(first posted 7/11/2017) I wouldn’t say no to a Porsche, but I would think it for a bit before saying yes to this one.
You know, one of the most frightening things about writing for CC is just how thoroughly we have covered the automotive landscape. The Porsche 928 has been covered no less than three times on these virtual pages. But when I saw these pictures on the Cohort by William Rubano I decided that I simply had to have a go at ti as well. I’ve never made any illusions about being unbiased on my articles and today I do not intend petty things like objectivity get in the way today either. So do keep in mind that while the images are good, I am not so sure about the car itself.
Most of it has to do with its styling. I’ve been told by the several piles of self-help books that I have been forced to read over the years that things usually go smoother if you begin with the positives. And on that front, I can say that the 928’s styling was certainly unique and futuristic. To my eyes, it definitely doesn’t look like a product of the same decade that brought us Sister Sledge and Avocado green shag carpeting. 218 horsepower from a 4.5-liter fuel-injected V8 are also rather un-malaise era numbers. So it certainly had the muscles to back up its grand-touring claims. It was certainly enough to shame the Corvette’s decidedly malaise 180-horsepower small-block (The optional L82 narrowed the gap by offering 210 ponies.) By the time this revision came around the engine had gotten an extra half-liter and now had 292 horsepower. As a fun bit of trivia, the throaty burble you hear whenever the DeLorean time machine spurs to live on Back to the Future is provided by a 928.
By the time the 928 bowed goodbye, 18 years after being introduced, the engine had gone up to 5.4 liters and 345 horsepower. The early attempt at passive rear-wheel steering was also very impressive and successful at improving stability. Important on those last few miles of mountain roads before you enter Monaco. Couple those with the extensive use of aluminum on the bodywork and instruments that moved with the steering wheel and lower insurance premiums because you owned a “2+2” rather than a coupe and you ended up with one of the best ways to make long travels comfortable and fast this side of pre-TSA first class.
Unfortunately, while I can praise it for having futuristic styling and bleeding-edge features; I can’t really say that styling is very pretty, or even attractive. Regardless of its competency as a grand tourer and how cool it looked in Risky Business being chased by a Cadillac that should have been left on the dust the second young Tom Cruise decided to cut through Narrow Alleys, it just isn’t my bag when it comes to styling. Those recessed headlights make it look dopey; and with the lights on it looks as if I can just pry the bulbs right out of the bodywork. Then, on or off, that sleek aero end is completely at odds with the bulbousness of everything behind it.
It kinda reminds me of one of those honeypot ants. It’s as though Tony Lapine and Wolfgang Möbius took their original angular ideas for the design and rounded them off under protest until it ended up as blobby and featureless as possible. And instead of the people at Porsche going “Okay, we get it” they just went “Brilliant, we’ll get the molds done by the end of the month.”
Porsche didn’t do any favors to itself on my eyes when they decided that front end was good enough to graft it onto a 944 body, a design I actually do like very much, to create the 968. Jeremy Clarkson pushing one off a cliff while praising the beauty that was the Jaguar XJ-S was one of the few things he was right about on that particular review. His comment about saying goodbye to the mobile phone and Ray-Ban sunglasses was perhaps less accurate. Blissfully, our featured model is an S4, which means that it gets, among other styling tweaks to bring the styling somewhere closed to the word “cohesive”, new tailights which have the distinction of actually being molded into the bodywork instead of looking like someone at Porsche had to browse the “rear light clusters” section of an aftermarket catalog and then call to ask if he could get a discount by buying in bulk. Which reminds me…
Not a fan of the interior on those early cars, it seems too dated when compared to the exterior of the car. Though that’s more of a compliment to the exterior than a detriment of the interior. See the NSU Ro80 for a similar effect. Design that wouldn’t look out of place in a new-car showroom 25 years after it was built; interior that looks every bit as dated as the registration document makes it to be.
Over the years, Porsche has been accused of questionable design choices. Lest we forget, the Porsche Panamericana is something that actually exists and someone got paid to design. The 2003 Cayenne Turbo has questionable styling on darker colors and is nigtmare-inducing on lighter ones; making it the ugliest SUV of all time, or at least until the 2006 Subaru Tribeca jumped in shouting “Hold my beer!” I think the 928 deserves a spot amongst these. Curiously enough, Porsche did fix it…once.
This is the H50. It was a one-off gifted to ‘ol Freddy porsche back in 1984 fixes most of the problems to my eyes. Apart from it having all the styling upgrades that the S4 would have a couple of years afterwards; the stretched body and more squared-off rear end make for a much better design. Or at least, one that is more consistent and aesthetically pleasing…to my eyes anyway. Am I the only one that really really dislikes the 928’s styling? Leave me a comment below, I am really curious.
