928 The Original Porsche GT Car

If the 911 did not exist would we think of the 928 in a different light? Probably not as without the 911 Porsche probably wouldn't exist, but the fact remains the 928 has always lived in the 911's shadow.




The odd thing is the two cars are so different as to not really be comparable and Porsche themselves were happy to run both models side by side for seventeen years, the 911 as the sports car and the 928 as the GT.

Personally I have always loved the 928, in part because many of my formative years were spent sitting in the back of one of the four consequtive examples my Dad ran as company cars (2 928s then 2 928S2s). My Dad was probably indicative of many 928 owners, racking up big mileages and then trading it in for a new one almost the same, when new the 928 had the highest rate of repeat purchase of any car on sale.

My interest in 928s even extended to looking at quite a number with a view to purchase last year. It fairly quickly became apparent that most these days are not in good condition in part because they are very expensive to run and the values do not justify the expensive restorations they probably need.

The one other thing i realised in my search is that the much rarer manual versions are the ones to go for. The auto's are nice but do make the car a bit of a cruiser. With a manual the 928 becomes a savage sports car which, ironically would probably be considerably quicker around a track than an equivalent era 911.

The slightly cheesy You Tube find below, shows the 1990 model 928GT which would also be my pick of the range. I'm not a fan of the newer GTS' wide rear wheelarches and wood interior. Also the GTS engine has a reputation for burning a lot of oil.

A 928GT with the optional big bolster sports seats (the most comfortable car seats ever), and retro fitted with the GTS 17" alloy wheels, in silver or a dark metallic blue would be perfect.

Porsche has returned to the continental crushing GT market with the Panamera, a car that despite its extra set of doors is the spiritual successor to the 928. Despite its slightly questionable looks (which I like), I'm sure the children on Panamera owners will appreciate the extra room in the back over the 928.