Cameron

Not to beat a dead horse, but there is a thread that just closed off topic, where an automobile journalist states that the 928 is large by Porsche standards and by UK standards.

Porsche 928
Height = 50.5 in
Length = 175.1 in pre S4 (178 in S4/GT)
Width = 72.3 in

Porsche 997 Carrera
Height = 51.2 in
Length = 175.6 in
Width = 71.2 in

If the 928 is large by Porsche standards, would they have designed the 997 to a like size? If the 928 is large by UK standards, I guess the 997 is as well. The 928 is referred to as 'big'. So I guess the 997 is big? I don't agree. I think it is the right size platform for a world class sports car, or for a world class GT.

Am I missing something here?

IcemanG17

It seems the 928 is referred to as "big" because the interior is so roomy...compared to other sports cars of its era... Granted its acutal size is right on par with the new 997C4... I'm sure the early 911's & 964's were much smaller when parked side by side....cars are getting bigger...just look at the size of a diablo! Thats a huge car!
Brian

m21sniper

I dunno, compared to the 60s and 70s cars are downright small.

I think i could almost fit the 928 in the trunk of my old 72 or 76 Caddys.

LOL...

rixter

compared to the early 911, 924,944 yes the 928 is larger...
interior has more room
engine is larger and therefore has a larger engine bay making the car a bit longer
etc, etc, etc

large in comparison to other makes of the times.... maybe by a tad

cobalt

Iceman hits it right on the head. Compared to my 964 turbo the GTS feels cavernous inside. The car is considerably wider and the cabin much longer. It is also because the windshield has a steep rake and it sits further forward on the dash. The tailgate and all that glass really adds to a big feeling in comparison. You also have the long front nose that sticks out very far compared to the front bumper on the 911. When switching from car to car I have to conciously tell myself that I am in the 928 and keep myself from creaping too far forward into intersections.

Although it is not, the 928 feels twice as big as the 911 from a drivers perspective.

cobalt

By todays standards I would say no compared to the Cayenne.

Maybe this picture will help put it into perspective. Look at the back glass of the turbo vs the 928. It is much smaller and as you can see it does not extend out on either side as the 928 does. While inside the turbo you are right next to and up against the windows the 928 has all that extra space between you and the door. Overall the turbo looks small compared to the 928 and especially next to the Cayenne.

I will also say that compared to the turbo the 928 has a very relaxed feel to it vs the incredibly hyper or anxious feeling that you get from the turbo. Both are fast cars even by todays standards yet the 928 feels slower than it trully is. That is what makes it the great GT that it is.

928ntslow

Iceman definitely hit it right. Always remember though, most of these guys writing these articles are NOT 928 owners, so they "think" the 928 is big.. The 928 on it's own has an appearance of being huge. In architecture and design, that is a goal in many cases...make some thing look bigger than it is. Iceman mentioned the diablo, but the F cars also are big, BUT have smaller interiors compared to the space bubble of the 928. Think the 928 is big????? Have a look below! I felt like I brought a pen knife to a sword convention. The lotus next to me did , but his car looks close to the size of the 928 from the rear.

Cameron

The pics really say alot. This is clear for me now. An uniformed journalist referring to the 928 as big and large when they don't know that the current 911 is the same size. Yes, it was larger than other Porsche models a decade and more ago. I would certainly call it large compared to a 964 or 930, or an early 911 / 912 for that matter. You might have called it large then. Today, there is a sweet spot from a size perspective that Porsche is going for and guess what, it is just about right where the 928 was and is. That is why Porsche dimensioned the 997 as they did, not because they wanted a large car.

I don't imagine that the next version of Total 911 will refer to the 997 as a large car by Porsche standards or a large car by UK standards. That would probably be hard to explain to the target audience and would reduce sales.

Kaz

I find that I think of the 928 as big until I park it next to something else and then it always looks small. As others have mentioned already, it is large compared to an 80's era 911 or 911 Turbo. I tell non 928 folks that in the twisties the car can flow like you think it can't.

Green Goblin

I parked next to a BMW M5 and I thought that they should be close in size NOT EVEN, the BMW was like a old caddie compared to my 928.

Got to love it baby.

Andy

83 Euro

My87Targa

its simple guys 911 > 928 i mena come on lets be serious....















j\k i like the 928s you dont see many of them anymore i saw a real nice one the other day with newer carrera rims ooooo DROOL!

Vilhuer

Of the "big and lazy" comment I only object lazy part. 928 is certainly big compared to same vintage 911. If lazy refers to what it says in dictionary that I can't agree on. Simply because 0-60mph time is so close to comparable 911 and on all other criterias 928 is usually better.

Other thing I can't get is labeling 928 as GT when 996 is sport car. As numbers demontrate they're like identical twins even though look different. Is decades age difference deciding factor what makes 928 grand tourer and 996 sport car? It has to be as there isn't anything else except styling to tell them apart.