I sorta agree with the styling on the 928… But the 928GTS… That’s a whole new story. Quite collectible too.
Funny how tastes differ. I kind of like the 928 but I never liked the 924 or any of its derivatives, which it seemed to me got progressively uglier with each update. As for Clarkson praising the beauty of the XJS, well (and I intend no offence to anyone who likes XJS’s) that just confirms my earlier opinion of him. To me the XJS is a failure by every measure. Huge but an interior so cramped no one over 6′ could find comfort therein and here lies a cruel irony: if you are short and thus can comfortably fit into an XJS cabin, you are not tall enough to see out of it! I feel sorry for the torture inflicted on the metal in every panel. The Coupe was just urgly and that first attempt at a cabriolet was simply hideous. Only the later convertible approached good styling, because the ugly roof line and awkward rear window were cut off! By comparison to an XJS the 928 is almost Bauhaus clean design (a compliment that does not extend to some of those velour style crazy check interiors!).
The XJS strikes me as fabulous proportions covered with bad decisions.
Excellent description!
I agree, I like the 928, and the sounds it made. But to me that H50 is fantastic, wish they made it
My wife dislikes the 928 design, I however love it. That interior may look a bit dated today but in the late ’70’s…no, it was the future. If you want to see a dated interior, look at any 924/944 pre-1986 and then compare it to the later ones. What’s surprising is how much better and more modern the 928 interior looked compared to the more or less concurrently released 924 that soldiered on with its old dash for almost another decade.
That thing in the last picture however, looks like something that was should have been pushed into the pond behind the prototype shop and left there for good. Sorry, not feeling it at all.
While I like the 928 in general, I very much like the second generation (S4 and newer) versions. I can’t think of anything I would change and it got better every year. I liked the first gen just fine until the second one came out. And then more every time something was updated. To me, that’s good design – when you can’t point to something that you’d want changed but then when it is changed anyway, you look at it and say “Yeah, that’s the ticket!” and realize why you are not in the design business yourself.
In a retro -classic way I prefer the earlier round dial dash on the 944 over the monorail 85.5 update.
I prefer the original 928 with the recessed lights front and back. The update with the flush lights looks too generic, like something from a Japanese sedan.
The 944 is nice too. I never liked the 911 until the mid-90s redesign.
I always liked the original 928 interior fabric. Still do! Suits the overall ‘out-there-ness’ of the exterior.
I happen to like the design…had a neighbor who had been getting a new Corvette every couple of years, and stepped up to a pewter-colored 928 with brown leather around 1981-82ish. That 928 blew my mind! Pete Rose, the baseball player, lived across the street from the 928 guy, and drove a 911 in a similar color. I have to surmise he wanted to outdo Pete, who everyone perceived to be a little blue collar for the neighborhood. Even now, my mom refers to Pete as a “river rat” because of the area where he grew up.
I drove a 928 about 10 years ago, and was struck by how poorly constructed the interior was…everything felt loose and the seat upholstery was sagging. It was a low mileage car too.
I will be another contrarian in that I have always liked the design of the 928. To me it represented forward movement, both in terms of the vehicle itself and as a way for Porsche to finally move beyond 1964. The original 911 was a beautiful car, but then so was the Lincoln Continental of the same era. At some point we all have to move on.
I recall the way the Chrysler Laser and Dodge Daytona tried to ape this car but not all that successfully, which only made the original all the more attractive to me.
I am not a “Porsche guy” and have no dog in this fight . . . I just like the car.
I’m with you. I think the 928 design was (and is) interesting, and influenced the styling, inside and out, for many other brands in the 1980s. This was a very fresh car in 1978, and Porsche had guts to put it into production. They were faced with a similar quandary as VW with the Beetle: how do you augment/replace an aging car that defines the brand? The Rabbit was quickly seen as a good answer, but the 928 never really caught on at the time as a new definition for the Porsche brand (though ironically today the majority of Porsches sold are front-engined models with rounded styling…).
The majority of Porsche’s now sold are SUV’s, not the sports cars.
My point exactly!
I thought I was the only person who thought the Laser/Daytonas looked like 928’s… Every time I say something like that, people look at me like I’m from Mars… (I learned how to drive in an 84 Laser so I may be a little biased)
I like the 928’s styling very much — then again, I also like the Panamera, so what do I know?
