It’s September 28 today, and if we ignore the fact that the root word for September is actually a word that means “seven” then we can comfortably accept that September is the ninth month, which means that, numerically, using the American month/day notation, today is 9/28! And 9/28 are the same numbers as 928, which is what Porsche called its first production V8-powered car, the Porsche 928. The 928 is a car that’s full of fascinating and strange details, so to commemorate the day and the car, I dug up 9.28 facts and details and quirks about the car that I feel it’s dreadfully important for you to know. Sound good? Of course it does.
The 928 started out as a car that would have replaced the venerable 911, with a greater emphasis on luxury and comfort than the 911, which was more of a purist driving machine. The 928 was supposed to be a driver’s car that had a special emphasis on the passenger as well. More of a luxury GT car than the 911, a number of the little details that make the 928 special stem from this core mandate.
Okay, let’s get into the good stuff!
1. It Started Out As A Rear-Engined Car
Remember, the 928 was originally going to replace the 911, and Porsche was all about rear engines, especially when it came to the 911. So, it stands to reason that when Porsche was looking into a replacement, it started off with what it knows best: engines shoved way out back.
And, as you can see in those blueprints above, that meant that the first version of the 928 (known as “Progr.H” back in 1971) had a big rear-mounted V8, like some kind of sleeker Tatra T87. If they continued down this path, the result wouldn’t really have been the 928 as we know it, which did have a rear-mounted transaxle for a tidy 50-50 weight balance, but I bet it would have been pretty cool, even if it may also have been an oversteering beast.
2. The Design Was Inspired By The Pacer, Sort Of And Maybe
So this is one of my absolute favorite 928 stories, even if I’m no longer entirely convinced it’s true. But it’s sort of true. You may have, like many of us, noticed a strange similarity between the Porsche 928 and, improbably, the AMC Pacer designs, especially at the rear. Well, this doesn’t seem to be a coincidence: Porsche’s chief designer at the time, Tony Lapine, has admitted, on record, that the rear of the Pacer influenced the 928’s rear end design. And you can see it! The shape of the windows, the hatch design, the position and general shape of the taillights, I get it!
The problem is this may not be exactly true. According to Petersen-Museum-employed automotive historian Jonee Eisen, because the 928 and the Pacer were in development simultaneously, it’s unlikely that the final Pacer design influenced the 928. But! There is some truth here, as Lapine was good friends with AMC designer Dick Teague, and both Teague and Lapin were heavily influenced by the same car for their very different car projects: the Corvair Testudo concept designed by Giugiaro:
You can see how the rear end of this car (interestingly, a rear-engined car) had a heavy influence in both 928 and Pacer. So, even if one wasn’t exactly the offspring of the other, they were both drinking from the same cup when it came to their rear-end designs.
3. It’s The Smallest Car To Ever Have A Separate Rear Seat A/C System
I mean, I guess I haven’t done a really, really comprehensive check to confirm this, but I’m pretty sure it’s true. You could get a separate A/C system for just the rear two seats, and considering that’s the sort of thing you usually only find in stretch limos and big church vans, this has to be the smallest internal car volume that merits a separate rear air conditioner.
The reasons for this existing, I think, have less to do with the size of the car and more to do with the sheer volume of glass around the rear passenger area. It’s a real fishbowl/greenhouse back there, and the sun beaming in through all that curved glass definitely has an effect.
In fact, that’s exactly why our next weird 928 fact exists:
4. It’s One Of The Only Cars To Have Rear Seat Sun Visors
While the 928 isn’t the only car to have a bunch of extra sun visors, it’s likely the most famous one. And, what’s even more interesting is that these sun visors weren’t meant to shade your eyes from the sun like pretty much every sun visor is designed to, these were meant to shade the top of your head and the back of your neck from the sun’s punishing UV rays, saving countless bald spots and neck napes from the agony of an intense sunburn.
5. A Brazilian Company Once Made Two Sub-Scale Porsche 928 Knockoff Cars
I’ve said before that what Australia was to mammals, Brazil was to air-cooled Volkswagens. That’s because for much of the 1970s and 1980s, the Brazilian government had severe import restrictions in order to encourage their domestic auto industry. As a result, cars that were built in Brazil with nearly all Brazilian parts, like the Brazilian Volkswagen Fusca (what they called the Beetle) ended up being re-designed and re-purposed to fill every possible automotive niche.