Flott Leben

That is it exactly! The design makes it appear large on its own. When in fact, it really isn't - especially when compared to other cars. Who thinks the 300ZX Turbo or Toyota Supra Turbo are "big" cars?? Check out the dimensions:

1990 300ZX TT:
Length 170.00 in
Width 70.00 in
Wheelbase 96.00 in
Weight 3355 lbs

1987 Supra Turbo:
Length 181.9 inches
Width 68.7 inches
Height 51.6 inches
Wheel base 102.2 inches
Weight 3400-3500 lbs

1993 Toyota Supra Turbo:
Length 178 in
Width 71 in
Height 50 in
Wheelbase and track 100.3 x 60 in
Curb Weight: 3,568 lb

Ron_H

I must also agree with Iceman that the 928 feels large at first. The day I bought my 928 I drove it home from LA up to Sunnyvale about 500 miles and all the time I was thinking that the car felt huge. ( I had just stepped out of my Rabbit and my Porsche 914/6). I was not accustomed to manuvering the car in traffic or parking it and the corners were not instantly defined by any part of the body. In the 911 or 914/6 the corners are recognizable instanly by the position of the lights, whereas the body of the 928 falls off into some vague area and I had trouble parking it. But all the while on the way home, I kept smiling at the forgiveness of the chassis and the power flow. I decided to live with the perceived size of the car.

Another trait of the early 911 is the necessity to have the engine turning faster to get any torque. It seems 3000 rpm is the magic number below which a 911 driver won't want to fall. Above that the lightness of the early cars allows the 911 to snap and respond quickly. The 928 will pull from 1800 and I couldn't believe how effortlessly it moved up from seemingly impossible revs. Not a trait even considered by a 911 driver. Perhaps that is what was meant by "lazy" in the Total 911 article. 911 drivers with smaller displacement engines are accustomed to constantly keeping revs up in a useable torque band. If they don't the car will fight back and just sit there and do nothing.
Try getting off the line in an early 911E or S without revs. In a 928 try getting off a line with revs and watch it jump, and with only a 2.2 final drive. At speed, a 911 driver will shift down to pass or climb a hill; the 928 may be cruising along in high gear and at will the car will respond at 2500 rpm (or kick down in the automatic so seamlessly that you just feel the torque is not even taxed). A smile comes across my face in mountain driving above 100 as the 928 asks: "When can we get up where I can show my stuff?, and I haven't shifted for miles. My elbow and left knee would be tired in a 911. Fun, but work. The truth is that in a 928 you don't need to work your *** off to keep the thing pointed in the right direction and moving along. That was "fun" a few years ago. Now the effortless and forgiveness of the 928 are what I suspect some would perceive as "lazy". Maybe it is just my age. I recall at a younger age I spent so much time making problems that were unnecessary; there was an easier way, but I just wouldn't go down that road. The 928 offers an "easier" way, and a more comfortable one as well, all the while a sleeping beast luking within its sophisticated form.

The other trait Iceman pegged was the perceived size inside the car. The 928 to me is THE standard for GT interiors. Roomy, ergonomic , and comfortable without being oversized. The only other car I have driven that had better vision all around it was the Ford Probe. The seating position is the best relative to controls of any car I have ever experienced, including the latest from Mercedes. (I have never driven a Ferrari though). I keep finding more ways to appreciate its size, but that is probably what accounted for my perception of the car as "big" when I first drove it home that day. I had to park it next to other cars to realize it is not a big car. Two people, the driver and the passenger, can live in it for miles without interfering with each other's space; try that in a 911. In a 911, you share intimately the compartment with your passenger, all the while bumping elbows with each other and the doors. In fact, I had heard how "large" and roomy a 997 was, and recently went to a dealer to sit in a 997 to test this claim. Forget it !! Immediately I found the same experience of bumping my left elbow against the inner door panel, and dreading having a passenger "intrude" in the space. If I had a wife, and a 997 or a 911, we would have "his" and "hers" (2 cars) so I wouldn't have to tolerate her in the passenger seat. (unless she was rich, in which case she could sit anywhere she chose to sit!) I thought how long it had been since I had been in a 911, and then I realized what others had been saying all along: this is still a VW bug. I left the dealer thinking how much I liked my 928 now, though I had thought of myself as a 911 guy having started with 356 and 911 cars years ago. No more. I'll keep my 928 forever, thank you, and left smiling as I walked back to me 19 year old true GT.

"Lazy" ? Maybe understressed is the more appropriate term. Spend a couple hours in a 928 in the mountains on a freeway at speed and tell me it is "lazy".
I don't think so. Spend 10 hours continuously driving across this vast countryside, and then, after dinner you will want to get back in it and go somemore. You won't give the car up after that.

DoubleNutz

I know we are comparing Porsches here but lets consider another high quality performance car in the 1989- The Ferrari Testarossa. In the Miami Vice series Crokett looks like he is tooling around in a little tiny car about the size of a Toyota MR2. The fact of the matter is, that car is HUGE! I think the dimensions on the Testarossa were bigger than my fathers Cadillac of the same year and it only had two seats!!!