AutoCult Porsche 984 Junior (1987) (Germany)

About the Original

Classified Roadster

Originally planned as a collaborative project between the Spanish company Seat and Porsche in 1984, the small sports car designated as the Type 984 was put aside as the Spanish withdrew from the project. But in Zuffenhausen the idea matured to continue the project and to derive a small Porsche, which was supposed to fill the gap between the Type 928 and 944 in the model range.

With this in mind, the Type 984 was developed further and got the in-house designation ‘Junior’. A directly behind the seating row disappearing soft top was intended to be the eyecatcher of the two seater. It was initially planned to develop an own engine for the car, but this was soon overruled. The engineers went for the 2.4 liter Boxer four-cycle engine of the Type 914 with a not quite sporting performance of only 135 hp. Other components came from other production series. The car was equipped with breaks of the Type 911, some interior parts of the Type 944 and the steering of the Type 964.

Starting in June 1987 the only ‘Junior’ ever built was tested. The results obtained were satisfying and hence the small Porsche was ready to be presented to the managing board. On 17 September 1987 the management of Porsche set eyes on the ‘Junior’ and although the project fell on sympathetic ears the specification of costs led to a clear “no”. A production would have never been economical and therefore the project ‘Junior’ was ultimately ceased in March 1988. Today the one-off prototype is on exhibition at the Porsche-Museum.