The Porsche 928 HP
The 928 is one of the best cars to purchase and own today, providing years of enjoyment while retaining its value.
The initial generation of cars used a water-cooled V8 engine with a displacement of 4.5 L and producing 219 horsepower. From 1978 until 1982, its original body remained mostly unchanged except for an optional rear spoiler added in 1980 or 1983 (depending on your location) until 1986 when its S4 variant with dual overhead camshaft V8 and improved brakes was introduced.
Power
The Porsche 928 was an extremely powerful car for its time, outshone even by other European luxury marques. At its launch it was the world’s fastest naturally aspirated production car; although never as beloved as its more well-known sibling the 911, its loyal fan base remains and today it can outperform many sports/grand touring cars in its class. Furthermore, upgrades can easily be installed using supercharger or turbo kits.
The original engine was a front-mounted, water-cooled V8 that drove the rear wheels. Displacement was originally 4.5 liters; when fitted with smog equipment it produced 219 horsepower in Europe and 249 in North America (240HP in each case). A single overhead camshaft with four valves per cylinder provided power delivery while aluminum and galvanized steel were heavily employed as construction materials.
To meet its power output, the 928 was equipped with either a five-speed dog leg manual gearbox or Mercedes-Benz-derived automatic transmission. To balance weight distribution evenly across both axles and provide greater driver ease. In turn, this made the 928 simpler to drive than its more difficult to manage counterpart, the heavier 911.
One of the defining characteristics of the 928 was its signature wedge-style body. This design stood out from other cars due to its unconventionality; intended as an appeal beyond organic looks like those found on other Porsche models such as 911. It proved successful and its design would eventually be copied by other manufacturers.
A standout feature of the 928 was its pop-up headlamps. While they appeared normal when switched off, when powered on they would pop out like those found on Lamborghinis Miura and create an futuristic appearance compared to most vehicles of its day.
The 928 is an ideal combination of German efficiency and comfort, featuring leather seats with excellent bolster support, pedals placed close to the driver, fully adjustable instrument panel with flat latch under steering wheel for raising or lowering instrument cluster as needed, rear seat movement forward or backward for customized seating positions, fully adjustable instrument cluster and fully movable instrument panel allowing drivers to quickly reach them without stretching – plus rear seats which can also move forward or backward to meet various seating situations.
Fuel economy
The 928 was a front-engined car designed to be driven grand tourer-style rather than raced; its four seats and ample luggage space made it an excellent grand tourer rather than racer. It became the first grand tourer to win European Car of the Year; also, as its first Porsche ever produced with computer controlled fuel injection systems, which enabled wide ratio gearboxes with low compression engines to work in concert to deliver excellent fuel economy without compromising performance.
The original model ran through Europe during 1978 and 1979 before finally coming to America during 1980. It set the 24 hour world speed record at Nardo Ring with around 30 refueling stops needed along the way!
As the 928 evolved, many features were added to make it more luxurious and comfortable as well as faster, such as digital trip and warning displays, rear wipers, tyre pressure monitoring systems and instrument clusters allowing drivers to display either kilometers or miles on the dash; plus power steering pumps operating at lower speeds to reduce vibration and wear.
A new 32v 5.0-litre V8 was first made available for the 1986 model year and used throughout production run, giving 928 S and S2 cars more powerful engines that produced 306hp (310kW or 306 hp). Furthermore, these cars featured unique intake manifolds and Bosch LH-Jetronic fuel injection technology.
This model featured front and rear spoilers for the first time, along with a single disc clutch in manual transmission cars and an increased torque converter size in automatics – popular upgrades on North American markets as it made them much more road-oriented.
The 1987 Porsche 928 S4 was the newest model to be unveiled. Equipped with the same 5.0-litre V8, but boasting 416hp instead, its more aggressive body style featured wider front and rear bumpers as well as interior details inspired by a concept car shown two years prior. Furthermore, both manual and automatic transmission options were offered.
Emissions
The Porsche 928 was developed during the late 1970s to serve as a successor to their 911 sports car, as its days were drawing to an end and Porsche needed something that could compete with luxury sports car manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. Although numerous drivetrain configurations were studied for consideration, Porsche chose a front engine rear wheel drive design in order to meet emission and noise regulations in US market, this meant moving away from mid engine layout which had proven popular with European buyers but failed miserably here.
The first generation of Porsche car was manufactured for 18 years and during that time its design remained relatively unchanged; however, many improvements were made to performance and refinement including increased fuel economy and an array of wheel designs and exotic colors; additionally a longer wheelbase version was introduced in 1987.
At the same time, the engine also saw increased power. Originally dispensing 4.5 L and using 16 valves to produce 237 HP in European specification and 219 in US with smog equipment; for 1985 model year addition of Bosch LH-Jetronic fuel injection and higher 10.0:1 compression engine produced 306 PS (228 kW; 311 HP).
Even with all its extra camshafts, valves and horsepower, the new engine was not noisy; in fact it was almost silent at highway speeds; its sound coming from hydraulic tappets whine and various shafts and gears all coming together harmoniously to form a muted song that sang of happy machinery.
Interior of the 928 was luxurious and comfortable grand tourer. It featured a spacious center console/glovebox area that blended into its dash cleanly, providing ample room for passengers on long drives. Seats were well-bolstered for great support during long drives while back seats could accommodate children or short adults easily – their backrests folding down for increased cargo capacity if required. Furthermore, its trunk was very large with an ingenious hatchback lid instead of traditional trunk lid and fitted with Porsche’s signature rear spoiler to complete its signature look.
Handling
The Porsche 928 stands out among sportscars due to its exceptional handling and its superior gripping tires; both front and rear ventilated disc brakes bring it to a stop safely, though suspension issues could make this car unstable at higher speeds or when cornering tight corners.
Due to Porsche’s decision of creating a mile-eating supercar instead of luxurious sportscar, its suspension has been optimized more towards great handling than ride quality. Still, its handling remains impressive with any good driver being able to take full advantage of its 0.83g grip.
The 928’s engine was a V8 with hydraulic tappets and fuel injection, producing up to 240bhp. It ran on regular unleaded petrol with any octane level being sufficient for peak performance; although Porsche advised using 95 octane fuel for maximum performance. Operation of the engine was exceptionally quiet while wind and tire noise became an issue on open roads.
In late 1983, the Series 2 928S made its debut equipped with Bosch LH Jetronic fuel injection and electronic ignition in order to enhance performance. Compression ratio was increased from 10.4:1 to 242bhp with 4-speed automatic transmission being made available for the first time ever. Furthermore, front suspension lower ball joints were upgraded with safer new style units during this year.
During its 1985-1986 production run, the car underwent a significant facelift with its distinctive “Shark Nose” profile reshaped front end and decreased front spoilers in favor of more integrated designs; front spoilers were dropped altogether and an additional rear hatch-mounted spoiler was installed.
From 1987 to 1989, Porsche offered their 928 with a 32-valve 5.0-liter V8 that produced 316 horsepower – known as the S4. This version eliminated its front spoiler in favor of an integrated fascia for added safety and reduced maintenance costs.
The car’s electronics were state-of-the-art, including twin flashing dash warning lights for major faults and cancellable flashes for lesser problems, full-color LCD displays, cruise control, air-con and airbags. Over time it received updates to its clutch, gearbox and torque tube; also featuring manual models making up 20% of production runs compared with most being sold with Mercedes-sourced automatics.
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