When the Porsche 928 was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1977, dressed in red and white to match the national colors, onlookers were treated to a sports car unlike any Porsche had ever built before or since.
With a powerful V8 engine, the transaxle design and the Weissach rear axle, the Porschen developers achieved a feat that at least some of the competition had to follow. And the design was extremely bold and differed significantly from the uniformity of the time, but also from the top dog 911, which they wanted to replace in the medium term with the 928, because it was assumed that the days of the air-cooled rear-engined sports car would soon come to an end.
From the first models to the last production model
Brian Long wrote the history of the Porsche 928 years ago for the Veloce publishing house and now a German-language translation is available. Long begins with a chapter on the early history of Porsche and then moves swiftly on to the development, testing and production preparation work.
Countless photos from the development department, which have probably never been seen before, show how the 928 took shape step by step and how no detail was left to chance.
Car of the year
Consequently, the Porsche 928 went on to win the coveted title of "Car of the Year" and photos of the celebrations at the time can also be found here.
The motoring journalists of the time praised the new sports car to the skies, at least at the beginning, and Long has compiled some pithy quotes.
The start of sales could not have gone better, but fate took a turn for the worse.
Not everything went according to plan, American emissions legislation and rising energy prices made life difficult for the 928.
Long describes the changes to the 928 year by year and also points out the motorsport use. He also explains how Schutz adapted its marketing strategy and how the Porsche construction program changed in parallel with the 928.
Right up to the last press photo
The more than 200-page 928 bible concludes with a press photo showing the 928 GTS of the 1996 model year, when it was actually no longer part of the program. The 928 had undergone considerable further development since the first series and, although visually similar, had matured considerably in technical terms. Of course, Brian Long leaves hardly a change unmentioned in his book.
Not just for 928 owners
Of course, a book like the one described here is primarily aimed at 928 enthusiasts and they have relatively little choice compared to 911 fans. But you don't have to own or want to buy a 928 to enjoy this book, which costs almost 40 euros and has an attractive design; an interest in sports cars and Porsche in particular is enough.
Mention should also be made of a detailed appendix which, in addition to the engine specifications (including numbers), also breaks down the chassis numbers and transmission codes. An index is also provided, which is unfortunately not a matter of course.
Around 61,000 Porsche 928s were built in 19 years, so it's worth taking another look.
Bibliographical information
- Title: Porsche 928 - All models from 1977 to 1995
- Author: Brian Long
- Language: German
- Publisher: Delius Klasing
- Edition: 1st edition 2016
- Size: 208 pages, 292 photos (color), 50 photos (b/w), 52 illustrations (color), 23 illustrations (b/w)
- Format: Hardcover with dust jacket, 25.9 x 25.8 cm
- Price: € 39.90 (D)
- ISBN 978-3-667-10465-6
- Buy/order: Online at the publisher Delius Klasing, online at amazon.de or in the relevant bookstores
