So Why The 928?
By
Michael Gerard
There are a lot of very cool,
very competent (and many not-so-competent but-cool-anyway) cars out there for enthusiasts
to consider, admire and play with.
For me, it started in
1976 or so in San Diego when one day while I was travelling back to the city on I-8 from
the desert I caught a glimpse of black 924 shooting down the road in the opposite
direction. That car was in my peripheral vision for only a fleeting moment, but the shape
and motion of that moving bullet etched in my mind... at the time I had no idea what it
was, but I was intrigued.
Not too long after, the 928 was (finally) released and just looking at
the car made my heart beat faster. I was really stunned by the design... the lines, the
headlights and even the god-awful chequered interior. The car was FAR
ahead of its time; remarkable, considering the design was now some six years old. Do you
remember what new Australian steel looked like at that time? It looked like the Ford
Granada. In California, as in the rest of the country, cars were square. Even the
Porsche's were 914's! The only flowing lines on 4 wheels were coming from Japan in the
form of Datsuns and Mazdas and Toyotas.
The 928 didn't just break the rules, it created all sorts of new ones.
From the first time I saw one I knew that it was a special car, created by artists of the
trade in the same way the Movado museum watch, with its flat mineral crystal, empty black
face and gold marker, made you reconsider your basic assumption about what a watch should
look like.
In my opinion, without the design work brought to market by Porsche on
the 928 twenty years ago, several body styles would not exist today, from the mundane to
the luxury import (ie: Ford Taurus to Lexus SC).
Any 944 owner that can't appreciate the evolution
brought on by the development of Projekt 928 need only be reminded that the 944 would
never have existed if not for the work put in to the project... eliminate Projekt 928 and
you eliminate the 924, 944 and 959.
Enthusiasts are attracted to automobiles for a variety of reasons and
the fact that some folks are drawn to '60's muscle and others are enamoured by sleek design
and engineering should not diminish the joy of either. By the same token it is
understandable that one person's jewel is another's junk. Hey, beauty IS in the eye of
the beholder, performance stats and dyno charts notwithstanding.
911's ARE gorgeous. 944's ARE muscle cars. 914's ARE fun. 928's are just
something else entirely.
I personally could not care less whether my shark is faster from 0-60 or
60-100 than any other car. There are plenty of cars out there that I could own that will
stripe the road from the get go. But I didn't choose any of those for myself. The 928 was
a stunningly beautiful car that is now within the reach of anyone who appreciates it.
And each morning when I first see the shark in my garage, my heart still
beats faster.
Michael Gerard
1988 S4 AT Cassis Rot Metallic
928 Owners Club Charter Member
PCA NOR
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