The Panamera is a beautiful example of the class, much more attractive than the Audi A7. The Model S is a close second. As a child in the 90’s the 944 seemed to me the “modern” Porsche, and the iconic 911 looked like a 70’s car being built to the current day. What a surprise to learn the opposite!
My neighbor has a pristine convertible 968, and I really like the looks of it compared to the 928. But subjectively, Porsche design is never really attractive. Form follows function (usually down Ugly Lane), and they tend to make the front and back of many models look almost identical, to the point of wondering if they just flipped the drawing of the front as a template for the rear. The Panamera is just flat out ugly, as is the Cayenne, at least to me. But, hey, I have a lot of questionable cars that I find attractive, so to each their own.
As to the H50, it is not really bad, but to me looks like an Audi Avant. But it was from the time when Porsche did not do wagons, CUVs, SUVs, or Sedans. You know, when they manufactured sports cars for enthusiasts. Not for soccer moms. I guess money really does talk…..
To me the H50 looks like what the Pacer could have been had AMC made it to the early 90’s with a budget.
The AMC Pacer was influential in the design of the 928. The H50 looks like a stretched Pacer wagon.
I can’t help thinking “AMC Pacer”.
Like.
It was quite the bombshell (in more ways than one) when it arrived. Yes, the headlights are a bit iffy, and a blatant homage to the Miura’s. And it did seem pretty porky compared the tight little 911. But it certainly is a design that aged well, and as Jim said, it did get better with age, which is not a common thing.
Not my favorite, it’s not horrible. Isn’t this one of those cars that has a lower CD backwards than forwards? (Edit – That was a MythBusters episode and it was busted?)
One of my co-workers had an older 928 for several years. It was apparently great to drive, but a constant battle to keep all the electrical stuff working. He retired a few years ago, but I heard that the car set itself on fire one day while driving and he wasn’t very sad about it…
I remember that episode – what a horrible way to kill a 928.
Another one who thinks the 928’s styling is at least decent. Hard to believe, but the 924 and 928 were introduced just a few years after another love it or hate it Porsche design bowed out of the showroom….the 914.
By the time the 928 hit showrooms, the Corvette had been on the same basic body style, what, 10-12 years?
As far as newer Porsche designs go, I agree that the Cayenne is hideous. The slavish hueing to older/established Porsche design themes actually kill it. People want the badge, so Porsche: stop making it look like a quasi 911 designed SUV.
The Panamera? Also agree that the 1st generation car looks stupid, like a killer whale on wheels. But look at the 2nd generation car (recently released), that car looks like a nicely styled 911 4 door sedan. And heresy of heresies….it’s available with a turbo-diesel in some world markets.
I am not a Porsche guy, hell I’m not even a sports car guy,
But I always liked this car, I even like the goofy pop up lights.
Paint one green and get a vanity plate that says Kermit and I would be good to go.
As a fun bit of trivia, the throaty burble you hear whenever the DeLorean time machine spurs to live on Back to the Future is provided by a 1988 928.
Which is followed by another fun bit of trivia, the stunt coordinators actually traveled three years into the future in a real time machine to record the exhaust note of said 928!
I’m a fan of the design, the H50 however I find absolutely hideous.
Pretty heartfelt recommendation here:
Wow… that brought a tear to my eye.
When I first saw this, after he stopped talking, I just sat there in stunned silence. It was one of the most heartfelt reminders that beneath all the hyperbole and the politically incorrect humor, and the negativity that borders on unbearably cartoonish. Jeremy Clarkson is an actual human being. It’s easy to forget that, but this moment was one of the best examples that he actually has a heart.
I like the style of the 928. ( lights and all). You can leave off the big wing on the tail. And in a lighter color. It makes for an impressive grand tourer. If it had a better track record of reliability, I would park one in the driveway.
I read somewhere that the rear end of the 928 was influenced by the AMC Pacer(!),, if so that would go a long way to explain its somewhat questionable styling. If I remember correctly the 928 was supposed to be the successor to the 911, as Porsche management felt the 911 was past its prime. However the Porsche fanatics would have nothing to do with the 928 and considered it blasphemous.
I remember that not too long after the 924 & 928 were released the backlash was beginning. The Porsche “purists” had spoken, the only “true” Porsches were rear engined and air cooled.
I bet the folks who had their panties in a wad over the 924 & 928 would sh!t themselves over things like the Cayenne and Panamerica. I thought it incredibly myopic that Porsche could engineer anything they wanted, but this small faction of buyers dictated what they should build. They are/were paying customers, so in effect they could.
But just imagine what other wonders they missed out because they demanded a modern 1947 Porsche.
It’s funny, in the day I didn’t like the 928 at all. Now, seeing those picture, I’m liking it a lot more….
