PK68

“…One car above all expressed the new optimism, the Porsche 928. Its makers were wonderfully brave about it, not only because it denied so many of their own long-standing traditions (though these will never be extinguished until the 911 is extinct) but also because it was totally new from stem to stern. That was brave enough, but the real courage of Porsche showed in the revelation of the 928 as not only an expensive car but also a big-engined one and, most of all, a fast one. Technically the car was full of interest and merit; stylistically it was again brave, inviting a return to curves in place of the rectilinear boxes that had served as car bodywork since the mid-1960s. The whole thing was a magnificent tribute to man’s conviction that he should press on undaunted, leaving the moralists to pass judgement on his performance when they were good and ready!..” (excerpt from “Drive On! A social history of the motorcar”, Granta Books 2003).

The late LJKS was an ardent fan of the 928, claiming that from 1978 up to 1984 (and the introduction of the S2 version, of which I am a proud owner…) it was the best car in the world. He was particularly fond of the clever suspension and the avant garde interior.

This braveness cited by Setright is something often neglected when trying to “understand” the 928. Porsche was a very small company back in the early 70s (15000 cars annually?) when the concept was finalised and the 928 constituted a huge leap of faith for a company largely depending on various sporting interpretations of the basic VW concept (the 356 and to a lesser extent the 911 were just that, their high “excitement” levels and innumerable Uber sporting editions notwithstanding). It could quite easily have gone wrong and dragged the company into oblivion. As a matter of fact it almost did.Yet on they pursued with a concept on which they had little prior knowledge, opting for novel engineering solutions and an aesthetic approach which went against the then prevailing ideas. Half a century later this brave and novel approach should be a reason for pride ( it is for me at least) as well as for smiling condescendingly whenever I hear comments about “not being a real Porsche” from 911 owners.

drooman

Mozambique

A man of taste it seems.
New to Porsches and the 928.
Tell me, do 911 owners still comment that the 928 is not a real Porsche?

Red Flash

Probably they do. But I doubt of most of us care here.

I'll qualify that by saying that I actually really like the 911s from the 80s and the 944s too. But I only happen to own 2 928s.

8cyl

From what I see, not so much 911 owners anymore but sometimes random car people who don't know any better. They parrot what they hear on YouTube, where believe it or not there are still videos being uploaded spreading hearsay and straight through false information on the 928. Content creators just read a Wikipedia page and call it a day, regurgitating the usual. There is really only one 928 narrative that is repeated ad nauseum.

For those of us who know the full story and actually own these cars, it doesn't really matter. I've read a lot of historical reviews on our cars. Minus a really sketchy one written by I have no doubt a paid Ferrari shill, they are overwhelmingly positive. There is even one where the S is regarded as superior to the 930 3.3, which is praise indeed.

Calling the 928 'not a real Porsche' makes as little sense as calling the mid-engined V8 Ferrari models 'not a real Ferrari'.

It is also worth mentioning that the reception to the 928 can vary greatly and depends on who you ask. There are those who have owned good examples, bad examples and then people who haven't even driven one in either camp. Some Porsche people also don't care for a car without rich competition pedigree. Try telling them their left hand side 'Le Mans' starter in their 911 isn't actually what they think it is and they may throw a tantrum in denial.

For me personally, I only care for front-engined V8 and V12 cars so therefore I wouldn't call myself a Porsche guy exactly. I'm a 928 guy.

StratfordShark

I was a great LJKS fan when he was writing every month in Car magazine in the 70s/80s. He had exquisite taste.

Never read this extract so thank you for posting.

gazfish

Same here, he was big into the suspension and tire technology. He had a Honda for a long time that he seemed to be continually tweaking.

bubba928

I really enjoyed his articles in Car magazine and it's amazing the small number of cars Porsche produced then compared to now.

Re 911 owners and the 928. I'm speaking only for myself but I've been to numerous other PCA region social events and the same track events with my 928GT and there's more of a curiosity about it than a dislike, or should I say ignorance about the car.. Many people are anxious to hear more about the vehicle, its history, and, more importantly, its engineering milestones. When given a ride, and very rarely do I give one the opportunity to drive my car, but when I do, they are struck by its build quality, its ability to move and handle, in spite of the somewhat heavy power steering. By the way I own a 911 too and I enjoy both cars, although they very different!

928s Rock.