This included sports cars, which made for some really elegant and sleek solutions, like the Puma and VW’s SP-2, and also some deeply strange ones like the Dacon 828.
As the name suggests, the 828 was inspired by the Porsche 928, but had some wildly different proportions. The car was based on a standard VW Beetle chassis, only with a shocking 31 inches cut out of the middle, making for a very stumpy package. The usual VW flat-four remained at the rear, and with about 65 hp on tap and less weight than even a normal Beetle, these were kind of quick, in their own way.
They used VW bus taillights rotated sideways in a way that looked a lot like early 928 taillights, and the wheels looked a lot like the Porsche “phone dial” wheels. Nobody would confuse an 828 for a 928, but you’d absolutely know what inspired it. Only 47 were built, which seems like way too few, to me.
Dacon made another 928-inspired car, this one called the PAG Dacon. Unlike the 828, this one had proportions much closer to the actual 928, and was based on the air-cooled VW Gol platform, which mounted a VW flat-four up front. These retained the flipped Bus taillights and fake phone dial wheels, but even fewer of these seem to have been built. Again, not enough.
6. It Had Some Of The Worst, Most Hidden Control Placements Ever
If you buy a used 928 and decide you want the instruments brighter or dimmer, or you want to adjust the intermittent wiper timing interval, I hope you like mysteries and spelunking and confusion! Because that’s what you got! For whatever reason, Porsche designed a lovely, intuitive dash with logical, clearly marked controls except for two, which they decided would be more fun to make almost invisible, black plastic on a sea of more black plastic in an area with bad lighting, and effectively hide them from you, under the dashboard.
I bet there’s people who have owned 928s for years and had no idea those dials were even under there.
7. It Also Had The Best Interior Trunk Release System I’ve Ever Seen
Okay, so, sure, the dash brightness and wiper delay controls are absurd garbage, but you know what the 928 did better than pretty much anyone? The interior trunk release. You know why? Because they had two, one on each side of the car! That’s so flapjacking convenient I could spit. No more having to clumsily stretch across the car or run around the outside – open either door and there it is, right there on the sill! Brilliant! Why didn’t more cars do it this way?
8. The 928 Had What I think Is The Only Adjustable Door Armrest On Any Car
Can you think of another car that has a door armrest that can be slid out or back to reach your elbow better? I can’t. I guess you could also use it as a storage pocket when it’s pulled all the way out, too. This was a wide car, so I can see how having the ability to pull the door armrest closer to you could be good. Man, they really were thinking of the passengers here, weren’t they?
9. You Could Tow A Boat With One
Yes, there was an official part number for a tow hitch, and, incredibly, for a trailer with brakes, you could tow almost 3,500 pounds with one! That’s the same as the base towing rating for a Toyota Tacoma! What a fancy way to tow a boat. It’d be fun to have one to tow a racing pickup truck, just for the nice opposite-world quality of it all.
9.28. Here’s some video of the 1977 Frankfurt International Auto Show, Where the 928 Was Introduced
I think this video counts as 0.28 of an interesting fact, doesn’t it?
[Editor’s Note: I’d just like to add that the 928 is the next “big thing” in the Porsche world, if I had to guess. Have you seen the Nardone restomod?!:
Man I kinda want one. -DT]
I was busy wallowing in my own parsh yesterday, but let me just say…
This is good parsh.
Also, if we’re talking restomods, I’m in love with the lilac-over-purple Y2K-inspired Nebula 928. Just a cool car.
I was expecting one of the fun facts to be about the fantastic Op-art seat fabric in the 1st gen 928. Were rhey actually designed by British artist Bridget Riley?
> Man I kinda want one. -DT
Only kinda?!
I’m looking forward to the article about the 944 in a couple of weeks.
Or even better the ultimate 924/944… the 968!
Shouldn’t this have been posted at 9:28?
For those of us more European date format inclined, has anyone through history built a 289?
Ford Mustangs were available with 289 cubic inch V-8 engines back in the sixties (/jk with you).
