Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
You want crazy? In the 1980s, the name Koenig could be considered synonymous with crazy. From wild, widebodied Mercedes-Benz and Porsches to throwing Testarossa-inspired intake slats on just about every car imaginable, Koenig produced some crazy cars in its day. Today, if you’re inspired, you can relive some of what was both wonderful and horrible about the 1980s in this Koenig 928 widebody kit:
During my childhood, I remember seeing an advertisement for a Porsche 928 that said “it’s about as fast as you can go without having to eat airline food.” If you were a businessman in Germany in the 1980s, there were few better options in a country with no federally mandated speed limit than this car. Even today, the 928’s capability seems almost modern, especially when it comes to the S4 version with the 5.0 liter V8. This 928S4 for sale in California is a lightly used example, having covered less than 40,000 miles in 27 years.
There’s been cars throughout history that have been way ahead of their time. The Chrysler Airflow, Citroën DS and NSU Ro80 are but a few examples of vehicles that were revolutionary in their time and, at least in the case of the Citroen and NSU, look almost modern to this day. At first, I thought this Porsche 928 was an early 1990s example, but this was a first year example of the 928S4, a 1987 model for sale in St. Louis. Just think, for a moment, about the cars that were hanging around on the showroom floor in 1987. The Mercedes-Benz R107 SL was still alive and kicking, as was the Volkswagen Quantum. Branch out past German iron, and you could still order a brand new AMC Eagle. Park this similar vintage 928S4 next to any of these cars and it’s easy to mistake it from another era, let alone a vehicle introduced in the late 1970s.
It’s sometimes interesting to consider what might have been. Had the 928 superseded the 911 as Porsche’s flagship model, then would we still consider the marque the way in which we do today? Perhaps the 911 would have become an even more hardcore machine primarily restricted to variants such as the GT2 and GT3 while the 928 became an exquisitely refined GT in a vein similar to an Aston Martin. Might Porsche have become a niche vehicle like the Aston as well? Who knows? What we do know is that production of the 928 spanned nearly 20 years and encompassed parts of three decades. Furthermore, remarkably, it remained reasonably similar throughout the model’s life, especially in its appearance. It is a testament to the original design that so few refinements were even necessary and the 928 still looks good today! The car featured here is a fairly low mileage 1991 Porsche 928 S4 located in California. The 928 S4 was produced from 1987-1991 and featured a 5.0 liter V8 delivering 316 hp to the rear wheels. For the final two years of its production the S4 was only offered with a 4-speed automatic as the 928 GT essentially became the sport version of the 928 and replaced the manual version of the S4.
When it comes to the world of the 928, most people think about the repair bills associated with ownership rather than the premier grand tourer from Germany in the 1980s. So advanced was the design that it basically ran into the 1990s still looking quite fresh. Granted, the interior colors and plastic materials are quick to date it, but if you look at the overall layout it is not dissimilar to many supercars of today, and it’s especially notable when you see how antiquated the 911’s dash layout from the same time was. Today it has gotten a bit rare to see early 928s as many suffered from neglect and they’re difficult and expensive to resurrect; but in spite of an apparent engine failure this light blue metallic example has weathered the ages very well, and with a replacement heart and pristine exterior and interior looks like it just awaits a new owner. The best part? Of course, it’s a manual: