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5-Speed and Pasha: 1979 Porsche 928

Among Porsche’s class of front-engine vehicles, the 928 is widely regarded as the ultimate highway cruiser. Oftentimes you’ll see it saddled with an automatic, that did – admittedly – do a fine job of hustling it down the road. However, the ultimate spec demands three pedals, and even better is if such an example hails from the glory days of gray market importing. This 1979 928 is a true Euro-spec model with less restrictive emissions equipment and the desirable Pasha pattern interior. Find it here on eBay with a $15,000 Buy-It-Now and the option to submit a best offer. 

I don’t know why people like myself love the Pasha print so much, other than it is completely appropriate for the era in which the 928 was made. Disappointingly, it doesn’t always hold up well in unloved examples so I’m psyched to see this car with a clean set of sport seats. The row-it-yourself option is a matter of personal preference in a grand tourer such as this, but combined with the added performance of a European model, it’s the way I’d spec my ideal 928. The seller is short on details, just noting that it’s been stored in a climate-controlled environment and not registered since 2005.

This is one of the more unusual attempts yet to hide the license plate. At first, I thought the print showed the 928 in a famous movie scene, or being spun around a carousel in some seedy Las Vegas casino as that month’s grand prize for the biggest spender. However, it appears to be a stand-in for the more typical index finder or rag we see used as a means of blurring out the plate. The 928 shows tidy-looking bodywork from corner to corner but it’s impossible to tell from here if there’s any evidence of paint work or accident damage. The side markers seen in the top photo indicate both its Euro-market heritage and some level of DOT modification attempts.

The phone dial alloys are the ones I’d choose for an early 928; the turbo twists only look good on the final-fling GTS models, in my opinion. This one will hopefully still have its H4 lighting installed and potentially an original odometer, but it all depends on how far the federalization efforts went. If the emissions systems were left untouched and the heavy safety reinforcements not installed, this 1979 928 is perhaps the ultimate expression of an early year example. It would be nice to know if it even still runs to determine if the asking price is reasonable, but if it does, $15K or a little under doesn’t seem like a bad deal to me.

Comments

  1. Avatar Brian Smith

    Terrible ebay description. I have the identical car as a ’78 that I bought as a barn find… had been sitting for 25 years but was low miles and good condition. If this car runs and drives, price is pretty good. Early 5 speed with pascha are super desirable. You can blow cash in a hurry getting these running again (ask me how I know).

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  2. Avatar Crazyhawk

    Love these cars. Will always remember Tom Cruise in Risky Business sitting in the Porsche service dept. waiting to get his dad’s 928 back after dumping it in the lake, and the service manager saying “ok, who’s the U-boat commander?”.

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  3. Avatar BarnfindyCollins

    This would be the model I would want also, clean lines without spoilers, comfortable cloth seats, and European spec trim. I’ve seen another Tony Lapine designed cloth material that didn’t make it into regular production, seems like it was maybe brown, orange and black stripes that said Porsche. Someone had gotten the material and used it on a Porsche project. Always like a 928; thanks for featuring this.

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  4. Avatar glen

    Move the lousy tarp already! So hard to not swear. We’ve seen rotten piles of metal that had higher buy-it-now prices.

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  5. Avatar Tony Goodner II

    Beautiful automobile

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  6. Avatar Mike

    Can’t pull the cover off the car and a one sentence description. He probably had to lay down and catch his breath after posting it to E-Bay. Lot of work selling a car these days.

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  7. Avatar DrinkinGasoline

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder….I’m not so Beholden…

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  8. Avatar Max

    I was Never fan of classic Porsche’s even one of my daily drivers is a 09 Cayenne GTS but the 928 model is probably only classic Porsche I like. it says in Ad has 90K miles but one photos of odometer shows 147K!! its Not bad looking but I seen better examples

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  9. Avatar Blueprint

    147,000 km = 90,000 miles or just about

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    • Avatar Dolphin Member

      Blueprint, good eye. When dealing with Euro versions, they will be in kms.

      The 928 is one car I have never driven. I need to try to correct that if I can, preferably with a Euro market car like this with 5-speed.

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  10. Avatar DanH

    As a kid,I never had the Alpine Audio poster with the Lamborghini Countach but instead had a 928 poster because it just looked so different than any other car (then again, so did the Lambo, now that I think about it!)IMHO,It was way ahead of its time.

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  11. Avatar Franimal007

    I had one good one out of 5 that I had. Never again. No thank you.

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  12. Avatar John

    Good ones were very very good. The others weren’t. The most complex buggers I ever ran into.

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  13. Avatar George Soffa

    I always heard the 1978-79 varieties had lots of electrical problems as well as engine quirks that never were resolved ! I’ve been looking for a mid80s S but the right one has eluded me!

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  14. Avatar J M

    So I guess the car cover is glued to the roof so it isn’t misplaced?

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  15. Avatar Red Horowitz

    Have an ‘89 928s4, since 1995. With an auto since 3/4 of 928s imported had them. A bullet-proof MB transmission. 73k miles now. A great super car if which I never tire. Fast, beautiful and now a rare sight.

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  16. Avatar Joe Howell

    Never really fan of the 928 although the last GT models with slight rear end changes and spoiler look pretty good. Those Pasha seats make me feel ill but some love them. I have two 944 Porsches, a show only 84 with 25xxx miles and an 89 S2 with the DOHC 3 litre engine for track and thrills. The 4 cylinders in these cars are basically half of a 928 V8, both the SOHC and DOHC models. The 928 engine is really stuffed in there with even more crap in the way. Nice cars though for high speed cruising with a sporting flare, just not my cup of tea mechanically and still too much moon car looks for me. As mentioned any Porsche can put you underwater fast………..

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  17. Avatar paul

    I had a 928 S4 auto, great car to drive but being a P, parts were expensive. Bought the car in California and brought it back to Germany – on the autobahn the car just goes and goes – acclerating right up to redline. Sold the car eventually – afraid something in the engine might go wrong, I wouldnt be able to fix and be completely upside down on the project. Call me a coward ! Still hanker after a manual

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  18. Avatar JP MILLER

    I HAVE A LATE 1986S WITH THE HIGHER RATED S4 MOTOR AND 5-SPEED! IT NEEDS A LITTLE TLC, BUT ITS AVAILABLE. I love the way it drives and it sounds…scary fast!

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  19. Avatar Tyler

    I remember the first time I saw a 928 was in the movie Middle safe Crazy with Bruce Dern & Ann Margaret in 1980.

    http://youtu.be/O31_FeQVk4s

    Like 0

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