The Porsche 928 was built from 1977 to 1995. A very long period in which the automotive world went through all kinds of major changes. The 928 did that too, with the optical center of gravity at the back.
Imagine a car from the 1970s. And then one from the eighties. And finally one from the nineties. The result should be three completely different cars. In the ‘seventies’ we still saw a lot of chrome, bright colors and thin window styles. A decade later, everything was square, a lot ‘chunkier’ and provided with an excess of rubber and plastic, not least because of advancing safety requirements. In the 1990s, a large part of that ballast was shaken off again, or rather camouflaged. Smooth carriages with strongly rounded shapes predominated in this period.
AMC Pacer
So quite clever, to guide one and the same model through these three periods in car history. Now Porsche has the advantage that the 928 was a very modern appearance before the 1970s. His carriage was quite smooth and lasciviously lined from the start. With its water-cooled V8, the special coupé turned out not to be able to make the 911 forget, as was initially intended. Nevertheless, the 928 is also a real Porsche icon in a way. The rear pane is a distinctive styling feature, thanks to a flat rear window flanked by two AMC Pacer-like convex side windows.
At the front, the headlights steal the show. They are pop-up headlights, but in an unusual way. At rest they look up, but after switching on they come forward to light the way like two bulging eyes.
Wider and smoother
Those special windows and headlights remained intact throughout the 928’s career. This actually applies to many more visible parts. Although the technology was regularly refined and a modernized, more powerful engine was regularly fitted, the bodywork proved to be broadly durable.
The fact that a late 928 looks a lot more modern than an early one, is mainly due to the changes that were made in 1986. In that year, the ass in particular was thoroughly overhauled. The smooth, closed rear panel was replaced by one with different cut-outs for the rear lights. The short, segmented rear light units of the primal 928 gave way to wider, flatter and smoother specimens, which make the rear of this Porsche look considerably wider.
Mailbox
The front bumper also had to die. Where in the original this part could only be found at the end of the body, the plastic part continues from 1986 to the wheel arches. The basic set-up was retained, but the side lights, fog lamps and direction indicators were optically more connected. The less square light units were given a place in a likewise more rounded nose section, with a remarkably modest air intake at the bottom. Nowadays a gigantic grille seems mandatory, but for the 5.0-liter V8 of a 928 S4 this ‘letterbox’ was apparently sufficient.