Famous Jet-Powered Porsche 928 Surfaces for Sale

By Brett Foote - May 8, 2024

This isn’t the first jet-powered Porsche 928 we’ve seen, but now, this one is up for grabs as one of the more intriguing builds out there.

While jet-powered cars are nothing terrible new, those types of creations are usually reserved for places like the drag strip or land speed racing events, where they generally show off in a closed setting. However, way back in 2008, a very interesting jet-powered Porsche 928 surfaced in the Rennlist forums – shrouded in mystery – not to mention tons of intrigue. Now, what very well may be the same Porsche 928 has surfaced for sale over at Duncan Imports and Classics, though if it is indeed the same car, it has clearly undergone some changes over the years.

This particular Porsche 928 (re)surfaced on the web last summer, raising plenty of eyebrows mainly due to the fact that it’s powered by the same type of Boeing T50 Turboshaft engine that is usually found in the Gyrodyne QH-50C DASH helicopter drone. From the outside, the only clues as to what’s going on under the hood come in the form of a pair of pipes sticking through, coupled with what is truly the most unique sound to ever come from a Porsche of any kind.

That sound, of course, is akin to a helicopter or jet plane, a high-pitched wail that’s certain to garner plenty of attention anywhere this incredible build might travel. The car runs and drives, amazingly enough, and even has working air conditioning. However, this powerplant also makes its peak power north of 28,000 rpm, which is also why it utilizes a reduction gearbox that results in a real-world 300 horsepower at a far more reasonable 5,950 rpm.

Problem is, there are plenty of other issues that explain why we don’t see more cars utilizing this kind of powerplant – namely massive lag, as the turboshaft engine relies on a fuel dump when the accelerator is pressed to make power, which requires lots of air as well. That process is controlled on purpose to prevent too much fuel from being added too quickly and leading to a rather big boom, so pressing the pedal results in a bit of a wait before the power comes on.

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Then there’s the fact that this powerplant makes a ton of noise – a reported 130 decibels – and it runs incredibly hot as well, making it less than ideal for automotive applications. However, for an asking price of $50,000 in this case, it’s also safe to say that it’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to find a car that turns more heads than this one at anywhere near that kind of money – and that alone makes it pretty darn cool in our book.