1985 Porsche 928S Coupe

Description

The Porsche 928, which made its debut in 1977, was the maker’s planned successor to the 911, due to a conviction – amazingly premature! – that the 911 was nearing the end of its development potential. Porsche utilised a transaxle  to help achieve 50/50 front/rear weight distribution, aiding the car's balance. Although it weighed more than the difficult-to-handle 911, its more neutral weight balance and higher power output gave it similar performance on the track. The 928 was regarded as the more relaxing car to drive at the time. It came with either a five-speed dog-leg manual transmission, or a Mercedes-Benz-derived automatic transmission, originally with three speeds, with four-speed from 1983 in North America and 1984 in other markets. More than 80% of the cars had the automatic transmission. The body was mainly galvanised steel, but the doors, front wing, front fenders, and hood were aluminium to save weight. The substantial luggage area was accessed via a large hatchback. Newly developed polyurethane elastic bumpers were integrated into the nose and tail and covered in body-coloured plastic, an unusual feature for the time that aided the car visually and reduced its drag. Another unusual feature was the pop-up headlamps which were based on the units found on the Lamborghini Miura and were integrated into the front wings. Porsche’s design and development efforts paid off when the 928 was chosen as 1978 European Car of the Year. Not only was the 928 much dearer than the 911, but many Porsche enthusiasts had already formed the opinion that the marque was synonymous with rear engines and that distinctive 911 shape. And thus is was until comparatively recently that this magnificent front-engined V8 grand tourer was largely neglected by Porsche purists. But objectively, from day one the 928 was always among the world’s ultimate machines, a unique and superb blend of grand tourer and outright sports car.