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ODE TO THE 928 - Dark as night and oh so sleek, with howling voice of power she speaks. Silky, slippery, shapely skin. Timeless beauty, quick as sin!
| Love Story's |
| In 1982 I was in Toronto with my Dad. We
pulled up behind a Copper colored 928 at a traffic light and as I was drooling, my Dad said "It doesn't go any faster than my car in a traffic jam" at which point the light turned green and the 928 left my Dad's Ford Country Squire station wagon in the dust! Regards Jamie Howton 1987 928 S4 A/T Dunkelblau 1979 928 5 Spd Opalmetalic 928 OC Member Chicago Area PCA =================================================== |
| I was driving on the Autobahn from Augsburg to
Munich in a Mercedes sedan, doing 160km/hr in the left lane when I saw flashing lights way behind me.
I
was puzzled as to who/what that car was flashing at. Seconds later that
car
was on my bumper, "inviting" me to get in the slow lane. We
watched in
wonderment as this black car simply left us like we we standing still. Charles 80 928S black euro =================================================== |
| 1979. Headed West on 28th St (In Grand
Rapids MI), in the left lane
(between the far right lane and the middle turn lane) stopped at the intersection of M-37, sitting in the back seat of my friend's mother's orange VW rabbit. His Mom is driving us to the mall, late afternoon. This "Awesome, kickass" (I'm in 8th grade) sports car pulls past us on the right and stops for the light about 2 car lengths in front of us. It's a "blackish kinda brown" color. I have a fit. I've never seen anything like it. Friend's mother tells me to calm down and watch my mouth. (This is due to my "Holy Sh*t! What's That!" comment) Car nut friend tells me about how it's wonderful because it's available in an automatic, perfect 50/50 weight distribution, and it has not only tilt wheel, but "tilt dash". The "telephone dial" wheels also are some of the nicest he's ever seen. (At age 12) I make the statement "I'm going to get one of those some day, that's an incredible looking car." Friend's mother tells me that I better get good job. Fast forward 16 years to 1995. It's about 10pm in the parking lot of some "ethnic" hall, during "my friend's" uncle Ongileo's retirement party. Same Rabbit driving Mom (no longer has Rabbit) is being taken for a ride in my then new to me 928, and says, "You know, I remember when you said you were going to get one these. That's really neat that you finally did." - Yes it is. - David W Moody Jr '78 5spd "blackish kinda brown" '81 AT (hers) black 928 Owners Club Charter Member West Mich PCA PS - I had to be convinced that the 911 was nice car after the first time I saw one. I didn't believe it was supposed to be a sports car. =================================================== |
| I had what I considered to be a BAAAAD Z28
Camaro with a healthy 350 and it
was really a nice car for what it was. One evening my Date and I
were
cruising on a 4 lane rural road when an 86 928S pulled up besides us at an
intersection. The temptation to dust this foreign car was just too
great and
I let him know that I wanted to see what he had. He responded
positively and
we went at it. I had superior traction and gearing and took him by a
car off
the line and kept him in check until we reached triple digit speed.
At that
point I looked over and he was still right there. I was in
disbelief. As my
car was approaching the rev limiter in high gear ~125mph he came
past me as
if I were tied to a tree. To make matters even worse, he shifted (into 5th
I
suppose) as he passed me and I realized that he still had one or two gears
left to go. I hovered at top end for a few moments while his tail
lights
quickly disappeared into the darkness, feeling stupid and too embarrassed
to
even look over at my date. I had to have one of those cars...hell
they even
sounded good! I started looking for one and ended up with a 78
Euro. I
hate to admit that I treated a few Mustangs to the same treatment that I
had
been treated to. It's a special kind of demoralization when your
pride and
joy (car) reaches top end and the driver you are racing casually
downshifts
and walks away from you and there is nothing you can do about it but sit
there and watch. Disclaimer: These actes were all performed many years ago (past the statute of limitations) and were foolish acts performed by an immature person etc... Nobody should try these things at home etc... If any of you still fell the need I'll save you some labor...save you flames for someone who cares. Leo =================================================== |
| My first memory is the June 1977 issue of
Popular Science magazine. I was
13 years old. It's a short article called "Luxury sports car
performs like
a racer". I still have the issue! Page 103. "Newest Porsche on the U.S. scene is the 928, a super-luxury $25,000 model that boasts a number of innovative - for Porsche - features: V8 power, adjustable steering wheel/instrument panel, and an aluminum/steel body. "I drove the 928 for 60 miles here in southern France and found that it handles and performs like a race car. Especially impressive were the sense of control and handling, the power and smoothness of the V8 engine, and visibility. "The drive train is all new. It develops 225 hp from its 273-cu.