Porsche has put together an exhibition dedicated to its front-engined coupes in Stuttgart. Museum display highlights 1980s culture, motorsport history, and engineering innovations. Nearly 400,000 examples of the 924, 944, 968, and 928 were sold between 1976 and 1995. The 911 is Porsche, and probably always will be, but for a long while, it was the brand’s front-engined, water-cooled sports cars that carried the company. Now those underdogs, the 924, 928, 944, and 968, are getting their dues at Porsche’s own museum in Stuttgart. Called Forever Young. Celebrating Transaxle, the themed exhibition marks 50 years since Porsche introduced the transaxle layout into series production. Instead of staging a traditional static museum display, Porsche is going with rotating pop-up installations focused on technology, design, motorsport, and peak 1980s vibes. Related: The Air-Cooled Porsche Could Return, But Not Like You Remember It The first display opened at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart on May 14 and runs through June 7, 2026. More pop-ups and themed weekends will continue throughout the year. If you somehow slept through Porsche history class, the transaxle setup placed the engine up front and the transmission at the rear axle, connected by a torque tube, just like on Ferrari’s late 1960s 275 GTB. Porsche said the arrangement improved weight balance and handling precision, while still keeping the cars usable every day. VW Bails, A New Porsche Era Begins The whole thing started with the 924 in 1976 after Volkswagen abandoned a joint sports car project. Porsche adopted the concept, refined it, and unexpectedly created a whole family of front-engined sports cars that survived nearly two decades. Then came the 928, the big V8 grand tourer once tipped to replace the 911 entirely, and the only Porsche (or pricey performance car) ever to win the European Car of The Year trophy. The 944 followed, adding fat fenders to the 924 shell, plus a proper 2.5-liter Porsche engine made from half a 928’s V8 in place of the 924’s VW 2.0-liter. The 944 became the commercial sweet spot of the bunch, combining sharp looks, balanced handling, and enough performance to win over buyers who might otherwise have bought a Japanese coupe. Porsche sold over 160,000 of them before it evolved into the 968, which ran until 1995. 1980s Themes Porsche says the exhibition revels in the neon-soaked optimism of the 1980s, complete with graffiti art, quick sketch artists, and race cars displayed outside the museum. So if you love Porsches and love the Radwood scene, chances are you’ll get a kick out of this. Motorsport also gets attention, including the 924 GTP Le Mans racer and rally versions driven by Walter Röhrl.If you’re in the Stuttgart area this summer, check it out. And if you’re not, check out the classifieds. Values have definitely risen in the last few years, but now, much like in the 1980s, a 924 or 944 is a great route into Porsche ownership for anyone who can’t stretch to a 911, and the running costs are more bearable, too. Porsche
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