In the 1970s, while Giorgetto Giugiaro and Marcello Gandini were outdoing each other with every new wedge-y sports car that spun off their pens, Porsche was contemplating a potential grand touring car. Sales of the 911 had dipped and regulations were evolving; Porsche wanted to skate to where the puck would be, prospectively responding to safety strictures and providing another option for customers in case the 911 was truly losing favor. The 928 was conceived as a conventional front-engine design offering rear seating and relatively generous luggage capacity. In-house designers Wolfgang Möbius and Anatole Lapine eschewed the sharp-edged styling so prevalent at the time, opting for a rounded – some would say corpulent – look. The front end contained a hint of the popular wedge idiom, but aft-ward, the car resembled an upscale Pacer. Gestation was long: it took from 1971 to 1977 for the car to enter production – with an enforced hiatus due to the gas crisis of 1973. By the time of its launch, the 928 was entering a crowded market, and the 911 had proved its staying power; consequently, sales never reached the desired 8000 units per year. About 61,000 were made through the end of production in 1995; fewer than 15,000 were sold in the all-important US market. If you have a flair for the unusual and the wherewithal to cover potentially expensive maintenance, consider this 928 on craigslist, with an asking price of $10,995. The car is located in Tacoma, Washington, and the seller will consider trades – of the American muscle variety. We owe Scott thanks for the tip!
The engine was Porsche’s first V8, at first displacing 4.5 liters but later enlarged for specialty variants. Prototypes ran on a carburetor, but production cars were equipped with Bosch fuel injection. This engine produces about 240 hp. The gearbox was placed in the rear to achieve a 50/50 weight distribution; this car is running with an automatic, a popular option given the car’s GT aspirations. A Weissach axle kept the handling in line and in 1982, Porsche installed a vibration damper on the torque tube, taming the drivetrain’s harshness. This nearly pristine engine bay radiates good care; the underside is similarly impressive. The car is said to run very well, despite – or perhaps because of – the 104,000 miles it has traveled since new.
No question about it, Porsche designed the 928 for the luxury buyer. Leather seating, a gauge cluster that moves up and down with the steering wheel to maintain optimal visibility, and even rear visors to protect back seat occupants from the sun glaring through that big glass hatch… Other than creases in the leather upholstery, this interior is beyond reproach.
To save weight, the 928 utilized mostly-aluminum body panels. Many collectors prefer the clean look of the car before it was festooned with spoilers (“S” variants received spoilers starting in 1980). This example makes a good impression, with shiny paint, spiffy wheels, clear lenses, that good lookin’ engine bay and decent interior. Spending so little up front on what amounts to a slightly exotic, powerful GT is tempting. Do you think this 928 is worth the asking price?
Love these things. A manual, and chrome free wheels would be even better but Id love to have this one!
Yes, this was a manual and not on the west coast, it might already be in my garage! Really clean example that is hard to find.
These look much better in person. Nice ride, it is worth the asking price, only because it has the automatic. Good luck and thanks for keeping this 928 in great shape.
Agree on dumping the chrome wheels. If you can live with the possible maintenance bills it’s a lot of GT car for the money.
What is the asking price?
Ad says $10,995.
This one looks like it was loved and is well worth the asking price. Taking care of deferred maintenance on these is expensive but once sorted these early models are very reliable. Many years of fun driving left in her.
Always like the basic 928 but it does benefit from the spoilers. Porsche didn’t put them on for looks. At one of my previous employers, we put one in the tunnel for “competitive analysis” and determined that a rear spoiler would help the CD substantially. That was in 1978-1979. Same thing with the original 924. And sure enough, the later versions of both cars grew spoilers. Porsche was not a company to hang an aero add on’s to a car for boy racer looks. I have to say that the 928 does not look like a 47 year old design. Still looks good today. But I would dump the chrome phone dials for the painted versions that came with the car.