-in. water-cooled V8. Zero-60-mph performance is in the seven-second range, quicker than any U.S. model now being produced. Fuel injection and electronic ignition are standard. "By placing the engine up front and the transmission in the rear, Porsche is able to offer 50/50 weight distribution between the front and rear axles. Two transmissions are available, a five-speed manual and a three-speed Mercedes automatic. "Aluminum body panels are used in the hood, doors, and front fenders, while galvanized steel is used on the remainder of the body. Porsche offers a six-year warranty against rust. "Front and rear bumpers seem to blend in with the body contours, thanks to the use of polyurethane plastic coverings over a backing of aluminum bars. Bumpers will withstand car-to-car impacts of 10 mph without damage to safety-related items. "Inside, the 928 offers style combined with efficiency. The body has a 2+2 layout. Rear seats fold forward, for an enormous increase in luggage capacity. The instrument panel is rigidly attached to the steering column so that when the column is adjusted, the gauges move at the same time, and are not hidden by the steering wheel." -Jim Dunne =================================================== This car was obviously the top, the cream of the crop, the king of the mountain, the height of excellence. What other car is there?? Everything pales next to the 928! Sure there are the super-exotic Lamborghini's and Ferrari's but they are *limited* use! What does the 928 NOT do??? It's good in rain, snow, around town, long road trips, ..... ?? There *is* no other car!!! It has a split personality and it's NOT a disorder!! You can drive it like a luxury car OR you can drive it like a racer. It does exactly what you want!!! Now that's a SUPER-CAR!!!!!! I really like the looks of my S4, but that original '78 model has got to be the best looking 928. No wing, no lip - just a big round outrageous rear-end! EVERYTHING else in the world was square and angular, and here was this round car, the shape of things to come. I love the phone dials. That op-art psychedelic interior is FANTASTIC. The car was just plain ART inside, outside, and under the hood. And $25,000 was just completely incomprehensible.... A car for millionaires. For someone who had arrived, and obviously! By the way, I turned over 120,000 miles tonight! I hit something over 90 mph to celebrate (hey - it was raining so I kept the speed down...). Awesome car. And it's MINE! :) John Pirtle 87 Auto Atlanta =================================================== |
| Good morning; First saw one in 1977/8 after coming down from the mountains of Vermont to the big city of Worcester, MA. What a great looking car, and the headlights pointed up in the air! What's up with that? Then the guy turned the headlights on! The sheer elegance of the machine may have caused me to hallucinate, but I distinctly remember that the recessed headlights spun backwards before pointing forward. I finally bought one this year, but I was disappointed that the headlights didn't rotate backwards. Still the most fun I've ever had in a car (alone). Someone please tell me that I wasn't dreaming about the headlights. I've never seen it again, and I've never heard anybody on the list discuss them. -Rick- 89S4 a/t Lienen Metallic =================================================== |
| It was August of 1985. I had just purchased my
first Porsche, a red, mint
condition, 1976 914 2.0 liter that had been breathed on by the local
Porsche guru mechanic. It was a very nice, it would actually do red line
in 5th, 150 mph and even had the rare factory AC. The first weekend of
ownership an inaugural road trip from Oklahoma City to Atlanta to visit
family was in order. The trip was a joy. I discovered, the hard way, cruising 85 to 90 mph with the targa top off your own hair would beat your head to death in about 15 to 20 minutes. So much for ideal of topless highway cruising. Just past Chatanooga heading south on 85, the twisting mountain highway was a exhilarating despite the fact it had gotten dark and there was a light drizzle. Doing 90 on the wide rolling turns passing the occasional car or truck I felt like I was king of the road when these odd looking lights rapidly approached from behind. 2 big beams with parking lights down low. As the car leisurely overtook and passed me I couldn't help but notice it was a 928. Oddly the driver had his interior lights on, I felt like I was watching some kind of strange car/rain tire commercial. I matched speed and followed for a while, but as the road straightened out he sped off into the distance. It was a very ethereal. The next day, I took the 914 to the Atlanta Porsche Dealership for a nervous nelly new owner check up. While waiting, I entertained myself with the obligatory tire kicking, fondling and drooling due each of the new Porsches on display in the showroom. Sitting in each I noticed there really wasn't that much difference between the new models and the old 914. That was until I sat in the 928. It was like a combination spaceship, jet fighter, and living room lazy boy. Gripping the wheel I remembered the 928 from the night before and envisioned myself cruising the winding mountain highways. If it weren't for the $79,000 sticker it would have been difficult to drive off in my lowly 914. Well, at least the 914 was still a Porsche. Richard Davis 90 GT =================================================== |
| I had my 928 for about a year and a half
before I fell in love. My 944 was past 100,000 miles and I had decided that it was time for something else. The choice came down to a 911 Carrera 4 or a 928S4. These are not easy cars to find in Maine, by the way, as three very few, so I began to search anywhere east of the Mississippi. My car was in a specialty car shop in New Hampshire. The car was as perfect as it was advertised as being, and after about six months of driving it while totally intimidated by the power and weight of it, I was finally comfortable. It was everything that it was supposed to be. But I don't fall in love with my cars. They are to be used and enjoyed, and then they go away in favor of something else. Now, I realize that yousmartasses out there are gonna say something like: "Hey, wait a minute. You've been married twice, so that sounds like you must be talking about women, here, not 928s". Wellllll, not quite, actually. Anyway, a friend and I were going on a Thanksgiving pilgrimage to visit some of her long lost