Was The Porsche 928 Suppose To Replace The Porsche 911?

The Porsche 930 Turbo may have scared Porsche into designing a more docile car

The original Porsche 911 Turbo is one of the most iconic sports cars ever made. Sadly, it is also one with a dark reputation. It was notoriously difficult to control when the turbo kicked in, surprising more than a few unsuspecting owners and earning it one of the coolest Porsche nicknames - "The Widowmaker”. Porsche was aware of the inherent disadvantages of the rear-engine layout, which were even more pronounced on the powerful Turbo model. Some owners even sued Porsche for being irresponsible when designing a car. Despite the 911 already having many racing wins under its belt, Porsche was forced to look at a different model to sell to the public.

Porsche’s then-CEO Ernst Fuhrmann saw the 911 as outdated. The V8-powered Porsche 928 was the answer. A more laid-back, but still sporty model, it was a more conventional, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive (FR) setup. It was more of a long-distance cruiser than a lightweight sports car for the road. Ferry Porsche (seen above), son of founder Ferdinand Porsche was involved in developing the marketing strategy for the 928. He understood the importance of positioning the car as a luxury vehicle that could compete with European rivals like Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar.

It also featured a transaxle (rear-mounted transmission) for a better weight balance, resulting in a 50:50 weight distribution between the front and rear axles. To put things in perspective, a Porsche 930 Turbo has a weight distribution of roughly 38:62, which carries over to modern days, and explains why no other car launches from a standstill like a 911. This is more of a personal theory as there is no definitive proof that the 930’s reputation prompted Porsche to design the 928. However, given the front-engine 928 came out just a few years after the original 911 Turbo "Widowmaker", it seems plausible that Porsche would have wanted to repair its reputation by offering a more manageable sports car to the public.

The Porsche 928 never gained the 911’s racing pedigree

Much of Porsche’s motorsport success is owed to the 911. The rear-engine model proved, early on that it was versatile enough to compete (and win) in various racing series, including rallying. The Porsche 928, which was part of Porsche’s transaxle era models and also included the likes of the 924, 944, and 968; is the brand’s only sports car, never attained the racing pedigree of its rear-engined sibling.

Sure, it saw some racing action in IMSA back in 1984, but it is safe to say that the 911 was and is Porsche’s poster child for motorsports, and given the brand’s consistent involvement in various racing series, it wouldn’t make sense to simply axe their most successful race car, in favor of a V8 grand tourer like the 928. The same philosophy carried over through the late 1990s even with loosely-based 911 models like the Porsche 911 GT1, and in more recent times, the Porsche 992.2 GT3 and GT3 RS models, which offer track-optimized dynamics while being road-worthy.

Will Porsche remake the 928

It didn’t take long for Porsche to start exploring the limits of the 928 platform. In the 1980s, Porsche made a few prototypes, based on the 928 – the 945 four-door shooting brake, the G50 two-door shooting brake, and the 928 S4 convertible. Neither of them reached production. During the same time, Porsche also worked on the 989 - a V8-powered, four-door sedan, visually inspired by the 911. If the Porsche 928 continued to sell well, the 989 would have entered production. The 928, however, stuck around for too long and sales dropped, eventually killing the model itself, in 1995. These days, the Porsche 928 legacy is carried on by Nardone Automotive in the form of an exquisite restomod.

Why did Porsche stop making the 928

If the Porsche 928 was meant to be a true replacement for the 911, then it would have, at the very least, had similar marketing. Porsche always advertised the 928 as a luxury car, focusing more on glamour than performance (not that it didn’t have any). Moreover, there was never a race program for the 928 like there was for the 911 and other Porsche models at the time. During its early years, the Porsche 928 became a sales hit, even with the 911 being sold alongside it. Slogans like “Introducing the redefinition of the sports car by Porsche, the sports car specialist” would leave you believing Porsche was, indeed, replacing the 911 with a front-engine grand tourer, but why continue making a model if you are planning to replace it?

The 964-generation Porsche 911 came out in 1989 and fixed everything that made the G-body 911s a handful. Perfect timing too, since at the same time, the 928 started experiencing a sharp decline in sales compared to its early years. The Porsche 928 stayed around for 18 years and even companies like BB Auto managed to create rare variants like the 928 Targa. The writing was on the wall, however, and the Porsche 928 would be axed in 1995, leaving the rear-engine 911 as the marque’s true flagship sports car. If you’re interested in the 928, there’s a wide variety of models to choose from, given its nearly two-decade-long production run, with the most sought-after of them all being the coveted 928 GT. According to classic.com, the average sale price over the past five years is just under $34,000.

*Disclaimer - information still being confirmed for accuracy