The 928 is actually my favorite Porsche, though that’s probably because I’m not really a ‘sports car’ sort of guy. Funny how tastes differ.
What scares me most about the 928 is the fact that by the time it was maybe five years old they started popping up on scruffy gravel used-car lots out Nolensville Road in Nashville. This was the natural habitat of AMC Gremlins, Yugos, rusty El Dorados and the like, and when as complex and maintenance-demanding car as any Porsche (and another frequent suspect, the Jaguar XJ6) appeared in such an environment, any car-seeker with good self-preservation instincts should hurry on by. A sign of the Cross might be a good move too.
I remembered this the other night when a high-end car salesman was telling us about a deal he’d made: an elderly client of his sought assistance in selling her 928, bought new at this dealership. She mentioned her asking price, and after looking over the car that appeared to be well under half its actual worth, if the very low recorded mileage were accurate. He contacted her mechanic, who confirmed that she really had driven it only a thousand or so miles a year, and that it had been carefully maintained. So our salesman told the woman that her price was too low, and offered twice as much, which she accepted happily. He was able to enjoy the car for a bit while fixing a few cosmetic details, and sold it in another private sale for a decent profit.
I never was much into those but knew people who were, and the common view (based on actual experience) was that – properly maintained – they could last for more than 250,000 miles without needing major attention. A mechanic friend bought one just as you described – used with suspect engine – and proceeded to sort out the problems methodically. He said the engine was not that difficult to overhaul provided you followed the factory manual. For his troubles he got a supercar which would live for many more years. And because he was patient with the parts search, he did not even pay that much for the bits he needed, I think everything came to less than £2000 in 2001.
I think the 928 styling is one of those designs that many ppl sorta like… But not head over heals for. The xjs is another for me like that. I had an mgb and same thing. Like it but don’t love it. Then there’s cars that are truly gorgeous. xke, f40, miura, stratos. The new Porsche targa. Spitfire…. Ha…. Naw I just threw that one in there cuz I have one lol
I’m no special fan or Porsche, but even I recognize the 928 was, and is a magnificent car, one that really stands the test of time well. All it technical features and innovations were brilliant in their clairvoyance. Porsche predicted the future of automobiles and built one to suit, for a long time, in technical features, performance and packaging.
It’s faults are the same as many other low – volume, complex pricey cars, spotty reliability, and expensive parts and service.
In the eighties, I really liked these, maybe more so than the 944. I never really liked the styling of the 924, but felt the 944 was a vast improvement over its sibling. Similarly, I was never an original 911 fan (I know, this is Porsche heresy, but to each his own), but liked the 930, its turbo charged and better looking (again, IMHO) sibling.
I have to agree with Jim Klein in his above that the 928 got better with age and little improvements along the way, but I’ll stop short of liking the 968. I don’t care for that one, or the Cayman/Boxter that followed all of these.
But looking back, I think (again, this is all subjective) that the 944 Turbo, particularly a 1986 in red would be my classic Porsche of choice. I think the design has held up better than the others.
I wonder if these are as unloved as the author posits… There is a woman in my area of town that has a ’29 Model A, an early nineties C4 Corvette, and one of these 928(s). She’s had the 928 in her front yard with a for sale sign on it for like 3 years! – One day it was rolled to the back yard where it was covered as if she gave up trying to sell it. I see her driving around in the C4 and the Model A all the time (I even talked to her one day about the Model A and got some good pics for a CC that I still haven’t written due to lack of time and confidence), but I’ve never seen that Porsche move.
CC effect in full effect. Just saw our local 928 beater on my way to the gym this morning.
Never liked the the 928’s overweight look (I MUCH preferred the styling of the 944) but this car was never about styling. I was duly impressed from day one by the car’s performance. I suspect that their disproportionate representation on the scruffy used car lots of Nashville that Will mentioned might have had something to do with their monumental cost of maintenance and repair. I believe they were even more expensive to own than their contemporary 911 stablemates. Just take a look under the hood of the next one you encounter to see why.
The exhaust note on these beasts is pure heaven.
I was just thinking about the awful exhaust note of the 924…yuck. Calling that thing a Porsche was a travesty.
A social-climbing neighbor had one that he bought new after he got an insurance settlement…traded in his 78? Cutlass Supreme for a turbo-look 924. He thought he was cool…
Any Corolla has more class than a ’78 Cutlass. I’d say the 924 was a marked improvement, even setting aside the Porsche badge.
