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I stumbled upon one of the best articles I have read I think, an owner's opinion piece on the 928. Not surprisingly we probably all agree with what is said, but this person really hits the nail on the head in areas where only an owner of a good proper example of these cars can understand. In particular the comparisons to the BMW, Mercedes and Jaguar of the time were of a disservice to the 928. I have driven these cars, and although they are nice, they were never on the same level as the 928.
Touching on the 928's 'confused' identity is something I find really interesting as well, because it is what I thought when I first got to know my own car. This probably applies more to the early cars instead of the later cars, but the 928 S is too noisy and rough to be a true grand tourer but also too big and heavy still to be a true sports car. It's more of a personal super coupe or something else entirely. And I love that uniqueness about it!
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Great article and interesting take on the 928, one I agree with over other articles.
The 928 shown is lustful, I always found the early S version in Euro spec to probably be the best overall in looks and performance. Love the colors of the body and wheels, and the stance as shown is perfect.
Great article, and I think the author nailed it. I have never really considered the 928 to be big or particularly heavy, especially when viewed with cars from today. The biggest issue I tended to see/feel was the lack of tire they gave the car in the later models. If I ever have the opportunity to take a drive in a CS I would assume that it's the "Carrera" feeling the author pointed to. Shame they didn't really make very many of them!
The article sort of rhymes my sentiments, and why I prefer the MY80-86 928S. Whether you think they are the best iteration or not is, of course, subjective.
The fact that it was during those model years that the 928 stood its tallest against the competition can't be denied.
Love my 84 Euro S as a sporty grand tourer and my daily driver. The extra 80 HP over the other variants of the time make a huge difference in overall performance and sporty feel. Wish it was a manual as they're more fun to drive with the extra involvement and holding them in gears, but I have 5 other manuals in the stable so I'm ok with it.
Interesting article but it reads like a adolescent's love letter that's trying to project something that only exists in their own head.
The 928 was not misunderstood. It was neglected, underdeveloped and mis-positioned in the market place. Early on, Porsche mis-read the market badly... and tried everything from advertising campaigns that were feminine and glamourous to intonating a racing pedigree that was not really there.
In order to understand where the market was at the time you only need to look at other successful GT's in period. Specifically the Jaguar XJS and the Mercedes R107, both outsold the 928 significantly. Jag got a few things right, Sublime ride, good enough handling and the and Silky smooth exotic V12. That's the traditionally GT formula, tried and true and it has not changed. By contrast, the early 928's power was underwhelming, the ride was course and the cabin was noisy. These facts remained as the 928 was always playing catch-up. Early on Porsche was trying to play in a new segment, the practical exotic GT by for broad appeal. History and the market have spoken, it didn't work out.
Last edited by icsamerica; 08-12-2024 at 07:56 PM.
Interesting article but it reads like a adolescent's love letter that's trying to project something that only exists in their own head.
The 928 was not misunderstood. It was neglected, underdeveloped and mis-positioned in the market place. Early on, Porsche mis-read the market badly... and tried everything from advertising campaigns that were feminine and glamourous to intonating a racing pedigree that was not really there.
In order to understand where the market was at the time you only need to look at other successful GT's in period. Specifically the Jaguar XJS and the Mercedes R107, both outsold the 928 significantly. Jag got a few things right, Sublime ride, good enough handling and the and Silky smooth exotic V12. That's the traditionally GT formula, tried and true and it has not changed. By contrast, the early 928's power was underwhelming, the ride was course and the cabin was noisy. These facts remained as the 928 was always playing catch-up. Early on Porsche was trying to play in a new segment, the practical exotic GT by for broad appeal. History and the market have spoken, it didn't work out.
I don't think the author is trying to rewrite history but rather bring awareness to the fact that the cars weren't to blame as much as Porsche marketing was and in my personal opinion the restrictive American market. The original was very underpowered even in RoW spec, true. In Projekt 928 it is outlined that Porsche wanted the 300hp engine very early on. Development on the S started very quickly, the car was done by September 1979 and possibly earlier. They knew customers would likely expect more but took a gamble on the 4.5L anyway and got it segmented alongside the more modest BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar cars. Whereas from the S onwards the 928 was compared against the 911 Turbo, Ferrari 400 and Aston Martin V8. You are right about how much Porsche messed up their marketing over the years trying to 'catch on' with more buyers. They went back and forth.
But the 928 hold the 24 hour speed record in Nardo till the year 2000?.
So it was the only reliable supercar of the 80ies. That's the difference, you can drive the 928 like it was intended back in the days, as a true Autobahn interceptor.
Show me another car who is 40 years old that is capable to drive from Hambug to Munich at full trottle.
@ICS,
can I brake bleeding a 2001 Audi S8 without an Audi test rig to modulate ABS ? We don't get it in our garage!
08-12-2024, 03:31 AM
One of the best articles I have read