Studebaker also built a 289 ci V-8.
> Sound good?
If it didn’t, we wouldn’t be here ❤️
Sign below if you are a 924 owner who wants to join in a class action discrimination suit for not writing an article about the first front engines, water cooled Porsche sports car.
Don’t skip 9/30 or 9/31…
Anyway good article.
I celebrate ALL the parsh days!
WE’RE TAYCAN 9/11 BACK, DAGNABBIT. THE TERRORISTS CANNOT KILL PURE PARSH JOY!!!!! THAT’S OUR NERDY CAR DATE, DAGNABBIT!
For what it’s worth, the BMW E24 6-series could also have rear AC, with vents that didn’t really point at anything useful and just added an extra layer of complexity to the system.
Danny- you’re absolutely right, but I do think the 635csi had more interior space than the 928, and Jason did say “smallest car”.
This was my #1 dream car as a kid. You could keep your impractical Countachs, I wanted something that could move quickly while carrying passengers, and look incredibly cool doing it.
The only time I got to ride in one was around 1983, when my mom’s then-boss invited us to his place for dinner with his family. He was a tech entrepreneur from Thailand, so he had a lot of money, but he was not ostentatious. Anyway, my mom needed some documents that he had left at the office, so he said he would drive us there to pick them up in his 928. His car had the tan interior, and I can still remember the look, smell, and texture of that upholstery. (And also, how little room there was for me in the back seat…and I was not a particularly tall kid.)
It was a short trip, but the car certainly lived up to the internal hype in my mind.
Love the 928. I always heard that the reason it was a rear wheel drive V8 with an automatic (yes I know, there are manual ones out there but they’re the minority) was that Porsche wanted to try to woo some of the Corvette crowd. I’m not sure if it’s true or not but theoretically it makes sense.
These have kind of had a weird cycle of being loved, to being considered an ugly duckling, to being loved again. All of the technology was on the bleeding edge for its time so if you buy one of these be prepared to deal with gremlins out the wazoo. They’re a lot more trouble than a 911 from this era and I think it’s one of the reasons why they seem to be dying out. I think once a lot of them became geriatric folks wound up giving up on them.
I remember seeing them around growing up and even as a teenager but I can’t tell you the last time I’ve come across one in the wild. The design is iconic and IMHO one of Porsche’s finest. This type of very 70s/80s futurism has aged like fine wine. And of course, the HEADLIGHTS!
My god. There are no better looking pop up headlights in the history of the automobile and no one is changing my mind. The original taillights are super cool as well. Hell, where’s Torch at? Once he’s done throwing the Autozam around we need a headlight/taillight analysis of the 928. The streets DEMAND IT!
Ugh I guess I’m gonna go poke around online now and see what these are going for these days. I’m absolutely certain I’m going to be very disappointed because the Porsche Tax takes no prisoners. Soon you won’t even be able to get a cheap 944…and that’s a depressing thought.
Why didn’t you do one of these for the 911? Its name also corresponds to a date.
They can do one on the 9th of November.
Euro date style. Fitting.
And to our European friends, happy Ford small block V8 day.
I drove these and similar cars of this ilk for very short distances during my career as a valet at a high-end country club.
And I ranked the 928 as the least good when compared to the XJ-S (more posh), the 635i (more comfortable), and – dealer’s choice – the C107 or C126 Mercedes (better built). Although the C107 was getting pretty dated by 1980.
If I’d had the dough, I would have selected the 560SEC or M635CSi over the 928.
At the shop we always called them German Camaros.
that’s good parsh and good camero
According to a friend who is big into 928s, the 928 was the first car with color matched bumpers.
I think the 1968 Pontiac GTO would disagree.
https://wowmusclecars.com/pontiac-gto-endura-bumper-tv-c/
It was the first car with integral bumpers under plastic. When the final design was unveiled in the studio, the first thing Ernst Fuhrmann asked was what it was going to look like with American bumpers on it.
