Pick of the Day: 1995 Porsche 928 GTS with low mileage, high performance

When the Porsche 928 first hit the US market in 1978, it was immediately dubbed the German Corvette for its V8 power, popup headlights and streamlined appearance.  That was certainly not Porsche’s intent, however, as the lush grand touring car was planned as the replacement for the air-cooled 911 sports car. 

The feeling in Stuttgart at the time was that the 911’s days were numbered, as US emissions and safety regulations would make it too difficult to produce and market their rear-engine mainstay, no matter how iconic it had become. 

In 20/20 hindsight, the Germans were way off.  The Porsche 911 not only lives on more than four decades later in essentially its original configuration, albeit way more advanced and with liquid cooling, but has become one of the hottest brands of collector car. 

The Pick of the Day is a 1995 Porsche 928 GTS coupe from the final year of the front-engine luxury craft, when sales were faltering even though the car was by then notably more powerful and refined. 

This Porsche looks to be in sparkling all-original condition having been driven just 40,654 miles, according to the St. Louis, Missouri, advertising the car on ClassicCars.com.

“The magnificent 1995 Porsche 928 GTS featured here is finished in highly desirable Polar Silver Metallic over a classic gray leather,” the seller says. “This last-year-production, highly optioned 928 GTS is one among the nicest examples you will find on the market today.

“Meticulously maintained from new and stored in a climate-controlled facility, this 1995 Porsche 928 GTS can virtually not be told from new.”

This Porsche 928 is one of just 77 exported to the US in 1995, and one of just 47 fitted with automatic transmissions, which is not ideal but acceptable in such a powerful highway cruiser.

“The 928 was a revolutionary, modern 2+2 coupe with voluptuous styling, breathtaking acceleration, and supple long-distance cruising abilities,” the seller notes. “A simple rear-wheel-steering system dubbed the Weissach Axle improved mid-corner stability, and its successor can be seen in today’s touring Porsche, the Panamera.

“Inside, the 928’s shape was futuristic but logically arrayed, splitting the line between touring car and supercar.”

The final run of 928s were endowed with added horsepower and a large dose of luxury features, of which this Porsche is fully equipped, the seller says.

“As the 1990s began, Porsche kept the 928 relevant with its final special model, the limited-run 928 GTS,” the ad says. “It featured a far-more-powerful version of the V8, a 345-hp evolution that now displaced 5.4 liters.”

These Porsche’s were quite fast in this final iteration, even though they had been faulted for being overweight compared with the lithe 911s.  But as a luxurious GT capable of gobbling up many miles of fast long-distance travel, the 928 GTS is hard to beat, even by today’s standards.

The asking price for this apparently pristine example is $89,900, well within value-guide estimates.

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