The Five Best Transaxle Models from the Stuttgart Brand

Porsche’s transaxle cars left a mark on the automotive world, and these models hold a very special place in the hearts of many enthusiasts of vehicles from the Stuttgart brand.

When it comes to the great hits of Porsche, it is very easy to overlook the transaxle models that helped keep the Stuttgart brand alive. To honor the often-ignored rear-drive heroes of Porsche, the German manufacturer has just released a video on its YouTube channel naming its 5 favorites.

To begin its list of the top 5, Porsche chooses to highlight the genesis of the Porsche transaxle with the EA 425. This rather obscure model from the German house was established to replace the Porsche 914 as a joint development project with Volkswagen.

The goal was to build a family coupé that would be more affordable to acquire and maintain than a Porsche 911. Unfortunately, the 1970s oil crisis meant the Porsche EA 425 never had a full production run, but it is credited with inspiring all the transaxle Porsches that followed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPxnge1-A5o&t=7s

The Five Best Transaxle Models from Porsche

Next, we have the Porsche 924 as the first fully production Porsche transaxle. The Porsche 924 was the first Porsche to use a water-cooled engine sourced from Audi. Porsche announced the 924 as a family-oriented sports car with the cabin of an estate, which expanded Porsche’s customer base.

When the radical Porsche 928 debuted with its water-cooled V8 and futuristic styling, Porsche aimed for a true replacement for the 911. The transaxle era moved from an experiment to a potential means of defining the Porsche lineup. The 928 won the European Car of the Year award in 1978 thanks to its innovative design and enjoyed more than 20 years of production alongside the 911.

The Porsche 944 debuted in 1982 to replace the 924. The 944 was entirely designed by Porsche and used a 4-cylinder engine designed by Porsche based on the 928’s V8. The 944 was very successful in bringing the Porsche brand to a more affordable price point.

The Porsche final transaxle is the often-forgotten 968. This coupé based on the 944 was designed to bring a family resemblance between the 928 and the newly designed 993 911. The 968 featured a large 3.0-litre inline four-cylinder engine and was the last front-engined Porsche until the debut of the Cayenne SUV.

When it comes to Porsche sports cars, the 911 often overshadows a family of truly great transaxle models from Porsche. Thanks to these more affordable Porsche models, the brand was able to survive some difficult economic times and remain the powerhouse of sports cars we know today.