Bill Coleman

Are you sure it said the 5th season? The way I remember the story, the series was supposed to end after the 7th season and in fact Magnum was killed in the last episode. Then they decided to do one more season and gave Selleck a huge bonus to get him to come back, most of which was spent on gifts for the cast and crew. That would have been 1987, and I vaguely remember that the 928s were S4s.

The Wikipedia article on Selleck agrees with what I remember:
"For the 8th and final season of Magnum, P.I., Universal Studios gave him a bonus of $350,000 which he spent on lavish gifts, such as Rolex watches, Porsches, $1,000 bonuses, for the entire cast and crew of Magnum, P.I..".
Of course Wikipedia isn't always reliable. Then again, maybe Manetti's memory isn't either.

Scott M.

Hi Bill;

The book specifically said 5th season, but now that you mention it there does seem to be some chronological oddities. Sellecks car was an 88 IIRC, so S4's to me would sound more accurate.
Larry mentioned that the Porsche dealer gave him a 944 turbo soon after he arrived in HI, that would have been circa 1980. Maybe he meant a 924 turbo. ?? The 951 debuted in the summer of 85.
Manetti does go on and on about drinking in the first few pages I've read. Could be alcohol induced amnesia.

Larry Velk

I rem. a black 928 with a "dark tan" (don't know the official name) interior on eBay maybe 2 years ago. Asking or bid was between $17 and $22k, I think. It was claimed to be Tom Sellek's car. At the time I didn't have a 928, but it looked very good to me at the time.