relatives in Pennsylvania. We had left Maine in the early afternoon, and were nearly to our first night's destination, crossing the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York. Traffic was moderately heavy, and since I was looking for the next exit, I was in the far right lane, moving with the traffic at about seventy miles per hour. Just as we were leaving the bridge itself, some woman in a white Cadillac came flying up beside me...oh, probably going eighty-five. She had decided, for some reason, that her Cadillac should be occupying the precise piece of pavement that the 928 was on, and as she drew along side of me, she swerved into me. I merely saw a flash of white out of the corner of my eye. I can still "see" the rest of the story unfold. I did the ONLY thing that was possible, react: I yanked the steering wheel HARD right. Didn't have time to take my foot off the accelerator first....just flicked the wheel. The 928 responded by snapping 90 degrees to the right, and entering a slide with the driver's door going forward, gradually moving into the breakdown lane. I could see the metal post with the reflector that marks the very edge of the pavement coming toward me, FAST. I remember thinking to myself that the car was going to be damaged, and hoped that we wouldn't roll. Reaction again: I snapped the wheel HARD left. The 928 responded by snapping 150 degrees or so LEFT, now with the passenger door heading down the road. Somehow we had missed that reflector post, but we were heading back into the far right travel lane, now going about fifty miles per hour sideways. Reaction again. I snapped the wheel right, and this time, floored the accelerator. The 928, as though it UNDERSTOOD, snapped its nose straight ahead, now in the breakdown lane, and accelerated. I looked in the rear view mirror, saw an opening, and moved back into the travel lane, the Cadillac that had precipitated the whole thing, now five car lengths or so in front of me. My companion said, (VERY quietly): "Roger: that was amazing! You were in complete control of that every second!" I don't think I said anything, because I KNEW at that moment, that the 928 was a better "driver" than I ever would be, and at THAT moment, I knew that I was in love. Roger =================================================== |
| Excellent post Roger. I feel the same way. My
GT has saved my a** in
plenty of situations where a lesser car would have gotten me killed. It's definitely it's driving ability, not mine. Chris Lockhart '89 928 GT 928OC PCA-Carolinas Region =================================================== |
| Here Here! For almost the very same
reasons I decided to try to match my
driving skills to the car's abilities. That's where Autocross and DE comes in. Now, I suspect I could have improved my driving skills with almost any above average performance car. However, with the 928 I think I started to learn by using one of the finest (if not the finest) driving tools available. That training, and the fact that I learned and practiced in a 928, was directly applicable to street driving, which translated to much improved driving abilities. As many of you have done, and can understand, I (thanks in great part to the 928's abilities) have evaded or avoided numerous serious collisions that I might not have been able to evade or avoid with a "lesser" car. I ask you, how can you not love a car that looks as good as a 928 and performs as well as it does? For me, I have to love it. Good thing my wife understands. ~ Merry motoring ~ Ed Ruiz =================================================== |
| I found out just how well the shark let's you
react .... On my normal route
to work is a nice stretch that never has any traffic .. a 1.5 mile straight, short hill climb, then down the other side into a moderately sharp corner (I've taken it at 90mph... Not quite ready to push it further... Funny, no body roll, and the shark acts like it's on rails) .... The nice part is that from the hill top you can see corner below and the road after, with plenty of time to slow up for the farm tractors when they're out ... Only part you can't see is just big enough to hide a small Vauxhall that decided it was a good place to stop and phone home .... 1/3 into the turn, speedo at 85, and there's the Vauxhall ... Hard right, hard left, no problem ... amazing Joseph.Chevalier =================================================== |
| At 07:41 AM 12/14/00, Chris Lockhart wrote: >Excellent post Roger. I feel the same way. My GT has saved my a** in plenty of situations where a lesser car would have gotten me killed. >It's definately it's driving ability, not mine. This was a common theme among the better magazine reviews - that the 928's abilities are far above the abilities of most drivers. Another interesting comment was that the car was so good that it didn't feel impressive - it just did everything that you told it to do, with absolutely no fuss or drama. Wally =================================================== |
| At 08:25 AM 12/14/00, Ed Ruiz wrote: >Now, I suspect I could have improved my driving skills with almost any above average performance car. However, with the 928 I think I >started to learn by using one of the finest (if not the finest) driving tools available. You did it wrong. You should have bought a 911. After you had learned to drive it (assuming you survived), you could have driven any car in the world. Now that you have been thoroughly spoiled by the 928, any lesser car will bite you in the butt in a heartbeat! ;-) Wally =================================================== |
| 1986 I was in college in Austin TX. Met
two girls in a bar and hit it off with one of them. We agreed to
meet there the next night and I would bring my friend along and introduce
to the other girl. We meet the next day and as the evening wears on,
we decide to go to my house which was 10 miles straight down I35.