I remember when I first saw one as a little kid I was utterly baffled at how the headlights could possibly be effective pointing straight up at the sky like that. Then when I saw what they did, the 928 became my favorite car in the world. I’ve never gotten to own one, though, but I have had 13 Pacers over the years. I do believe the two cars’ similarities are convergent evolution although that statement by Lapine is intriguing. His son told me it’s all coincidental, though. Maybe he just wanted to show respect for his good friend Dick Teague. He once told Teague that his job designing Ramblers and AMCs was much harder than designing Porsches since Teague had to come up with something that had to appeal to millions whereas Porsche only had to sell their cars to a few rich people.
Anyone with 13 pacers deserves an upvote!
Intending no disrespect to Torch I have to ask something; am I the only one who did a double take expecting to see guest contributor John Ficarra?
I was expecting Stef Schradar
We’ll see her next year on Sep. 24th.
I somehow forgot about her penchant for the “misfit” Porsches!
(I really like the 924/929 models, just wanted a tongue-in-cheek way of referring to them)
towing prowess is in fact interesting, but I suppose it was the 70’s and at the time, full frames, rear axles and V8’s were still pretty prevalent and I recall my first car being a 71 Mustang with a really sketchy tow hitch mounted to the bumper and the sub frames, so it seems the first part of my shpeal about full frames mattered less. probably the live axle and v8 helped make the decisions.
I believe Lanchesters had adjustable armrests, but I think theirs only went up and down.
I don’t know about Lanchesters, but this is true of ’50s and ’60s Rovers as well as the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud/Bentley S-series.
*fistbump*
Username most definitely checks out – one of the reasons I love hanging around this zany joint.
My question: was there an official name for that insane, Kraftwerk-meets-disco black and white interior scheme Porsche offered?
Pasha, if I recall correctly.
Yep!
https://relicate.com/products/porsche-pasha-checkerboard-seat-fabric-black-white?variant=32597380792400
Yes! Thank you Carl and Elvis (and Data as well…so good). It’s just so wonderful.
Oh! I just thought that was the way Bostonians pronounced Porsche.
The glamorous girlfriend of one of my dad’s friends drove me across Germany in the back of her 924 in the mid 80s. It’s one of my most memorable journeys because a) she was an amazing driver b) her 16 year old daughter and I had to sit with our legs in each others footwells to get enough space and for 13 year old me that was as much female contact as I’d ever had c) the Blaupunkt Berlin stereo on a stalk was the coolest thing I’d ever seen and d) the PASHA!!
If I had to think about german music about this car, this would be my choice :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqTBlft8gQA
I have always had a love for the 928 – as a kid of the 80’s, the movie Risky Business was my first exposure to Porsche. That meant that for YEARS, when someone mentioned “Porsche”, my brain immediately thought 928 and I thought it was weird the first time I saw a 911… thinking “That doesn’t look like a Porsche!”
You’re not alone. For me, it was compounded by John Hughes’ prominent use of one in Weird Science. I mean when I wasn’t distracted by Kelly LeBrock.
Gotta hand it to our boy Wyatt for going for Hilly AND the 928!
I’ve seen that movie too many times…
His vibe was all-around better than Gary’s too. “I am not tossing off in there!!!”
same, I almost bought a euro spec version for a pittance in the early 2000’s, definitely think I should have.
“Who’s the U-Boat Commander?”
I remember the trailer for “Middle Aged Crazy” when I was a kid had a 928 in it. It was around 1980.
https://youtu.be/_dMctIQfi6g?si=Pnj9YhieOJoP85y_
I always liked these. So does Clarkson for sentimental reasons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiLc7GvmS_A&t=4s&ab_channel=CodyPeak
David cheated. That editor’s note is at least 75% of an interesting fact, if not at least one full fact. Now we’re hanging around here with over 10 facts.
I’m definitely not particularly interested in Porsche, but these are pretty interesting. I’d definitely be interested in a dedicated article on cars with independent rear A/C systems, though, if there’s enough oddities like this one for a list.
Older Toyota Cressidas had a separate rear A/C unit under the parcel shelf – as a bonus it included a little refrigerated compartment under a lid on the parcel shelf that you could keep drinks cool in!
Sure, if you’re also willing to observe months named for Caesars.
I for one am not. I ignore January and February completely and go with Quintilis and Sextilius in lieu of July and August. It all makes more sense that way.