2024-01-05 19:30:00
In the heart of the ’70s, at Porsche, the situation could not be clearer: everything revolves around the 911! A trend certainly highlighting the fabulous image of the model, but commercially, certain thinking heads of the brand wanted to move on to something else. And while the legendary 911 pursued a career designed to last a very long time, to the point of seeming eternal, behind the scenes, people were busy… In the wake of a Porsche 924 with more modest performance, the 928 project experienced a long gestation.
In fact, it took almost 10 years for Porsche to realize its ambitions for a powerful front-engine car! At the 1977 Geneva Motor Show, the 928 was officially presented. And from the first glance, it was clear that this 928 constituted a radical break with the sacrosanct 911! The proof by an innovative, even avant-garde line, likely to leave no one indifferent, coupled with a 4.5 liter V8 engine displaying 240 horsepower, and very rich standard equipment, including power steering. , centralized door locking, air conditioning, etc., etc.
The design of the 928, outside the standards of the time, we owe it to a former member of… General Motors, Anatole Lapine! Supporter of large glass surfaces, but also of lying headlights, Lamborghini Miura style! As is often the case in such cases, the result is very attractive… but also very different once these headlights come out of their hiding place! Some like it, others less. Either.
And the first impressions are good, from the moment when, barely released, the Porsche 928 is crowned Car of the Year 1978! And such a title awarded to a sporty car remains exceptional. With its ideal weight distribution between the two axles, its 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic gearbox, its integrated… and deformable bumpers, its revolutionary rear axle aimed at combating oversteer, it is true that the 928 was full of ‘assets!
Especially since Porsche had a lot of ideas, presenting in 1979 a 928 S whose power was pushed to 300 horsepower. The beginning of an impressive series of evolutions, from the moment the 928 was produced for almost 18 years, through S2, S3, S4, GT and GTS versions, to arrive at the presence in its bowels with a 5.7 liter engine given for 350 horsepower. In all cases, the block remained a V8 resisting a clientele swearing only by the legendary Flat 6 of the 911.
Driving the 928 is unsurprising. And frankly creamy. Here we are dealing with an 8-cylinder which does not seek to make the powder speak, but rather to allow its owner to rack up the kilometers in the best conditions. The explanation for a certain lack of character on the mechanical side can be found in the gestation period of the model, in the midst of the oil crisis. Unbridled power and engines ingesting large quantities of fuel were not in keeping with the times. Even though this car weighing more than 1500 kilos consumed on average, and in normal use, a good fifteen liters per 100! It is true that the machine could cruise at up to 270 km/h!
In fact, the Porsche 928 had no shortage of strong points to convince and seduce. Its only fault was undoubtedly that it belonged to what some call the PMA, the front-engined Porsches! Just like the 924, 944 and 968. Models that are sometimes shunned, often ignored, even neglected by fans of the brand who swear only by the 911! Result: Like its sisters, the 928 has sometimes weathered time poorly, a trend that this example in no way confirms.
It was in 1995 that Porsche definitively ceased production of the 928, the latest models of which were assembled by hand. In total, nearly 61,000 units were released on the roads. And we had to wait for the arrival of the Panamera to see Porsche reconnect in a certain way with the philosophy that had prevailed when imagining the 928, that of a Grand Touring car with a family orientation. (Vincent Franssen)
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