Cosmo Kramer

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-t...xotic-car.html

Stumbled across this, interesting to read the comments.

hacker-pschorr

IMO one of the key ingredients of a true exotic is exclusivity, which does not exactly apply to 928's.

Does that make 5-speed GTS's exotic? Guess that would be a different thread....

Exotics from the 928 era: Ferrari 288 GTO, Boxer, Countach etc....

I've never felt Porsche was in the exotic car business until the 959 came out. In a way exotics are supposed to be so over the top they are almost unlivable.
Years ago some journalist said Porsche's were too perfect to qualify for exotic status since you can actually drive them. I'll stick with that.....

AO

Been waiting to use this one...

SQLGuy

If it weren't for the Porsche vs. US DOT pissing contest, the 959's might have been a lot less exotic as well.

It still amazes me that, in the US, you can build a car in your garage from scrap, and register it just fine for regular street use, but even Bill Gates couldn't get a 959 registered.

blown 87

Well, Bill should have built a 959 then.

linderpat

Most of the automotive press at the time dubbed the 928 as an exotic and/or supercar. It isn't by today's standards, but I certainly believe it was then. It was a very expensive and rather exclusive car in its day, at least in the first number of years after it was introduced.

hacker-pschorr

Good for them, I disagree

IMO calling the 928 an exotic is a disservice to how great a car it is.
Supercar, maybe, but not anywhere close to a true exotic.

Compared to what? The Corvette?
Just over 600 Countach's were produced over it's entire production run, that's exclusivity.
288 GTO's topped off at 200, the Boxer was never officiall cleared for US sales etc.... those were exlusive, exotic sports cars. Not the 928.

Based on numbers and price the Mercedes Benz 380SEC was quite exclusive too, I doubt anyone would call that an exotic.

Cosmo Kramer

I feel the same way as Hacker. Exotics to me are cars that are really over the top, form over function. The 928 can/could be driven across the country no problem and can be used as a daily driver. Heck I even have a child seat in the back and take my wife and my 2 year old for a drive with space left for luggage. Try that in a Lambo!

Porsche's in general are designed to be driven tons of miles in all conditions on a daily basis. Exotics are not.

hacker-pschorr

Mako 928

I always feel that my 928 is an exotic..........whenever I pass a Prius.

bronto

Picking at nits here, but yes and an exotic is not the same as a supercar. Way too many 928s made to be an exotic. It might have - probably was - a super car of it's day.

john bono

This is a toughie. I think in terms of exclusivity it qualifies--barely. I think most people would consider a 308 or 930 an exotic as well, but probably wouldn't consider a Merc SL an exotic(wayyy too common, at least in my neck of the woods), and a 911 would straddle that line. If the bar for an exotic is contemporary performance, I think just about every post '80 Euro 928s/S4 would qualify. R/T(I think) did a comparo of the 928S4, the esprit, the countach, and the Ferrari TR, and the 928 placed midpack.

I think geography might play a role here as well. A 911 wouldn't qualify as an exotic in the Hamptons, but in other parts of the country, it would. Though I think a 928 might qualify as one there too--911s grow like kudzu there, but I didn't see a single 928 last time I was there.

4drgl

I think the 928 was thought of as an exotic by the public in the 80's, but agree that less #'s of the vehicle produced make it much more exotic and unatainable by most.

I think the 928 is exclusive in the fact that most people are scared off by it's expenses, and what if's. Those of us that have one either have the money to have it repaired professionally or are capable of doing most of the work ourselves.

928 exclusive - yes
928 exotic: no (the gt/gts's look exotic though!

bcdavis

Remembering back to the 80's, as a kid with posters of "exotic" cars on my walls, and in magazines, Porsches generally needed to be a "tuner car" in order to be considered "exotic". It was the rarity and exotic looks that made a car worthy of inclusion in an "exotic car" magazine. A 911 did not count. A 928 did not count.
Mainly because they were too commonplace. I remember seeing an article about this car:



A Gemballa 911 that did 211 mph back in 1989.
But a regular 911 or 928 would never be in an "exotic car" magazine back then.

I do remember seeing one or two articles on Strosek 928s, like that one with the dual roots superchargers on it, and stuff like that.

pcar928fan

For its day the 928 was a Supercar for sure (and in many ways it still is today...especially if you have added about 100HP and kept the reliability) but exotic...never was. They built and imported WAY TO MANY OF THEM for that. I know some might argue the GTS's are different enough and were built in low enough numbers to qualify as "exotic" but I think for the average person they couldn't tell the difference between and S4 and a GTS (especially if they were both black cars) anyway, so that does not count. Hell, most people can't tell the difference between a 944 and a 928, then you get to the 968's and they are more likely to say, "They aren't the same car?" LOL!

So, supercar yes, exotic car no...