The girl with my buddy says she will drive and I remember she pulled out
that key and it was the most awesome thing I had ever seen! I
immediately knew I had to have one and I hadn't even seen the car
yet! I was in the back seat behind the driver. Perfect fit
although I had to tilt my head a bit. I remember the smell of the
leather interior and the sound of the engine to this day. We were
cruising down the freeway and I looked out around the seat and we were
going between 90-100 MPH and I would have guessed 60-70! I was
hooked and the rest is history. Bought my '85 2 years later.
Oh, BTW, the car I was driving...a Mercury Zephyr with an 80HP straight 6! Randy Grubbs '93 black/black 5speed =================================================== |
| In the 60's (late 60's) while in college, a
friend and I would drink beer,
listen to Sketches of Spain (Miles Davis) and wax poetic about exotic cars
and motorsports - formula one, Porsches (his religion) and other sports
cars more befitting my pocket book (used british roadsters) until 2 or 3
in
the morning. This late night, alcohol induced indoctrination took -
yes I
like Porsches, ...all of them. I had my heart set on a 1967 911S
(the last
desmogged model) for many years. Perusing an issue of Road &
Track (my
bible at the time) in the late seventies, I came across an article, which
among other things critiqued the design of the new 928. Being a
recent
architecture graduate, I was drawn to the bold departure from traditional
design and the understated elegance of form. Years later, R&T
did an
article on used exotics - the 928 stood out as a uniquely modern car in
the
group. Of course it was not lost on me that it was the only timeless
classicly beautiful design of the bunch, indeed of any production car of
the time. I decided then that I would have one someday. Three years ago I took one for a test drive. Rushing toward a negative camber turn on Riverside drive in Atlanta, I sensed the salesman puckering the passenger seat leather. He normally sold 911's so his worry was understandable to me. Rounding the corner sans drama, he croaked, "so you do know how to drive". I didn't tell him it was actually the car clearly exceeding my abilities, ...as I was even feeling a little trepidation over my impulsiveness. I drove 8 other cars over the next few months, before I returned and bought the first 928 I ever drove. Gary Tilson '89 928 S4 Guards Red/Tan PCA Member - PeachState Region 928 Owners Club =================================================== |
| I first saw the 928s4 in 1987. I was at a
visiting a company for a
computer system repair on their main administration mini system. The lady
in charge of administration was the owners wife. The owner was driving a Mercedes SLC series. He arrived on the same moment as I was driving up the parking area in my Mazda ... He didn't even notice my car, even though I was quite proud to own one. Then a moment later I heard a roaring heavy V8 approaching the parking area. I just waited for a moment to see what was making that sound. A gray metallic 928 parked, the lady took off her sunglasses, stepped out of the car, looked at me with a big smile, glanced at her car with satisfaction, and said: come on, let's go to work. There's no point in waiting until I leave again.... and with great pleasure she ignored her husbands car while passing by. Elegantly and in style she stepped towards the door, keeping it open until I entered and lost the view to this wonderfully styled Porsche 928. I guess that's when it happened to me. I bought a 928s4 when I could afford one and was not using it as a daily driver anymore. Only a Ferrari F50 would make me hesitate again. Theo '88 928s4 cherry red =================================================== Yes... the C5 Vette is seriously fast. My brother has a 2000 C5
auto (the
auto is actually faster in the quarter mile than the 6spd). It will
out |
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