PK68

I don’t know about today but back in the seventies the European Car Of The Year (COTY) award was a prestigious and much coveted distinction. The most distinguished motoring journalists voted and car companies’ marketing departments went to great lengths to exploit a potential success. COTY awards invariably went to mainstream products by the the established car makers, since it was felt that the award should be given to a car product mattering to the average consumer. The fact that the 928 was named car of the year in 1978 speaks volumes about the impression it made to the motoring press of the day,
As for Setright, I believe that the 928 was the only Porsche he really cared about, he being particularly critical of the 911 and its “indiosyncracies”. He also was, as is well known, a great fan of all things Citroen, Honda and… Bristol, as well as of auto boxes. His book from which I have cited the excerpt on the 928 is a really a must read.

Gary Knox

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Moazambique,

I had a business relationship for a few years in the mid/late 80's with a pretty well known Porsche guy at Weissach who owned and drove a 911SC - named Hans Mezger (widely considered one of the two best engine designers of the 20th century). At lunch one day I asked Hans what 'used' Porsche I should buy. Pretty long discussion by Hans and an engineering associate, but the summary was: "Buy a 928 or a 911SC - they are the two best cars we've made to date". I've owned seven 928's since that conversation. Similar to @bubba928, I tracked S4's for about 15 years, including 2 automatics. Similar vintage 911 drivers were frequently quite surprised that an 'old man' driving a 928 could pass them on the track (even with the automatic!). The car was far more capable on the track than I was!

Gary

bubba928

Yes Gary, we had some great times at the track and it was nice seeing two black 928s there and people who came by were amazed to see them there. And so true when we were on the track and coming up on a slower car, one always had to work harder to get a passing signal from the car ahead. They just didn't like being passed by a 928. When we did get the signal, we'd roar by with smiles on our face and move ahead with deliberate speed!

PK68

Well you really make me wonder on the nature of the business relationship with Hans Mezger since I understand that he was still a Porsche man in the mid late eighties and quite active in the TAG project with McLaren back then! Although I have no experience on the 911 myself, I always felt that the SC was the ultimate expression of he model in its original, “pure” form (better than the 3.2 Carrera).

SwayBar

The 928 didn't fail because of the 911 crowd saying 'it's not a real Porsche'.

I currently own 2 S4's, 1 GT, and a 993 coupe 6 speed. I've owned the 993 and an S4 5-speed for 20+ years together.

And I can tell you from 20+ years of personal experience that the 928's styling is very polarizing. When the 993 and S4 are seen together, it has been a unanimous decision that the 993 is a much, much better looking car.
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The oft-repeated comment is their disappointment with the 928's lack of 'hips'. They've all pretty much stated that the front fenders of the 928 are beautiful, but the slab-sided rear quarters were an afterthought, and that they wish the rear quarters had the same styling as the front fenders.

All this to say, the 928 failed because it was not perceived as a good looking car - who wants to spend that kind of money on a car that one does not like it's styling?

Mechanically, the 928 is a work of art - too bad the styling team was not up to the task and let the rest of the team, and their Porsche customers down.

UKenGB

I knew LJK a bit back when I worked for Honda UK and he was a not infrequent visitor to our West London HQ. He was a big fan of Honda and their engineering.

He had a CBX1000 (in-line 6 cylinder across the frame engined motorcycle) at the time and was concerned about something. I forget now what it was, but I was asked to take it for a spin to try and discern what the problem was. It had low handlebars on it and apart from making it dreadfully uncomfortable, they were simply not suited to a bike of that size and weight. Much as we admired his thoughts and opinions generally, he had a strange affection for a certain South London tuner/customiser that puzzled us and the resultant CBX with low 'clip-ons' was quite frankly horrid to ride. He liked it though.

His daughter later worked there, but I had left by then.

Gary Knox

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PK68,

Hans Mezger was responsible for the original 911 six cylinder engine which debuted in USA in 1964. At the time I was meeting with him, he was the head of Engine Development at Weissach. He continued to be involved in every engine development through the 1st model GT3 (which appropriately is referred to as the Mezger engine. One of those cars shares a garage with the 928 GT referred to earlier by @bubba928 ). Hans was a very humble, congenial, and wonderful man to get to know and I was saddened by his death 3 years ago at age 90. I felt very privileged to do have known him.

Gary
PS: bubba928 was my instructor from the passenger seat on several tracks!