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Thread: Porsche 928 1977-1995

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    Porsche 928 1977-1995

    Porsche 928

    The Porsche 928 was a luxurious grand tourer (S-segment) produced by Porsche AG of Germany from 1978 to 1995. Originally intended to replace the company's well-known and famed 911, the 928 combined the power, poise, and handling of a sports car with the refinement, comfort, and equipment of a luxurious saloon to create what some Porsche executives thought would be a vehicle with wider appeal than the compact, quirky and sometimes difficult 911.

    Since its inception in 1949, Porsche has manufactured only seven front-engined models, four of which were coupés, including the 928. The car has the distinction of being the company's only coupé powered by a front-mounted V8 engine, and the company's first production V8 powered model.

    Conception
    By the late 1960s, Porsche had changed significantly as a company, and executives including owner Ferdinand Porsche were toying with the idea of adding a luxury touring car to the line-up. Managing director Ernst Fuhrmann was also pressuring Ferdinand to approve development of the new model in light of concerns that the current flagship model at the time, the 911, was quickly reaching the limits of its potential. Slumping sales of the 911 seemed to confirm that the model was approaching the end of its economic life cycle. Fuhrmann envisioned the new range-topping model as being the best possible combination of a sports coupé and a luxurious saloon, something well equipped and comfortable enough to be easily driven over long distances that also had the power, poise and handling prowess necessary to be driven like a sports car. This set it apart from the 911, which was intended to be an out-and-out sports car.

    Ordered by Ferdinand Porsche to come up with a production-feasible concept for his new model, Fuhrmann initiated a design study in 1971, eventually taking from the process the final specification for the 928. Several drivetrain layouts were considered during early development, including rear and mid-engined designs, but most were dismissed because of technical and legislative difficulties. Having the engine, transmission, catalytic converter(s) and exhaust all cramped into a small rear engine bay made emission and noise control more difficult, something Porsche was already facing problems with on the 911 and wanted to avoid. After deciding that the mid-engine layout did not allow enough room in the passenger compartment, a front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout was chosen. Porsche also may have feared that the U.S. government would soon ban the sale of rear-engined cars in response to the consumer concern over safety problems with the rear-engined Chevrolet Corvair. The Corvair's alleged safety issues were detailed in the book Unsafe at Any Speed by consumer advocate Ralph Nader.

    Porsche engineers wanted a large-displacement engine to power the 928, and prototype units were built with a 5-litre V8 producing close to 300 hp (220 kW). Ferdinand Piëch wanted this car to use a 4.6-litre V10 with 88 mm bore spacing based upon Audi's five-cylinder engine. The five-cylinder unit is a derivative of the Volkswagen Golf EA827 engine, essentially an inline-four with another cylinder added. Several members of the Porsche board objected, chiefly because they wished for Porsche AG to maintain some separation from Volkswagen. The possible reason was that they did not want their crowning car to be powered by a variant of a supposedly lower-class VW Golf engine.

    The resulting M28 engine eventually designed has multiple unusual features. Its bore spacing is 122 mm, almost exactly the same size as a Chrysler 426 hemi or a big block Chevrolet engine. This engine uses thick aluminium cylinder barrels, hence the lower displacement. The engine was designed for air flow first, thus the spark plugs are located at the top of the head. The four-bolt bearings are sizeable, and are fed oil via grooves in the bottom surface of the block. The oil and water pumps are powered by the timing belt, and the design of the engine allows for sufficient air flow with a very low hood.

    The first two running prototypes of Porsche's M28 V8 used one four-barrel carburettor, but this was just for initial testing. The cars were sold with the planned Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection system. When increasing concern within the company over the pricing and availability of fuel during the oil crisis of the 1970s became an issue of contention, smaller engines were considered in the interest of fuel economy. A push began for the development of a 3.3 L 180 hp (130 kW) powerplant they had drawn up designs for, but company engineers balked at this suggestion. Both sides finally settled on a 4.5 L, SOHC per bank 16-valve V8 producing 240 PS (180 kW; 240 hp) (219 hp (163 kW) in North America), which they considered to have an acceptable compromise of performance and fuel economy.

    The finished car debuted at the 1977 Geneva Motor Show before going on sale later that year as a 1978 model. Although it won early acclaim for its comfort and power, sales were slow. Base prices were much higher than that of the previous rangetopping 911 model and the 928's front-engined, water-cooled design put off many Porsche purists.

    Fuhrmann's replacement, Peter Schutz, decided that the models should be sold side by side, feeling that the 911 still had potential in the company's line-up. Legislation against rear-engined vehicles also did not materialize. Although it never sold in the numbers Fuhrmann envisioned, the 928 developed an avid fan following and enjoyed an eighteen-year production run.
    info: wikipedia.org


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    Last edited by Duell; 03-20-2017 at 02:20 AM.
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    Porsche 928 #2
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    Porsche 928 #3
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    Porsche 928 #4
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    Porsche 928 #5
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    I drove a 928S a couple of months back. It may not be the prettiest thing ever, but it sure goes hard if you push it!!!

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    Theres been a guy tooling around my town in one of these. THe thing sounds great!!

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    My neighbour used to have on, but it was crushed by a fire truck... There was a fire in the street and the truck accidentle drove against the porsche...
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    928 # 6

    • Black one from member Piacki_117 (correct me if I'm wrong).
    • 1993 928 GTS.
    • Last three grouping are a 1986 928 S2.


    I got to cruise around with the 928 S. It's 288 hp engine (Europe got 310hp) had a lot of punch to it. To bad it didn't have the manual (4-speed automatic). Yes ScionDriver it does sound great; a deep roar.

    Did you know that Porsche originally engineered this car to replace the 911? Turned out to be a bit heavy, neither really able to match the 911's character.
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    Hasn't Porsche been thinking of bringing this back in a new name?
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    Quote Originally Posted by F1_Master
    Hasn't Porsche been thinking of bringing this back in a new name?
    Well, the Panamera is often referred to as the spiritual successor to the 928, why it would be I don't know when the 928 was a sports coupe and the Panamera is going to be a 4-door sedan with coupe-esque styling. The only similarity is that they are both front engine V8s
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    Quote Originally Posted by 2ndclasscitizen
    Well, the Panamera is often referred to as the spiritual successor to the 928, why it would be I don't know when the 928 was a sports coupe and the Panamera is going to be a 4-door sedan with coupe-esque styling. The only similarity is that they are both front engine V8s
    There are rumours that Porsche are going to make a front engined sports coupe of the same basis as the Panamera, that's probably more of the 928 successor.

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    Porsche 928 #6
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    928 #8
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    928 #9
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    WRC - That's motorsport!

    "If you can see the tree you are about to hit, it is called 'understeering'. If you can only hear and feel it, it was 'oversteering'."
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