El Porsche 928 nunca murió, acaba de convertirse en otro Porsche

It seems hard to believe today, but once, the very things that made an older Porsche 911 so desirable—the engine in the rear, the air-cooling, the noise, the raw driving experience—were once seen as liabilities. The Porsche 928 was created to fix that. It failed... or did it?

Welcome to the first episode of Know This Car, a new Jalopnik series where we go through automotive history and challenge some of your preconceived notions about how the world works.

In this installment we examine the front-engined, water-cooled V8 Porsche 928, originally designed to replace the 911. It was a heavy, high-powered grand tourer, loaded with luxury and refinement, meant to kill off the uncouth and aged 911.

As you may be aware, the 911 is still sold today; the 928 is not. Many deem the 928 a failure for this reason.

That is incorrect! For while the 928 may be gone, its values live on. As Raphael Orlove explains here, nearly every modern Porsche—from the 911 to the front-engined Cayenne, Macan and Panamera—followed the framework set by this car. They too are heavy, high-powered grand tourers, loaded with luxury and refinement.

So if you see the 928, give it a warm and hearty handshake. It would likely be proud of its progeny today.

Porsche in the 1970s and 1980s was struggling to determine its future. Would it keep the beloved 911, which was getting long in the tooth? Or would it replace it with an all-new grand tourer, the 928? Fortunately for fans of the timeless 911, these front-engined coupes saved the company’s bacon. 

We’re used to the idea that the 911 is built on the sales of less prestigious front-engined fare now, with cars like the Cayenne being Porsche’s volume sellers. In the late seventies, though, this was a radical idea for the company: move downmarket, and sell in bulk. 

Fortunately, the more conventional, less expensive cars that Porsche designed—even the humble 924 that was a partnership with Volkswagen—were brilliant regardless. Putting the transaxle at the rear makes them beautifully balanced and easy to toss around. 

To this day, there’s nothing better than beating on one of the “cheap Porsches” on a track, either. As air-cooled 911 values skyrocket, these remain marvelously useful, both as a fun car and as a daily driver. Let the guys at Carfection show you why. 

One thing worth clarifying, though: Carfection doesn’t show the Audi-derived 924 engine when they’re talking about it, as they have a 924S on hand. The 924S got the later, Porsche-designed 2.5-liter four-cylinder from the 944.