Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
If the Porsche 928GTS we featured last week was a bit too rich for your blood but it’s a V8 Porsche you still lust after, have faith. There are still a few options out there on the market. Case in point this tidy 1986 928S for sale in Nevada. This is one of the last pre-facelift 928s, as 1987 would see a more rounded rear end. Under the hood is the 5.0 liter lump, good for 316 horsepower, making this a bit of a straddling year in the 928 production run.
Ever since Pablo has joined us here at GCFSB, my appreciation for the front-engine, water-cooled Porsches of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s has grown greater than before. I never was one to view it as a lesser Porsche, as some 911 fanatics seem to. My interest in them grew stronger as Porsche unleashed a wave of new models beginning in the last decade that didn’t quite appeal to the enthusiast in me.
When the 928 was introduced, it earned the European Car of the Year award in 1978, the only sports car to ever have earned this acclaim. However, as 928 production came to a close, it wasn’t a huge seller. Not even 3,000 of the last iteration, the 928GTS, were sold from 1993 to 1995. I generally prefer the later 928s, but there’s something about the early ones that I can appreciate. It’s a pure design, one which has withstood the test of time. This 1980 example has been owned by the same person for the last 30 years and hasn’t cracked 50,000 miles yet.
With a resident water-cooled Porsche expert now a part of our team at GCFSB, I approach the cadre of 924, 928, 944 and 968s out there with a bit more deference. While some may seem affordable, the more well-informed know they can be anything but when it comes to upkeep. Find the right one and care for it, though, and you’ll be rewarded with infinite motoring pleasure. Those who have run them will no doubt agree that the line “buy the best one you can afford†applies and if there is a better 1991 928S4 than this one for sale in Texas I have yet to find it. This example is almost fresh out of the box with under 6,000 miles and the stunning Coral Red paintwork makes for a decidedly different look.
It’s been both great and bad to have a resource like Flüssig Magazine’s Pablo join our ranks. It’s great because Pablo is a wealth of knowledge and a great resource on these classic front-engined Porsches; it’s bad because I’m now petrified I’ll make a mistake or choose a bad example. Sometimes, though, you need to roll the dice – and today’s European-spec 1983 928S is just one of those times. Presented in light bronze with brown leather, this 928 looks both refined and striking – but is it a good example to buy?
“Poor Man’s Porsche”; while it’s a moniker usually attached to the 924 series, the reality is these days it applies to everything outside of the 911. The surge in 911 prices has been so great, that it has also pulled other lesser alternatives to the 911 up as well – try to get into a clean 912 and you’ll be surprised by the price. Even the lowly, forgotten 914 is in the mid teens for a really clean example of a flat-4 model up towards $100,000 for original 914-6 models. So does this mean you need 6-figures to be a true Porsche enthusiast? I don’t believe that’s the case – I think there are a plethora of great options at or around $10,000, so I’ve lined up an assortment. Which do you think is most worthy of wearing the crest of Stuttgart?