Select Page

Porsche 924/944 Shooting Brake/Kombi Build

by | Feb 3, 2012 | Project Cars, Classic Porsche Blog

I’ve always had a thing for estate cars – they look better than most saloons. The problem with being a Porsche fan is that there is no estate to choose from.

Recently, I’ve been looking at Cayennes to buy, but the majority of aftermarket specialists I spoke to said keep away. I was tempted to ignore them and go for it, but it’s spending £10-12k on a big car that costs thousands a year to run, plus the fuel, and whatever else goes wrong. I like my Subaru Outback and could better spend Cayenne money on my garage build and loft conversion projects. I needed a Plan B.

Ever since I saw the pictures here, I’ve had deep lust for the 924 Break/Kombi/Shooting Brake. There isn’t much about them on the Interweb – just some snippets of magazine articles, repeated ad nauseum – but I know it’s a conversion by Artz of Belgium from back in the day. Having seen the DP Motorsport ‘Cargo’ version at Essen one year, I thought the earlier 924 base was better looking, but for sure the 944 is a nicer platform. No one does these anymore, so I needed help.

Before I sold my last Mk 2 Golf GTi, my best mate and expert metalworker started talking about doing an estate conversion and I said I’d rather do an estate conversion on that Grand Prix White 944 I own. Ideas began to fire and that was it. The more I thought, the less I wanted to chop up a (quite rare) non-sunroof early 944 with relatively low miles and nice history; I’d rather restore that as-was. What I needed was a donor car to play with.

eBay has just thrown up a likely candidate: unloved but running 944 with some rust in the floors and a personal plate we can sell to cover some costs. The rusty floors are handy, as I want to size up an Impreza Turbo running gear install. Anyway, I’ve bought it.

*Edit* The eBay car was seriously misdescribed, so I went through eBay and got my money back. Now looking at S2s and low mile 924s. In the meantime, I have bought a Porsche Cayenne.

14 Comments

  1. Richard L

    I am looking forward to watching this project unfold. 🙂

    Reply
    • John

      Me too! Wish Robert’s workshop was next door!!

      Reply
  2. Bill

    OMG. I was just thinking the other day how nice a flying brake 944 or 928 would be for a daily driver. Couple in the Subaru drivetrain and you really have something. I really look forward to seeing the final product.

    Reply
    • John

      Should be cool, Bill. The Outback I run every day is great for general duties: but it just isn’t a Porsche! Hope we can get something together that looks smart and contemporary, and is also a useful tool.

      Reply
  3. John

    Cheers Danny, hope it lives up to all of our expectations!

    Reply
  4. Hayden

    I have heard that DP have a few kits on the shelf still. Unconfirmed, but worth checking.

    Reply
    • John

      I will check. They apparently use plastic sides though, which I’m not so into and I don’t dig their shape so much. I like the ‘delivery’ style of these early 924 bread vans.

      Reply
  5. Tony

    Yep, DP have ‘found’ enough of the old fibreglass panels to build a few more of their Cargo conversions. They’re offering the whole job start to finish for €15,000 plus a donor car.

    Reply
    • John

      A lot cheaper than they once were! Perhaps a hole found in the bank account also? 😉

      I chased them for a while to shot the red one. It had a crash and damaged the rear and then the repair dragged on. Gave up in the end but I really enjoy DP’s work and Patrick’s company.

      Reply
  6. Ross

    Don’t want to rain on your parade, but I’ve already done it! . . . . Nah, just joking.
    Sounds like a really fun project – I look forward to further posts.

    Best of luck.

    Reply
  7. Jim

    What kind of hatch are you going for? I read the dp cargo used a Passat , anyone know what year?

    Reply
    • John

      Not decided yet Jim, maybe modified Mk1 Golf or Polo or make our own.

      Reply
  8. Jeff

    John… I came across this old post, I’m wondering if you have found any more information on the Kombi 924 ?

    Reply
    • John Glynn

      HI Jeff, didn’t find anything as we have shelved the idea for now. I think I did see something on DP where they detailed the development. I will try to find a link and add it into the piece.

      Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

one × 1 =