Porsche 928 Euro Models
The 928 was an eye-catching car designed by Porsche for consumers to step outside its traditional 911 offerings and experience something different. While expensive, its costs were fair.
The 928 was an extremely fast car, featuring a large rear engine and four-seat configuration. Known for its exotic paint finishes and innovative front-end design, it often made headlines.
Exterior
When Porsche introduced the 928 in 1978 it marked a dramatic departure from their 911 siblings. Sitting higher and featuring grand touring functionality over pure sports performance, its aluminum components allowed for weight savings while its 4.8 liter engine produced more power than before and production continued until 1995 when production ended.
The Porsche 928 was an instant classic, winning the European Car of the Year award in 1978 – it was the first sports car to ever do so. A powerful machine designed specifically to please drivers with aggressive personalities. Four seats could be found inside this beauty; only two were meant for long distance rides – not suitable for daily commuting but a joy on curvy back roads.
Porsche continued its improvements of the 928 and in 1985 they upgraded North American 928s from their standard 4.7 L engine with a more powerful 4-valve, DOHC 5.0 L unit known as S3 model – also featuring new front and rear spoilers and an updated interior. European cars continued with their standard 4.7 L engine without receiving S3 upgrades.
This 1984 Euro Spec model car is listed for auction and appears to be in excellent condition. According to its seller, this vehicle was restored over three years and currently covers 42,000 miles on its odometer. Additionally, this particular example comes with the desirable 6-speed manual transmission.
Buyers of this car can expect to spend around $100,000, which is an exorbitant sum compared to more affordable family sedans or SUVs. While it will certainly provide hours of enjoyable driving pleasure, other alternatives exist for that same amount. In order to own one of these expensive rides it would have to be done as part of an ongoing hobby with long drives planned and road trips taking place regularly.
Interior
European version of Porsche 928 features true dual exhaust without catalytic converter. Furthermore, this car was constructed as a Euro spec vehicle (no sunroof) and originally equipped with non-ABS system. Repainted in Metallic Black w/Purple Flake paint in early 2000s before receiving 4 coats of CQuartz ceramic coating under current owner. Finally, equipped with new set of BFGoodrich tires since 2017 this Porsche is currently for sale at an asking price of $65,000.
The Porsche 928 made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1977 to great critical acclaim and quickly rose up the ranks to become European Car of the Year a year later – becoming the first sports car ever to achieve this honor. Designed by Anatole Lapine, its aluminum door, bonnet, and wings helped reduce weight significantly for optimal performance.
Engineers envisioned using a large-displacement motor to power the 928, and prototype units were equipped with a 5.0 L V8 that produced close to 300 horsepower. Early units utilized four four-barrel carburetors before Bosch introduced K-Jetronic fuel injection.
Several different drivetrain layouts were considered during development, including rear and mid-engined designs. Unfortunately, due to technical and legislative challenges these ideas were disregarded; cramped engine bays would make emission and noise control impossible – ultimately leading to the decision of moving the engine forward and adopting 2+2 seating configuration as preferred solution.
Europe initially offered only the 928 S with a 4.7 L SOHC engine producing 215kW/292 PS (288 horsepower). When the North American model was updated in 1985, a new 5.0 L DOHC engine sporting four valves per cylinder produced 288hp instead – sometimes unofficially known as an S3 or “S4″ to distinguish it from earlier 16-valve versions.
North America offered two 928 model variants; Club Sport included spoilers, 16” flat wheels and sport seats; while for an upgrade “Competition Package” featured wider 8″ front and 9″ rear forged wheels, improved tires, and Bilstein shocks.
Engine
The 928 Euro or European model differed from its North American counterpart in several ways. Most notably was its use of an alternative front spoiler (on “S” models) and later versions using separate rear wings. Furthermore, some models featured phone dial rims while others utilized slotted ones – these differences could easily be detected by looking at or reading service manuals.
The Porsche 928 is a water-cooled front engine V8, driving its rear wheels. Originally dispensing 4.5 L, and featuring an overhead camshaft design. Producing 240 PS in Europe while being sold to North American markets. Smog equipment reduced their output to 219 HP for sales here.
One of the hallmark features of the 928 was its Weissach axle, which allows passive rear wheel steering in certain off throttle cornering situations. Furthermore, its engine was equipped with an un-sleeved silicon alloy block designed to both reduce weight and provide highly durable cylinder bores.
The 928 was specifically designed to withstand impact damage, with its doors, wings and bonnet made entirely out of aluminium rather than steel to reduce ride comfort while simultaneously increasing handling. Furthermore, its low rear window provided for an expansive view of the road ahead.
Many automotive experts consider the Porsche 928 to have been an innovation in luxury sports car technology at its debut. Garratt Lai’s review in Road & Track in 1990 described it as “the most significant car of the decade”.
Over its entire production run, the 928 maintained an exceptional level of performance and handling. Though heavier than its Porsche rival, its transaxle and larger engine allowed for greater 50/50 weight distribution which, combined with its excellent power-to-weight ratio made driving this car much less daunting.
Porsche began offering an upgraded 5.0 L, four-valve-per-cylinder engine for 1985 model year that produced 288 horsepower – commonly referred to as S3 or 48-valve engine.
Transmission
The Porsche 928 Euro or European model differed significantly from its North American version in several ways. Euro cars featured different front and rear spoilers as well as wider tires; additionally they used different engine specs; initially US cars used 4.5 L Kjet cis injection engines while Europeans utilized an improved 4.7 L Kjet electronic fuel injection system rated at approximately 221kW (296 crank hp in the 928 S).
Both versions of the 928 came equipped with either a five-speed dog leg manual transmission or Mercedes’ four-speed automatic transmission derived from their models; most American cars were often specified with this automatic variant. Transaxle design allowed it to achieve 50/50 front to rear weight distribution.
Transaxle drives were not without their issues. The engine would run hot, necessitating a large cooler that was hard to fit behind the cockpit of early models. Furthermore, leaks often occurred in its cooling system and its noise level rose with idle speed.
Still, the 928 quickly established itself as a formidable sports car. Boasting an exceptional top speed for its time – easily surpassing 100 miles per hour on highway driving – and being slightly more costly than its counterpart, its performance more than made up for any differences in pricing.
The rear seat is small and only suitable for children on short trips; additionally, there is an uncomfortable transmission hump in the floor of the car that makes settling into comfort difficult. But both front seats offer exceptional support with multiple power adjustments available for customization.
In 1981, Porsche offered its “Competition Package”, an upgrade that reduced ride height and added S-style spoilers. Unfortunately, this package was only available in Canada and the USA for three years before North American markets switched models; Europe responded with similar modifications on their 928 S2s.