When the Porsche 944 was first introduced Road and Track wrote, "The 944 is one of the most exciting cars to come out of Zuffenhausen". The 944 Porsche body was based on the 924 Carrera GT (with flared bodywork), but the body panels were manufactured of two sided galvanized steel rather than fiberglass. The engine was based on the Porsche 928 and was essentially developed by using one bank of the 928's V8 engine. The engine was a pure Porsche design and was manufactured, tested, and raced by Porsche. The engine was mounted in front with the transaxle mounted in the rear of the car. A prop shaft contained inside of a ridged tube assembly helped form the backbone of the car. The new C5 Corvette has recently copied this set up. This offers near perfect weight distribution. Vic Elford, famous Porsche Werks Racing Driver, stated that "the 944 is a perfectly (and beautifully) balanced vehicle."