The Porsche 928 is a two door, high performance, grand touring super car produced by Porsche AG of Germany from 1978 until 1995. Originally conceptualised to cater for an evolving automotive market, it was Porsche’s first entirely in-house design for a production car and was ultimately intended to replace the Porsche 911 as Porsche’s flagship model. The 928 combined the handling and performance aspects of a sports car with the ride, load space and comfort of a luxury car.

Porsche executives believed the package would have wider appeal than the compact, somewhat antiquated and slow-selling air-cooled 911. The 928 was the company’s first production V8-powered model and its only coupé powered by a front-mounted V8 engine. It was particularly notable for its record-setting high top speed. On release in 1978, the 928’s advanced design & construction won it the European Car of the Year.

Early Porsche 928

By the late 1960s, Porsche had firmly established itself as a manufacturer of high-performance sports cars. In the wake of the 1970s oil crisis, executives, including owner Ferdinand Porsche, were beginning to consider adding a more fuel-efficient luxury touring car to the line-up. The 928 combined the handling and performance aspects of a sports car with the ride, load space and comfort of a luxury car.

During its 18 year production run, the fundamentals of the 928’s design remained the same, though the engine and styling underwent several changes, with a distinct ‘facelift’ separating the first generation and second generation cars.

The 928 featured a front-mounted and water-cooled V8 engine driving the rear wheels. Originally displacing 4.5 L it was rated at 240 PS in Europe, while smog equipment reduced the output to 219 hp  for cars sold in the North American market.

Porsche’s design and development were rewarded during the 1978 European Car of the Year, where the 928 won ahead of the BMW 7 Series, and the Ford Granada. The 928 is the only sports car to have won this accolade.