Topic: Deceptive Fun #208 - Porsche Manta-bodied 924 Test Mule 'W1'

[Otto Puzzell]

An ordinary, everyday car, right? No. Tell me what this is, what its builder called it, and what makes it different from others of its type.

Only a complete answer will earn a point!  

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[Otto Puzzell]

A deceptively quick Expert point?

[Delorean]

One would guess that this is a Opel Manta A, but it is't ...

I've seen this picture (and another picture of it) somewhere on a Opel-forum a long time ago and - if my memory serves me right - this should be a test mule for a Porsche 924? It has the engine and the suspension of the 1976 Porsche 924 ... Don't know about a name though, but since when do testmules have names?

[Otto Puzzell]

So far, so good.

Test mules have had names or project names since they were first conceived. Do you think a company like Porsche would have called it "that Opel with the secret bits"? 

[Delorean]

I don't think so ... My answer above is what I remembered out of my head ; I looked a bit further and that site I mentioned doesn't exist anymore apparantly. I did however found the mentioned picture and another picture of the engine with this as an explanaition:

Opel manta A test mule for the Porsche 924, Designated W1, the Manta had the full 924-specification underfloor including the MacPherson-strut front suspension and VW Super Beetle derived, torsion bar suspended semi-trailing arms at the rear.

So apparantly this is called 'W1'?

There isn't much to find about this ...

[wingroad]

Project was EA425

[Otto Puzzell]

While wingroad is correct in stating the overall program that eventually resulted in the 924 was dubbed EA425, Delorean gets the point for identifying this mule as M1. Since it was predated by a BMW 1600-based mule, first tested in 1972, this Manta it was alternately called V2. A subsequent Manta-based mule was V3.