A car I’ve actually driven, albeit briefly. As a 911 worshiper from about the age of ten, when the first alloy-wheeled 911S versions were launched, I thought the 924 was a huge step backward and the 928 not much better. Over time the 928 grew on me, I like the 944 even more, and have even grown to accept the 968. The Cayenne and Macan are OK, the Cayman drop-dead gorgeous, and even the Panamera rates a strong B+ in my eyes. The only modern Porsche I don’t care for visually, is the first gen Boxster.
I have to disagree. When introduced , the style or look of the 928 was off , but over the years I have steadily changed my mind. 928’s values are up as well.
Ok, the 928 : Hate the wheels and the running costs, everything else I can live with.
The 924 : Don’t like it, but I sometimes check the current prices of 30 year old 944s….
Jeremy Clarkson : He can be funny sometimes – but stupid most of the time. Life is too short to waste time watching him.
I’m going to be another dissenter, I think this is one of the best designs of the 70s and one of the best Porsche designs ever. Granted, I’m not the most enamored with Porsche, I personally have never cared for the 911 and don’t get all the hype behind it. But this Porsche, just speaks to me in a way that I can’t really explain why I like it, but I do. I also think this design has aged very well, it doesn’t seem dated even in modern times, it looks just as good now as it did in the 70s.
Honestly, if the repair costs didn’t scare me off, I would happily have a 928 in my driveway.
Ah, the 928 engine, definitely not one of Porsche’s best. Why, you say? Let’s begin with the industry’s longest rubber cam belt drive responsible for cam timing, then running the coolant pump, and then finally running the vital engine oil pump. Imagine the importance of cam belt maintenance for a 928’s engine survivability if not routinely replaced and serviced
A time intensive 8-10 hour cam belt replacement is required every 30,000 miles for the original single cam per head engines. The more complex 4 cam engines became that much more labor intensive–an expensive service bordering on the engine out cam belt replacement expenses of various Ferrari models. Not a cheap cam belt service like for a relatively simple Honda Civic.
As 928’s descended by depreciation to more affordable levels, the maintenance costs remained high and many, many 928’s didn’t have the required services performed by newer owners of lesser financial means incapable of paying the service costs. This accelerated the occurrence of engine issues and engine failures of many 928’s
Then the manual transaxles have their own issues with the limited ability of the initially used Porsche type synchros to live with the 928 engine torque values especially seen with the later engines, and before ultimate replacement by Borg Warner synchromesh late in the life of the 928.
Porsche also abandoned Porsche synchromesh for the 911 in the late 1980’s with the introduction of the G50 transaxle utilizing Borg Warner Synchromesh. Ferrari did the same in the early 1980’s ditching the failure prone Porsche Synchromesh for Borg Warner Sychromesh for the Ferrari 512 BBi.
Strangely, from an ownership point, the best and most serviceable 928’s are the earlier single cam per cylinder bank engines with the automatic transaxles using Daimler’s reliable Mercedes Benz automatic transmission internals. Who knew, and who would have expected that?
928 ownership, like Ferrari ownership, is not for the financial faint of heart. Expect large ownership service expenses. The 928 was not one of Porsche’s better designs mechanically from the aspect of serviceability and longevity. They are great cars to drive when maintained, but are regarded as money pits. The 911 with a solid metallic SOHC chain drive typically costs much less to maintain than a 928.
Don’t think that a 928 should be as affordable to operate as a Small Block Corvette? The SBC is an amazingly simple and durable engine compared to the 928 engine.
Which explains the readily available conversion kits.
Reminds me of this neighbor of mine. “Awesome. He’s got a 928. I’ve always thought those were so sexy.”
Then after maybe a year, the red 928 disappears. A few months later, he has a yellow 928. That last about three months, then it disappears. Then there was a bronze 928 and it was gone in like a month. Haven’t seen another 928 in the neighborhood since.
So I’ve always fantasized about owning one of these. But I’ve never fantasized about having an intimate relationship with Dieter the Porsche mechanic, especially if he is perturbed about it being “not a real Porsche”.
Yes and no. Those are obviously not like Corvettes or Monaros. But if you keep on top of maintenance, they do seem to last for very high mileages (see my post above). And if you have some mechanical aptitude it IS possible to maintain it on your own. The Italian equivalents are FAR worse.
Ah, the 928 engine, definitely not one of Porsche’s best. Why, you say? Let’s begin with the industry’s longest rubber cam belt drive responsible for cam timing, then running the coolant pump, and then finally running the vital engine oil pump. Imagine the importance of cam belt maintenance for a 928’s engine survivability if not routinely replaced and serviced
Let’s start with an utter pile of mythology, and sort this nonsense out, shall we? At the time it was the longest belt, it isn’t anymore. Belts almost always run the coolant pump, sometimes the oil pump on all sortsa cars. We’ll deal with the rest of this nonsense in a minute….
