OT, The 928
Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2020 7:45 pm
There's a PistonHeads thread, The Brave Pill, running atm, extolling the pros and then the cons of owning and running the mighty 928.
I've always loved them. For me they're something between the Spectrum Patrol Car, the SPV and the MSV and I've wanted one since 1978
But I am timid and the Pistonheads thread confirms my fears... Beware all that enter here ! A car like this will rob you your life savings ... your life... and all you hold dear.
So once again, it's agreed, never ever buy a 928.
What ever you do.
And then someone only goes and posts this.
"My car only ever really settled a little beyond 70, and really came in to its own somewhat north of that.
The suspension, always a bit stiff and fidgety around town, begins to settle, smoothing the road below beautifully.
The steering, initially heavy, lightens as the wheel begins to dance ever so gently in your hands.
And the automatic gearbox - which most everyone loves to hate - conspires keep the revs right where you needed them.
A simple flex of a toe and you're hauled forward, no kick-down required, the engine sounding like it's rising deep from the bowels of a ship.
And if you do kick-down, things take a savage turn, the V8 revealing a zeal for revs that marks it very much a member of the Porsche family.
On my first proper road trip, I took her around the Roßfeldpanoramastraße near Salzburg.
Harder and harder I pushed, and the car just seemed to shrug and say "Yeah? Ok."
Nothing seemed to surprise it, and therefore nothing seemed to surprise me.
Between huge mechanical grip, a primitive active diff, and brakes for days, it was a car that, as I said, could extend your capabilities, and do so in a completely unflustered way.
A contemporary ad for the S4 stated "It's about as fast as you can go without having to eat airline food". The comparison is apt.
The 928 was built for a world in which traffic wasn't the impediment it has become, and a world in which travelling across Europe by plane was yet to be popularised.
It was also born from a different culture at Porsche, one that prioritised high-speed safety above the visceral pleasures of driving we (and they) now tend to revere.
Perhaps, in some respects, it's not too dissimilar to Concorde: a towering achievement of its time, and so well-engineered that it lived far longer than many expected. Yet it never quite had the opportunity to fulfil its brief, because the world around it changed."
Which reminds me, I must have a 928 before they put me in a box.
I know there are those amongst us that have dabbled in the 928, notably Burma Shave who has had the full experience. I would appreciate any stories that would dissuade me from taking this any further.
I've always loved them. For me they're something between the Spectrum Patrol Car, the SPV and the MSV and I've wanted one since 1978
But I am timid and the Pistonheads thread confirms my fears... Beware all that enter here ! A car like this will rob you your life savings ... your life... and all you hold dear.
So once again, it's agreed, never ever buy a 928.
What ever you do.
And then someone only goes and posts this.
"My car only ever really settled a little beyond 70, and really came in to its own somewhat north of that.
The suspension, always a bit stiff and fidgety around town, begins to settle, smoothing the road below beautifully.
The steering, initially heavy, lightens as the wheel begins to dance ever so gently in your hands.
And the automatic gearbox - which most everyone loves to hate - conspires keep the revs right where you needed them.
A simple flex of a toe and you're hauled forward, no kick-down required, the engine sounding like it's rising deep from the bowels of a ship.
And if you do kick-down, things take a savage turn, the V8 revealing a zeal for revs that marks it very much a member of the Porsche family.
On my first proper road trip, I took her around the Roßfeldpanoramastraße near Salzburg.
Harder and harder I pushed, and the car just seemed to shrug and say "Yeah? Ok."
Nothing seemed to surprise it, and therefore nothing seemed to surprise me.
Between huge mechanical grip, a primitive active diff, and brakes for days, it was a car that, as I said, could extend your capabilities, and do so in a completely unflustered way.
A contemporary ad for the S4 stated "It's about as fast as you can go without having to eat airline food". The comparison is apt.
The 928 was built for a world in which traffic wasn't the impediment it has become, and a world in which travelling across Europe by plane was yet to be popularised.
It was also born from a different culture at Porsche, one that prioritised high-speed safety above the visceral pleasures of driving we (and they) now tend to revere.
Perhaps, in some respects, it's not too dissimilar to Concorde: a towering achievement of its time, and so well-engineered that it lived far longer than many expected. Yet it never quite had the opportunity to fulfil its brief, because the world around it changed."
Which reminds me, I must have a 928 before they put me in a box.
I know there are those amongst us that have dabbled in the 928, notably Burma Shave who has had the full experience. I would appreciate any stories that would dissuade me from taking this any further.
