linderpat

this time from Petrolicious: https://petrolicious.com/articles/th...eid=18ec3d1e3b

GT6ixer

Nice. Thanks for the share Ed.

So what I still can't get my head around is the constant narrative that the 928 was the planned successor to the 911. I have yet to read anything from actual Porsche insiders at the time that corroborate this legend. People always point to the famous Peter Schutz meeting where he extended the line of the 911 from its planned end date of 1981 "across the page, onto the wall, and out the door." And I don't dispute this since he has been quoted in may articles saying he did this. However Schutz didn't get hired until 1980 and the design for the 928 started almost 10 years before. So where is the evidence that in the early '70s Porsche intended to phase out the 911 and phase in the 928 as it's replacement? I dunno. My feeling is that Porsche knew what they had in the 911 and where afraid they had all their eggs in one basket. They needed to diversify, but I suspect they always held out hope that the 911 would survive. I don't know this, but I have to imagine that they where working hard in the '70's to make the 911 safer and more emission friendly. Was a 911 in 1980 considerably safer and less polluting than it's equivalent in 1970? I just find it hard to believe that Porsche could have thought they could offer a heavier, more expensive grand tourer to their existing market base of 911 faithful and expect them to adopt it. I'm not buying it. I think the 928, and the 924 for that matter, where initially devised more as a means to diversify their portfolio than it was to replace their cash cow. Sure things may have shifted by 1980 that made them think at that point they could phase out the 911. I mean the 928 was getting universal praise in its first couple years, so maybe they got overly excited about its potential broader appeal. Regardless, I would still someday like to know the definitive answer to THE question; was the 928 designed to replace the 911?

hwyrnr

I’m not sure if this is accurate. But my understanding is that porsche had a large market in the US, and when Ralph Nader wrote a book Unsafe at any speed. Which from what I understand had mentioned how unsafe the rear engine Chevy Corvair was. never read the book. I think Porsche decide to come up with a vehicle that could be sold to the US market if the rear engine Porsche’s were banned in the US. My assumption is Porsche wasn’t necessarily wanting to get rid of and replace the 911. But was preparing for it if the US banned rear engine cars, and possibly other countries to follow suit. And also since Porsche was making the 928 the flag ship, and the 924 the more economical Porsche wanted to be prepared if those cars took off and the 911 sales dropped.

This is just my understanding and opinion.

linderpat

Nate, the definitive materials that I have read, including Brian Long's book on the 928, well researched articles over the years in Porsche specific magazines (early and later Panoramas, Excellence, and more recently 000) as well as other industry publications, all indicated that the 911 was going to be phased out entirely and replaced by the 928. Design stared in 1971, as you mentioned. It was shelved for a few years, and then revived and introduced in 1977. This is why the 924 came out first, even though the design of that model did not actually start until AFTER the design of the 928 started. Anyway, once the 928 went forward, the 911 was earmarked for full phase out. It was only with the arrival of Schulz that the 911 was saved.

linderpat

Here's a fairly current article from R&T: http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...-911-obituary/

GT6ixer

Thanks Ed, and I have read some of those articles, but nowhere near to even half of what has probably been written about this specific topic. Yet I haven't come across anything that points to Porsche wanting to phase out the 911 in the early to mid 70's. I don't remember reading that in the excellent 000 magazine article or in Project 928. I'd be very interested in knowing more about Porsche's thinking on during the early stages of the 928 design if you can point to anything. How deep does Brian Long's book get into this subject?

928 GT R

Great topic: Lots of food for thought and reflection:

I'll add that the 911 continued to evolve quickly (and, be heavily invested in) during this time, so they certainly were not sunsetting the 911...

Majestic Moose

There is a video of this car with driver Mr. Attwood on youtube.