Big-ass taillight where the license plate normally goes...

[Drover]

I barely noticed until my girlfriend pointed out that the 924S I just bought has a big-ass taillight where the license plate normally goes. So basically I have one giant, continuous taillight across the whole back of the car. The middle part has "PORSCHE" in black letters across it just in case someone behind me was dying to know what kind of car it us but couldn't tell because of the darkness. I haven't quite decided if this is cool or obnoxious. After looking around the web at pictures of 924s and 944s of various vintages, I only found one other example of a 924S with this feature, and none of 944s. So was this some kind of super-rare option or something?

[justin]

Does yours light up? I had one on my 944, the panel is for sale now,if anybody wants it.

[Drover]

Originally posted by justin
Does yours light up? I had one on my 944, the panel is for sale now,if anybody wants it.

It sure does, every last bulb still works.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

What year is your car? Is this a stock feature on the later years?

[Trevor]

I think it was a dealer option.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I've seen 'em around. . . do you happen to know if that was only for the newer style cars (85b+) or was it on the newer ones too? Might be interesting to add to mine, but I don't want the car to be a "poser" car if it wasn't an option for that year.

[justin]

Well mine is an 83 model, and it was on there.

[Macfreak007]

my old early '85 had it, it was a factory option. It requires drilling holes in the area where the liscence plate goes to make it work. I decided I really didn't like it that much.

[Drover]

Originally posted by Porsche-O-Phile
What year is your car? Is this a stock feature on the later years?

My 924S is an '87. I don't see it listed anywhere in the option codes... ???

[..P]

This was an aftermarket option. My '84 came so equipped except mine said "944" instead of "Porsche". I kept it in place for a while and then I decided I liked the stock look better. Mine did have provisions for bulbs but was not hooked up. If yours is still working, I would consider leaving it as it is.

regards, P

[Z-man]

It was an aftermarket option that many dealers would install at the request of the customer.

My 944S2 had it when I bought the car. At first, I didn't like it, but it has since grown on me.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Just curious. . . I'll probably leave my rear end alone with the plate in the middle, but I've often wondered (given how many of our cars seem to get rear-ended) if it wouldn't be a good idea to maximize the amount of lights back there - the middle light-up thing that we're talking about, a 3rd brake light (I just got done installing one one mine) and the second set of bulbs for the rear brake lights. All free insurance against being run over by some inattentive suv driver. . .

[Drover]

This is one reason I like the trend of LED lights as taillights/brake lights. They started showing up on the center-light only about a decade ago, but now they're making their way toward the corners and being used as taillights. Not only are they more clearly visible, but they light up instantly, within a hundredth of a second, after the brake light switch is activated. Whereas it takes a full tenth of a second for conventional bulb lights to achieve full illumination. A tenth of a second may not seem like a lot but at highway speeds that tenth of a second translates into an extra 20 feet or so of stopping distance for the person behind you.

Anyway, I'm still out to lunch on whether I like the middle taillight. I think it's a bit gaudy but I do like the extra nighttime visibility. Since it's there and it's functional, I intend to leave it.

[Wolf1]

You can buy these illuminated panels on E-bay for around $90.00

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Does anyone know of a place to get LED clusters that will work in place of our rear bulbs? Has anyone done this? I'm curious to know what kind of results you've had.