A time intensive 8-10 hour cam belt replacement is required every 30,000 miles for the original single cam per head engines. The more complex 4 cam engines became that much more labor intensive–an expensive service bordering on the engine out cam belt replacement expenses of various Ferrari models. Not a cheap cam belt service like for a relatively simple Honda Civic.
I don’t recall the exact book time, but it is in the 8-10 hour range – the same as dozens of run-of-the-mill cars. A few ‘Yotas book at 4, but most are in that same 8ish hour range. The 928 2 cam and 4 cam variants are EXACTLY the same, save for removal of the cap and rotor from the cam snout – which takes about 10 minutes. Otherwise, the procedure is EXACTLY the SAME. If you actually knew how to wrench a 928, you’d know this. Call the Honda dealer, a T-Belt will be a $1K job, same as I charge on a 928. Oh, the Porsche factory interval was ALWAYS 60K miles, and we have known for decades that it’s just like a Hondota, 10yr/100K miles. And prior to ’85, only the RoW engines were interference, everybody else would snap a belt and just get a tow.
As 928’s descended by depreciation to more affordable levels, the maintenance costs remained high and many, many 928’s didn’t have the required services performed by newer owners of lesser financial means incapable of paying the service costs. This accelerated the occurrence of engine issues and engine failures of many 928’s
I’ll agree many poor idiots who have no business with anything but a Corolla have bought them and killed them. Just like BMWs, Vettes, and any other “flash” car. Parts are (generally) as cheap, or cheaper that Hondota. Seldom do 928s die of engine failure, they last long after the poor guy bought the car.
Then the manual transaxles have their own issues with the limited ability of the initially used Porsche type synchros to live with the 928 engine torque values especially seen with the later engines, and before ultimate replacement by Borg Warner synchromesh late in the life of the 928.
Porsche also abandoned Porsche synchromesh for the 911 in the late 1980’s with the introduction of the G50 transaxle utilizing Borg Warner Synchromesh. Ferrari did the same in the early 1980’s ditching the failure prone Porsche Synchromesh for Borg Warner Sychromesh for the Ferrari 512 BBi.
OK, and? Also, it was 1984 for the last year of Porsche synchros, 7 years in to the 928’s 18 year run
Strangely, from an ownership point, the best and most serviceable 928’s are the earlier single cam per cylinder bank engines with the automatic transaxles using Daimler’s reliable Mercedes Benz automatic transmission internals. Who knew, and who would have expected that?
They’re all VERY reliable and readily servicable IF you actually know anything about them. I have 350K+ on my original engine, with only a valve job (because I needed head gaskets) and a trans swap at 200K for a GTS unit with PSD. I have many customers over 200K miles, and several over 300K miles on their original powertrains, 4V cars included.
928 ownership, like Ferrari ownership, is not for the financial faint of heart. Expect large ownership service expenses. The 928 was not one of Porsche’s better designs mechanically from the aspect of serviceability and longevity. They are great cars to drive when maintained, but are regarded as money pits. The 911 with a solid metallic SOHC chain drive typically costs much less to maintain than a 928.
Hilarious! The 928 is one of Porsche’s most reliable designs ever, not to mention it’s generally easy and straightforward to service. They often travel in excess of 300K with nothing more than routine maint. They are only ‘money pits’ if you have a wrench that doesn’t know the car, the car has decades of deferred maint, or you’re getting soaked by a dishonest wrench.
Don’t think that a 928 should be as affordable to operate as a Small Block Corvette? The SBC is an amazingly simple and durable engine compared to the 928 engine.
Now you have proven, beyond a shadow of doubt, that you have never turned a wrench in your life.
Thank you for confirming what I know about those cars.
Always rather liked it. A Porsche V-8. Like a ‘Mercan car. Fresh sheet of paper. Wide but not big. Looked like a capable GT. No nouveau riche flares and wings. I like having power and not needing to use it because the car is capable. I like the way the 928 has fallen into the shadows. If it could be had without astronomical repair costs, it would be a nice daily. Without the eyes, it’s not as interesting.
My first thought after seeing the H50 for the first time? If I was a lawyer I would be on the phone to Dick Teauge.
That said, I have always liked the 928. Gimme an S4 or GTS in red.
Massive fan of this shape. I find it to be one of the more influential from the decade, though as a total package it was not so successful for Porsche.
Disagree Gerardo, but you make your point well.
