded cars in Aus back then that fuel was not good at all ( estimate octane rating about 88- 90 )  hence why here in Australia we could not sell the 911 turbo ( 1989 - 1989 ) because of the status of our unleaded back then ( there was no premium unleaded ) was so poor , the air-cooled 911 was withdrawn from sale by Porsche here in Aus

 

So the detuned water cooled 951 was rated with 220HP was introduced & because of its liquid cooling & its extremely advanced KLR / motronic engine management system + knock sensors these 951's could cope with this disgusting early incarnation of low octane unleaded. 

 

Note } the air cooled 911 turbo still had the more ancient K-Jet & no knock sensors , so it got the chop.

 

But  with modern premium unleaded ( this century ) +  a Vitesse stage 1 or a stage 2 ( + other mods ) we get between 310 HP to 350+ HP ) and that’s not even changing the turbo 

 

Then the logical extension is when Sean built a 3.0L twin cam 16V 951 engine with a stage 5 that runs on E85 , this produces on the track 630 - 640 HP & on the road with a little less boost 550HP+ & a load of torque 

 

Sean has built 3 of these monster engines ( two for customer cars ) & the very nice thing is everything is there , meaning the A/C remains ( extremely important ) & these cars idle so well & are so civilised , it just blows me away how docile they are just driving to work & the fuel economy is fantastic ( if you keep off the loud pedal )

 

Sean's 951 is one of the greatest road cars I have ever driven ( ‘ that amazing ) & I have driven a lot of really nice high end sport cars & GT cars , but this thing is something else & comfortable & quiet inside & fantastic A/C & a great sound system & room for two surfboards in the back or his golf clubs & buggy .

 

And the way it blasts past GT3's is quite amusing .

 

This all started by Volkswagen back around 1969/1970 when they had Porsche design a 2.0L 2+2 sports car , by 1973 ( oil crises ) VW was not going so well & could not proceed with its production & Porsche who had all the designs done & even worked pout where to build these cars ( the 924 ) decided to step up & pay to get these made & sell them under their own banner , enter the Porsche 924 in 1975 .

 

Then in 1978 Porsche developed & sold the 931 ( 924 turbo )

Then in 1981 Porsche developed & sold the 924 Carrera GT ( 924 turbo + intercooler ) + extra bits

Same year ( 1981 ) Porsche developed & sold the Porsche 924 Carrera GTS , these today fetch massive $$$$$ 

 

The Carrera GTS looked like a 944 , but with 3.3 Turbo brakes , Fuchs wheels & trick suspension & front mooted intercooler ( just like how the 951 has a front mount intercooler )

 

The 951 was /is a direct descendant of the famous & extremely expensive Carrera GTS

 

Again in 1981 Porsche raced versions of the Carrera GTS , they even competed at Le Mans ( 924 Carrera GTP / GTR )

 

Regards

Bruce Buchanan

Buchanan Automotive 

 

 

[Rob]

Thought Pauly and Cyberpunky would be on this like a shot, cheering from the sidelines.  Taz, don't know how many 951s there are in Tassie, but Melbourne and Adelaide have been good hunting grounds for me in the past.

[Coastr]

All the 928 praising that has gone on lately hasn't convinced me.

 

A tiny bit of 944 turbo praising...hmmm

 

I saw a red one at the PCCQ concours event at Noosa last year - with the flashy big 'turbo' script down one guard.  I really liked that car.

[tazzieman]

I've got a 60,000km spare NA engine ; wonder if I could get that tweaked one day???

Coastr,  928s are the gentleman enthusiast's choice. A cheap Ferrari Daytona if you like.

Get a few more barnacles and you never know...

Young gentlemen need their turbo heroin   Nothing wrong with that,  but just don't run anyone over!

[KGB]

All the 928 praising that has gone on lately hasn't convinced me.

[cyberpunky]

Thought Pauly and Cyberpunky would be on this like a shot, cheering from the sidelines.  Taz, don't know how many 951s there are in Tassie, but Melbourne and Adelaide have been good hunting grounds for me in the past.

Shhh if word gets out just how good these cars are, the prices will go up and I might not be able to afford another one, one day lol

[333pg333]

Booyah!!!

[Foyley]

When its all said and done there's no such thing as a cheap Porsche!!!!! If its cheap its cheap for a reason. Even if you find a good one it will cost you some dollars to keep that way!

 

With this in mind I hope it keeps the dills away and leave the cars for us to buy and enjoy at the right prices!

 

I think i'm dreaming though????