Every premium brand has at least one black sheep.  For Ferrari, it’s the 308 GT4.  For Jag, it’s the XJS.  For Porsche, it would have to be the ol’ 928.  I’ve never been a Porsche aficionado, but this car has always piqued my interest.  I’m disappointed that even after 30+ years, it still isn’t held in high regard.

My brother, who is a true Porsche aficionado, stresses that the 928 was always standing in the shadow of the 911 — think of Rubens Barrichello being Michael Schumacher’s teammate at Ferrari for all those years.  It was also a very expensive car – both in terms of maintenance cost and purchase price.  And those who did pony up had to endure the 928′s poor reliability (this was more the case with the late 70s and 80s models, not so much with the later versions).  In his opinion, the car’s negative stigma is chiefly driven by these issues, not its styling.  So let’s set the technical stuff aside for the moment…

A while back, I defended the original Opel GT.  I argued that this car seems quite comfortable in its own skin.  Content to cruise the winding back roads, leaves blowing in the wind, without a care in the world.  I get the same feeling from the 928.  It can’t compete with the 911 on its own level, so it doesn’t try to.  The sleek, pumpkin seed shape suggests a more relaxed approach, the kind any good GT car should have.  The profile concentrates the visual weight in the middle, below the trapezoidal DLO (the only other car I can think of with a window like this is the Dodge Daytona).  The 928 also has a distinctive headlight solution:  The two round halogen lamps pointing skyward, until called upon to function.  Then, they simply rotate forward.  Clean and unique — a rarity in sports cars anymore.  The rounded rear end takes a similar path, with the inset taillamps complimenting the smooth fastback.  Later models have a more squared-off rear end with larger lamps — less unique, but still clean.

Rumor has it that Porsche is developing a new 928.  If so, I sincerely hope that the latest incarnation stays true to its GT roots.  If it tries to out-911 the 911, we may see sports car history repeat itself…