HomePick of the DayPick of the Day: 1980 Porsche 928, solid, fast and refined performance...

Pick of the Day: 1980 Porsche 928, solid, fast and refined performance GT

Though shunned for not being a 911, the V8 coupe has proven quite capable

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Porsche in the early 1970s had what they thought was a great idea.  With the trend of people’s tastes moving more towards luxury, why not replace the 911 with an all-new model?

Move away from the pure sports car experience, replace Porsche’s aging boxer-6 engine with an advanced water-cooled V8 at the front and balance the car with a rear-mounted transaxle. Make that car the best GT car in the world, offering performance and luxury on equal levels.

Finally, announce to the world that this car was the replacement for the iconic 911. What could go wrong?

That car was the Porsche 928.

The Pick of the Day is one of those cars, a stunning 1980 Porsche 928 finished in the rare color of Petrol Blue.

History has proven that even great companies have bad ideas, and as history has shown, the 911 is still here and the 928 is long gone. I reckon if Porsche had done everything except for announcing it as the replacement for the 911, we might still see a modern 928 at dealers today.

The 928 was a fantastic car. I first drove a 928 in 1982 while returning it to the owner from the Porsche shop where I worked. I was 16 years old and was simply blown away with the driving experience.

The car was so solid and handled so as to be otherworldly. I had at this point driven a number of Porsches of all types, and the 928 was just so much more car to me.

The solid feel of these cars is legend, virtually unbeatable during that era. The interior was simply stunning, offering lots of leather, extremely comfortable seats and an ingenious instrument binnacle that adjusted with the steering wheel. It was quite simply the best interior of any sporting car built during the time.

The Porsche 928 was not just a well-constructed and futuristic car, either; it has performance chops as well. When new, the 928 was often compared to the likes of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. 

porsche

Though large and heavy, the 928 is capable of 0-60 times as low as 6.5 seconds and had a top speed of 143 mph. If that seems slow, compare it to a 1980 Ferrari 308, which in US spec took more than 7 seconds to get to 60 and had a top speed of 140 mph.

The 4.5-liter SOHC aluminum V8 engine in the 928 is also a work of art. With the Porsche badge proudly displayed on the intake and P-o-r-s-c-h-e spelled out on the beautifully cast-aluminum cam covers, it’s as nice to look at as it performs.

The only issue with the 928 was that it was not a 911, and people showed their displeasure of this planned replacement by continuing to buy 911s and shunning the 928s.

porsche

According to the Delray beach, Florida, dealer advertising the Porsche on ClassicCars.com, this 928 is one of only 3,800 made in 1980. It is stated to be a one-owner car with 82,430 original miles from new. It is also a 5-speed manual gearbox car, which is a definite plus as a collector 928. It still has all 3 original keys, all original handbooks and its factory tool kit. 

The seller calls this Porsche 928 “very clean inside and out and has always been garage kept from new.” The car is described as a true time capsule. 

porsche

For years, the values of 928s were around $10,000, but in the past few years, these cars have increased substantially in value along with other Porsches, with the best low-mileage all-original examples of the earliest cars routinely changing hands for upwards of $40,000.

This 928 is priced at a very fair $22,500, and is a lot of ’80s Porsche GT for the money. If Porsche does not mean exclusively rear-engine power to you, and you would like your classic Porsche to be a bit more civilized, a 928 could be just the thing.

To view this vehicle on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day

Andy Reid
Andy Reid
Andy Reid's first car, purchased at age 15, was a 1968 Fiat 124 coupe. His second, obtained by spending his college savings fund, was a 1966 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2. Since then, he has owned more than 150 cars—none of them normal or reasonable—as well as numerous classic motorcycles and scooters. A veteran of film, television, advertising and helping to launch a few Internet-based companies, Reid was a columnist for Classic Motorsports magazine for 12 years and has written for several other publications. He is considered an expert in European sports and luxury cars and is a respected concours judge. He lives in Canton, Connecticut.

10 COMMENTS

  1. I can never see one of those cars without thinking of the movie “Risky Business”, when it ends up in the shop filled with water and the mechanic says “OK, who’s the U-boat commander?”
    Loved that line. Still do.

    • Automatic transmission only. Doesn’t count. A sports car doesn;t have an automatic (or an “automated manual”) and a true driving enthusiast has a car with a chutch pedal.

      Paddle shifters?!? Just a way for lazy posers to think they’re actually driving. They’re just steering.

  2. Agree with JimP- a sports car has to have a manual tranny. You need to feel like your in control of the power train not just put it into drive & go. No fun in that!

  3. Did everyone miss that this is a 5 speed manual car? Also hard for any sedan to be a sports car, a sports sedan yes but not a sports or GT car.

  4. Very cool cars to drive but I used to call them throw-away vehicles, because they were so inexpensive to replace back then. If something goes wrong…especially something major, break out your check book. I actually bought one just like this for $4800 in the late 90’s. After a few costly repairs including a new steering rack, I figured it was time to take my chips off the table and move onto another much more reliable yet still striking 944S2 Cabriolet. Never regretted owning this car as it was truly a Porsche marvel, but it will very likely become a financial drain. Other than the maintenance costs, and a $20k+ price tag (vs what used ones used to cost), what could possibly be wrong with an 8-banger Porsche?!!

  5. Just went to see it, don’t bother, unloved would be a compliment, it’s collecting dust in the back, asked if I could sit in the 928, dealer said something like, “you mean the Pontiac?”

    • If only Porsche would not have announced it was replacing the 911. The 928 was substantial in so many ways. Its not cheap to maintain but neither is a 911.

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