Sadly, I’ve never driven one of these, but have been a high velocity passenger in a 1979 model. It was great fun, actually. I’ve always liked the design of these, even the early ones.
That said, the only way I would own one of these things would be to do the SBC swap. Check out Renegade Hybrids http://www.renegadehybrids.com which would be the way I would want to do it. GM reliability, durability and ubiquity with real German handling…
I think a Coyote 5.0 swap would be more fitting, sharing similar displacements and DOHC layouts. LS swaps are always the obvious answer, but this isn’t an obvious car. Be different!
The first was a pretty cool car IMO. Lighter than what came later. The excess weight turned off the 911 guys.
The Euro versions had the goods though. Shorter gearing, more power until 1985 when they were equal, the cool knob between door and seat that would raise and lower headlight height (early US versions had this until DOT whined loud enough), MAF fuel injection in 1980 etc.
The early single cam cars aren’t that difficult to work on. The heads can come off with engine in the car. Biggest negative is CORK oil pan gasket. And torque tube bearings. And plastic end tank radiators. And needing to stay on top of every electrical connection in the whole dang car with dialectric grease etc. These don’t store well in outside environments.
CC effect strikes twice. One at a suburban shopping centre a month ago. A second under a dusty tarp at a local panel beaters.
I don’t mind the styling. I think we should all be grateful that Porsche discovered they didn’t have to hang the engine out behind the rear axle.
Thanks dman for your kind comment re the Cayman. I was exterior designer on all variants of the 981 series Boxster and Cayman in a previous life…I love the 928 – give me an early S with Pascha interior. Incidentally, the 928 and Corvette are related in design. Lapine worked on the C2 Corvette and the profile and front fender form are strongly influenced by the Sting Ray. Even the squared off wheel openings show GM influence. Dimensionally the cars are within a couple of inches all round. Wolfgang Moebius came from Opel where he designed the GT (C3 ‘Vette’s mini me) as did Peter Reisinger who was chief modeler in the Porsche design studio. The “missing link” between C2 and the 928 is the Opel CD show car. Have a look and see what you think……Of course the 928’s transaxle layout found it’s way into the C5 and later Corvettes…….
That explains the GM XP-978GT-looking concept second from top left
Great post even if I don’t agree – the 928 is the only Porsche I really like. Had an early one (’79 non-S 5-speed with the original Teledial wheels) for a while and it’s a superb drive, even if I did start to wonder if the electrics were by Alfa Romeo…
The fully integrated body colored bumpers were hugely influential – something we take for granted now….The interior also inspired many other designs – Nissan 300ZX, for instance….
Porsches have never been attractive, they are an acquired taste. Their allure was/is their capabilities and technical sophistication. Of course most buyers are “label whores” and don’t know or care about the technical aspects. Does anyone remember why the 930 was nicknamed the “widow maker”. People with more money than brains bought them because they were the status symbol of their day and didn’t have a clue how to control them.
I do have a couple of gripes about the 928: The shitty quality of the interior materials. I was expecting Mercedes or BMW level of quality for such an expensive car. It was a total let down. The other thing was the difficulty (and expense) of tuning the engine for more hp when compared to hot rodding an SBC or SBF. But then Jaguar’s V12 (5.3 or 6.0) has similar qualities when it comes to getting more power. It is doable but it’s going to cost you muchos $.
“Porsches have never been attractive, they are an acquired taste. Their allure was/is their capabilities and technical sophistication. Of course most buyers are “label whores” and don’t know or care about the technical aspects. Does anyone remember why the 930 was nicknamed the “widow maker”. People with more money than brains bought them because they were the status symbol of their day and didn’t have a clue how to control them”.
I won’t argue taste, that’s completely subjective.
“I do have a couple of gripes about the 928: The shitty quality of the interior materials. I was expecting Mercedes or BMW level of quality for such an expensive car. It was a total let down. The other thing was the difficulty (and expense) of tuning the engine for more hp when compared to hot rodding an SBC or SBF. But then Jaguar’s V12 (5.3 or 6.0) has similar qualities when it comes to getting more power. It is doable but it’s going to cost you muchos $.”
What was your issue with the interior materials? I’ve seen that leather perfect after 150K and 20 years. Yes, the leather dash had issues, but that was because Porsche used the leather to cover vinyl dashes that didn’t meet quality spec. As to power, I think you’ve missed the lat decade. for 15K-ish, you can do this…
The leather covered dash was an option. My two 1983 928S have the standard uncovered dash. My opinion on the quality of the interior materials is based on comparison to other cars I have/had/used/was a passenger in…etc. And I will say it again the interior quality does not live up to what I expect from an expensive German car. Also look at pictures of 928 in classified ads and you’ll notice that the seats, specially the driver’s seat, no longer have that nice well defined horizontal pads.
