...P

From 1983 for your reading enjoyment, here is an old one from my archives.
This is my year of Porsche 928S, 1983, first year of the S as I recall, and also I recall (might be wrong) it was the fastest car sold in North America that year (top speed).

Happy reading,

regards,

P

The Forgotten On

So they called the 928 a car that it is. A well made, easy to drive fast car that just so happens to be practical. And feels like it was designed to be used in the real world and not on the track.

They also called it boring because it didn't excite them the way the others did because it was so stable and comfortable.

Can't blame them for basically calling the brakes mediocre from the stats though, they really should have been better.

It was a great read and it is really cool to read things like this that were from a different time when cars were simple and meant to be driven and not glorified computers on wheels that were designed for the track and not for the street.

tv

great quality scans of some amazingly anemic numbers

Bigfoot928

they did say that it was the car most likely to get sideways.... and also was wrong about the reverse lockout.... stating that you could go from 1st to reverse by accident...

James Bailey

And the car that they preferred to drive was ......drum roll, the 944 ...

sendarius

Owning both a 944S2 and a 928S4, I can easily see how they came to this conclusion.

If there is somewhere far away that I need to be, the 928 wins every time, but if the object is to DRIVE, I'll take the 944.

whiteNSXs

Agree. 928 is a grand tourer. 944 is a nimble dancer.
Steve

Mongo

944s are great cars and you will see many of them at local PCA autocrosses because they are so easy to drive. I had an '86 I tracked and drove daily. You could do a lot of stuff in that car and it will still forgive you for it. With the 928, I feel like I have to watch the application of throttle through the turns and back roads.

pcarfan944

That's a fun article - I used to read over it constantly back in the late 90's and early 2000's when I was dreaming of owning a Porsche and there was no good internet to turn to.

The '83 944's with no PS and early dash (I LOVE the inverted tach) are such a hoot to drive, I can see why they picked it.

Ultimately I'd take it with a grain of salt as those cars are pretty much apples to oranges. I doubt many people were cross shopping between a 308 and 944. All four are great cars but were built and designed for different roles.

JET951

Interesting article , thanks for posting

...P

Yes indeed, I have a 1984 stock 944, and a 1990 S2 Cabriolet 3.0 and the latter is every bit as fast as my 1983 928S. That engine is marvelous and will pull into the high rpms, so I can imagine the V8 version is equally impressive.

As much as I love the 928 and its total cool factor, comfort, etc., I agree with some of the other comments, when it comes to driving, that basic 944 is so nimble not much of anything is going to be able to run from it on the tight twisties no matter how much power. Of course when the road starts to straighten out then you will find yourself rowing a boat with the gear shifter and watching the fast cars leave you behind. The 944 is one awesome drivers car, simple, not expensive, but nonetheless, awesome.

The S2 is awesome too, but everyone knows those cars were cut down and reinforced, thus they have some cowl shake and when it comes to ultimate handling the hardtop version is stiffer and the way to go. The S2 however, is one exceptionally fast sleeper.

here's mine........, but I still drive the 928 the most






And the little 1984 hot rod




I judge the 944 against a 1974 TVR I have with 3 side draft DCOEs and a cammed and ported TR-6 motor with electric overdrive on top 3 gears. it is a rocket, and actually dangerous. The Porsche cars are fast but they are so well engineered above the TVR, they are also SAFE. The TVR can almost drive in one garage door and out the other, the turning radius is so tight, and it has also spun me in a 360 one day when I lifted in a decreasing radius turn (911 Porsche guys will know what that's like).

Glad you guys enjoyed the article from 1983.............it is cool to see what they were saying about our cars "back then"

regards,

P

Mongo

Ironically, I would have been curious to see if they put the 944 against the 1982 model Ferrari 308 GTBi. Both have nearly the same 0-60 because the Feds KILLED the horsepower of that CIS car. It was also a 2v engine.

928wolf

My 15 year old self is sitting in my bedroom and drooling over these cars. Who knew it would take 30 years to make (one of them) become a reality.

.....of course any 308 without Christy Brinkley driving it is somehow lacking.....