Market Finds: There are 928 Reasons Why You Should Buy This Porsche

There are 928 Reasons Why You Should Buy This Porsche

By Petrolicious Productions
March 20, 2014
11 comments

The car: 1987 Porsche 928 S4

Price: $29,928

Location: Austin, Texas, USA

Original Ad: Click here

When the Porsche 928 debuted for the 1978 model year, Stuttgart purists thought it was the beginning of the end. Porsche had been building slightly unconventional sports cars – witness the rear-engined 356 and 911 plus the mid-engined 914 – but when the 928 was introduced at the 1977 Geneva Motor Show, it won acclaim as a fast and comfortable front-engined V8-powered GT.

But it almost was the beginning of the end. By the end of the 1960s, it became apparent to the world’s automakers that things were going to change with upcoming emissions and safety requirements, with more possibly on the way. Porsche in particular felt that the 911 would be hurt by these changes, so plans were made for a successor. A sports car with the comfort of a luxury sedan was thought to have the widest appeal, so a design study was undertaken in 1971. When the 928 finally hit the streets for 1978, all those scary legislative rumors never came to fruition, so both it and the 911 were produced side by side. Equipped with a 4.5L water-cooled SOHC V8 and a transaxle that gave 50/50 weight distribution, the 928 produced 219 horsepower in the U.S. and 237 hp for the rest of the world. Performance was similar to the 911 but with more neutral handling. Steady improvements continued through 1987, when the 928 was facelifted and given S4 status, which was powered by a DOHC 5.0L with revised cylinder heads, camshafts, pistons, and intake. Horsepower was 316 for the U.S., 320 for elsewhere. This second-gen 928 continued in numerous forms through 1995.

What’s great about the 928 is that because many folks felt it was not a “real” Porsche, it hasn’t captured the imagination of the collector car world. If anything, it’s thought of as a bargain – a V8 Porsche with great styling and graceful moves – but a bargain only if it doesn’t need work. This dark blue on white 1987 928 S4 fits that bill. As one of the rarer 5-speed models (most cars sold in America were automatics) and with under 60,000 miles, this 928 S4 has been babied by a Porsche Club of America member and has its service records from Porsche dealerships going back to when new. Included are a certificate of authenticity from Porsche, all accessories, and car cover. And if you need one more reason to buy this Porsche, check out our review of Risky Business, where it co-starred with Tom Cruise.

If you know of a great, stylish car for sale and would like us to feature it, let us know!

Petrolicious makes no claim as to the accuracy of the information contained in the car’s original listing, nor will it be held responsible for any errors in said information. If you’re interested in this car, do your homework and research it extensively before you buy. 

 

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Alexandre Goncalves
Alexandre Goncalves
8 years ago

Manual owner here!

Brooks Lester
Brooks Lester
10 years ago

Gordon Beveridge

You should do more research before you troll.

The US consistently buys about one quarter of Porsche’s production – thus year in year out we are usually the largest market for Porsche, beyond even sales in their own country, Germany, and far beyond your Australia. Therefore, even if you don’t care about US sales and consumer wants, Porsche certainly does.

Additionally , don’t be fooled into thinking that all Americans want their Porsches with automatic transmissions. Search our used car websites for Porsches – you’ll find thousands of listings for manual transmission Porsches. Perhaps Porsche should have sent us more manual transmission 928’s.

Ben Bishop
Ben Bishop
10 years ago

I think this picture of the back of a 928 fuse panel should bee enough to dissuade anyone who wants to maintain one…
Nightmare.

Raman Dooman
Raman Dooman
10 years ago

I owned a black with dove grey interior 928S4 manual. It was my first Porsche and I have any fond memories of this car. The manual transmission was by know means clunky, in fact it brought this raging bull of a V8 to life. On one particular night, I was returning with two friends in the car (yes one was in the back seat) an early 90s red Corvette pulled up next to me in the freeway and he kept lunging back and forth taunting me to take him on. I eased it into 4th gear and slowly pushed the peddle down and slowly the power surge came and we took off.. The vette had no idea what hit him.. Before I knew it, we were at 140 mph and our exit was approaching.. I left off the gas, changed lanes and took the off ramp.. My two companions where panicking at this point.. I applied the brakes and we came to a dead stock at the light. I turned to them and said, did you know that this car held the records for fastest 0 to 60 to 0? 😀

Jorrit Hermans
Jorrit Hermans
10 years ago

Let’s stick to the cars, shall we? I own one of these, a 1987 928 S4. It’s a fabulous piece of automotive engineering and forward thinking. Still fresh today. Buy one if you spot a good one.

Gordon Beveridge
Gordon Beveridge
10 years ago

The usa ( america ) is only a small and mostly irrelevant part of the world. Who cares if most north american 928’s were automatic.
That is due to the 99.999999\% of your population who do not appreciate nice things.

Andreas Lavesson
Andreas Lavesson
10 years ago

That’s quite harsh. The United States is the world’s 4:th largest country and the biggest single economy on earth. Also, North America comprise more than 15\% of the world’s entire landmass. So calling it “small” and “irrelevant” is not only uncalled for, but also wrong.

Diego
Diego
10 years ago

Mr. Beveridge:

Here’s a profound thought – this Porsche is being sold in the US of A. It is an American-spec 928 S4 and therefore suffers from several government-regulated items that killed a couple of horsepower. This site serves to demonstrate this, yet all you’ve demonstrated is a lack of grace.

So please tell us: what’s your point?

Chunk
Chunk
10 years ago

Coming from an Australian, this is actually pretty comical.

Ae Neuman
Ae Neuman
10 years ago

contrary to the sportscar owners handbook, i much prefer these with an automatic gearbox.
the fine mercedes auto box just reinforces how effortless the 928 was as a long distance cruiser.
the manual was ok but heavy and trucklike.
all a bit uncouth as the late phil llewellin wrote in car magazine.

Matthew Lange
10 years ago

Nice, I searched for a nice manual 928 a few years ago but couldn’t find a decent car for sensible money. Great or drive but slightly odd pedal positioning with a wide space between the clutch and brake pedal.

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