In the 1970s, some bright spark at Porsche saw the 911 as a car that was on its way out. The idea for the replacement was a world-class, front-engine, water-cooled, V8-powered GT car.
The car was named 928 and it was Porsche’s most forward-thinking and futuristic car of the time. But Porsche purists fought back, and the 928 failed to replace the 911s in their garages.
History proved that Porsche was dead wrong with the idea of replacing the rear-engine 911 with a high-tech GT car. The 928 went out of production in 1995, and the 911 in various forms, continues on as the company’s top-of-the-line model.
Because of this whole debacle, 928s languished for years as modestly priced used cars that depreciated to the point of costing little more than entry-level 914s.
People have pretty much forgotten about the whole replacement-for-the-911 deal and now look at the 928 for what it is, a top-tier GT, the equal of cars from such brands as Ferrari and Aston Martin. As a result, prices during the past four years have climbed sharply.
The Pick of the Day is from the best era for these cars, as they still have their original styling with the upgraded S engine: a 1983 Porsche 928S.
The 928S was special ordered in Germany to U.S. specs for a Porsche employee, then sold and transported to Washington, D.C., according to the New Britain, Pennsylvania, dealer advertising the Porsche on ClassicCars.com.
The paint color is Rausch Quartz metallic and the interior features hand-stitched Natural-Brown leather. Options include a locking differential; color-coded side moldings; comfort-width seat with power adjustment; Getrag G28/08 5-speed transmission; U.S. instruments, signals and switches; upgraded audio system; and an electric sliding sunroof.
The 928S is a completely original, numbers-matching car with 56,000 original miles and includes detailed service records from 1983 to date, the seller says.
The car has new tires, steering rack, battery, belts, fluid flush and a transmission rebuild and tune, and it includes a complete and original tool kit, all manuals, spare tire, jack and touchup paint.
The 928S coupes are extraordinary cars to drive and feel as if they were designed yesterday rather than 40 years ago. These cars are equal to the Astons and Ferraris of the day and are still strong performers, offering great power, astounding handling and a luxurious environment.
The build quality is amazing and the cars feel as if they were each constructed from a single piece of billet steel. Porsche set out to build the best GT car of the time and succeeded with the 928.
The 928 and 928S are quickly becoming serious collector cars, and this car with an asking price of $29,900 looks to be an investment-grade example at a fair price.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
As a young man living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the early ’80’s, I drove a highly modified Chevrolet Blazer, a work truck. I knew many owners of exotics and semi exotics; my personal car was a Pontiac Firebird Formula, modified 400cid motor and a GM 4spd.
I saw many 928’s in the years I lived there; 924s, 944s, and 928s were popular because as water cooled cars, they gave ample warning before detonation, unlike the 911s and Ferraris (except the 400i series), which were always painted white. You won’t find a harsher testing ground than the Kingdom, and as many 308s/328s and 911s I saw sidelined, never did I see a 928 on the side of the King’s roads.
A classic, both by engineering pedigree and design. And wound up tight, in the 140-150mph range, traveling the King’s highway between Riyadh and Jeddah, a 928 makes a most wonderful sound when passing a Firebird.
A time tested, true classic, from people who understand engineering.
Buy it for me, because I remember.
-R
I owned one in 1993. The synchros in the manual trans. had a life expectancy of about 20,000 miles. Other than that it was a good car. A 911S owner once asked me why I would want a 928S. I told him I had it because I like to go fast! He nodded his head. End of conversation!