TECH: BUYING GUIDE 2024's BEST BUYS
The evergreen 911 is coming to the end of its sixtieth anniversary. It's hard to imagine Porsche without the model, but in the late 1970s and early 1980s, it was a distinct possibility. A layout seen by many as increasingly dated encouraged those walking corridors at Zuffenhausen to think about a new flagship Porsche product.
Managing Director, Ernst Fuhrmann, envisaged a 'proper' 2+2 in the form of a grand tourer capable of massive mile munching. This was no reimagining of the 911 — the resulting 'land shark' was the first clean-sheet design for Porsche, and one which set the manufacturer's technological beacon shining once again.
Work began in earnest as soon as the project was given the green light. In fact, as early as 1971, factory engineers and draughtsmen began to conceptualise the all-new Porsche. The resulting 928 was intended to pack the luxury of a high-end sedan with the style and performance of a sports coupe. Powerplant and transmission packaging problems ruled out a repeat of the rear-engine format, which promised to play havoc with emissions (a complaint Porsche was trying to address with the 911) in the face of ever-stricter safety legislation in the United States. Primarily due to fears the 928's cabin space would become severely compromised, discussions regarding a midengine configuration were also dismissed, leaving a front-engined, rear-wheel drive setup as the preferred solution.
From the get-go, a big engine was planned for the 928. Prototypes were built using a five-litre V8, although Ferdinand Piëch argued the case for a 4.6-litre V10 he envisaged as a product of modifying and merging Audi inlinefives. He was outvoted by those occupying seats on the Porsche board — the 928 would land in dealer showrooms with a bespoke 4.5-litre V8 sitting beneath its long bonnet.
The covers were pulled off the new car at the 1977 Geneva Motor Show. Compared to previous Porsches (even the fourcylinder 924, which leapfrogged launch of the 928), Wolfgang Mobius's design looked as though it had arrived on Earth from another planet. The gorgeously curved front-end and bulbous rear hinted at the mechanical layout within, and while pop-up headlights would go on to become a popular feature of Porsche products, they were celebrated for aiding the 928's aero efficiency.
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A succession of technological improvements andintroduction of a funky trip computer. The GT also debuted. Replacing both the short-lived CS and SE, this new 326bhp 928 was more driver focused, a fact highlighted by the use of a ZF forty-percent limited-slip differential. Just like the CS and SE, the GT was only offered with manual transmission. Technology from other Porsches was carried over, too — the supercar-baiting 959's tyre pressure monitoring system and a variable ratio (zero to one hundred percent) Porsche Sperr Differential (PSD) was fitted in 1990.