As far as what you can do for $15k, you just confirmed my statement that it is doable but expensive. $15k is not a trifle sum to me.
Yes, leather dash was an option. But when you ticked the option, you got a dash that wouldn’t pass QC, now covered in leather.
I’ll grant it doesn’t look as good as a similar vintage/condition S-Class, but generally it’s from being outside, especially if it’s never garaged at all. The B/C pillar cover warpage and leather death is the worst. And the dash, ugh, the dash. I’ve done several Alcantara recovers, 15 years on, it still looks good on mine.
As to the seats, which seat? Off the top of my head, the 928 had at least 6 different styles of seat. I’ve found the leather wears, but the foam stays erect. YMMV..
I just wanted to show what a 928 engine could do with (frankly) minimal mods. Good luck getting that out of a SBC without changing everything. For even more money. Even on a K-Jet car, you can get 400+ at the wheels for under $5K – much less if you understand the basics of turbocharging and can find your way around eBay. ..
Enjoy your ’83s!
I also have an ’88 S4 5 speed.
I admire the 928. I find it hard to love though, but equally hard to hate.
The 928 is by far my favourite Porsche. Definitely unique and futuristic, and I think extremely good looking too. I remain disappointed that instead of replacing it (and the 944) with something similarly distinct, Porsche chose to throw most of their eggs in the 911 basket. I don’t hate the 911, but the ethos of inspired futuristic design that created the 928 has been largely absent from Porsche since then.
I’ve always adored the 928 aesthetics. Though early 911s are certainly charming with their simple silhouettes, later models just got gauche. The 928 clearly wasn’t designed with great care to mimic previous Porsches. That, to me, is what gives it greater bravado. It has a stance and timeless modernity that should feel fresh forever.
These have always been my favorite Porsche. Especially the black one at the top, with the Mustang SVO looking wheels. I too thought the Laser/Daytona looked a lot like these, at least behind the nose, and I was like 8 at the time. I had one of these as a Hot Wheels and it was one of my favorites. I especially like the rounded rear corners.
Actually owning one would be another story. I think working on it would be a headache. I’d rather have something simple and common.
The story is that the Laser/Daytona’s similar appearance to the 928 was entirely intentional. I vividly recall Iacocca saying as much when production of the car was announced. I doubt there were many suckers who actually thought they were getting a bargain-basement 928, but I suppose Chrysler was able to rope in a few. If there was any doubt, the first time a Laser/Daytona got their lunch eaten by a cheapo V8 Mustang or Camaro would remove any doubt.
And, yeah, owning a used 928 is surely the same as any used exotic in that whatever the purchase price, no matter how low the cost and how good the car might seem, it will be a very time, effort, and financially ‘intense’ experience to keep the thing fully operational.
Never a fan, the looks are just too heavy and ponderous, even worse maintenance was evidently a nightmare. A friend in the ’80s was a Porsche mechanic who had worked for Peter Gregg in the ’60s and had a very loyal Porsche-only clientele in Baltimore. He told me around the mid-late ’80s that a top-end (valves) job, not uncommon, cost about 10 Grand on these things. Definitely an automobile for the carriage trade.
The 928 certainly looked like the future for Porsche when it was introduced. I liked it, it was like all the best parts of other GTs were rolled together and raised to the tenth power. I also liked the 944 especially in Turbo form, though I could never fit comfortably inside. It was much improved over the original earlier 924s. Other more affordable GTs like the Datsun Nissan Zs were what regular guys like me, could realistically own. American muscle coupes like Mustangs, Camaros, and now Challengers, have evolved into quite exotic high powered machinery.
The desire to own a dream car motivates a few of us to buy and try to maintain and use cars like this. You are mistaken if you think that one of these will be a bargain super car. It can be done, but the financial commitment will be much higher than you imagined going in. You really have to love the car to make and keep the financial commitment. It’s (the commitment) something that you will have to maintain over the long run.
It’s much easier to throw in the towel, and pick up a nice used Corvette or other late model muscle car.
I tried with my Jags, and I ran out of steam, or Gumption, as Pirsig would describe it.
I admire anyone that can be successful at this.
Perhaps this Nardone Automotive 928 restomod is better suited to your liking?
While not a V8 fan, I did always like 928s. But what I most dislike about it, and 944s, is in the early part of this century they were cheap, available, not all beaters, and I didn’t buy one. The price now? Ha Ha Ha…