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The Porsche 928 debuted in 1978 and was meant to replace the 911 range. Porsche felt that they had developed the air-cooled rear engine layout of the 911 as much as they could and needed a new car to lead their charge – the 928 was that car. While it was technically brilliant, in fact it was christened European Car of the Year in 1978 – the only sports car to ever win the prestigious award – the allure and appeal of the iconic 911 was far too strong.
Porsche enthusiasts had a hard time accepting what was a much more traditional design – in that it had a water-cooled front engined V8. The actual styling was fantastic and very futuristic – it |
looks modern even today. Nevertheless, it didn't look like a Porsche in the traditional sense and was eventually outlived by the 911 – production of the 928 ceased in 1995. The car pictured here is a 1987 S4, which has a 5.0 litre V8 producing 320 horsepower. While the 928 was a clear match for the 911 in terms of performance, it was much more of a civilized GT car whereas the 911 was a pure sports car – one that, since its inception, had developed too great a following to be retired. |
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The 959 was the first supercar built by Porsche. It was essentially a technical exercise for the company to incorporate new technologies into a road car. It also allowed them to gauge just how much they could develop the rear engined 911 platform, which, as it turned out, was a tremendous amount by all accounts. The 959 was the most technologically advanced car in the world when it was produced from 1986 to 1989.
Every aspect of the car was a technical showcase, including the body and even the wheels, which used a cocktail of exotic materials including Kevlar, nomex and magnesium alloy. The cost of producing the car was so high that |
Porsche lost money on each car they sold. The 959 had a 2.85 litre flat six, which had an air-cooled block and water-cooled head. It had twin, sequential turbochargers to minimize turbo lag. It also had all-wheel-drive, which was later incorporated into the next generation 911. The end result of all this was a car that produced almost 450 horsepower and accelerated from 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds. The car was so versatile that Porsche entered 3 modified 959s in the legendary 1986 Paris-Dakar Raid – they finished an astonishing 1st, 2nd and 6th in what is arguably the most grueling motorsport event on the planet.
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The engine makes a fantastic sound, which is raw and visceral,
as it powers you from behind. |
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This model (internally known as the 993) is the last of the air-cooled 911s, and is therefore very desirable. Hereafter Porsche had no choice but to incorporated water-cooling to further develop their flat six motor.
The 993 is very much the original 911 form in its most evolved state. There's something about it that makes it very special – its styling is a direct evolution of the original shape with its slim waist and wide sculpted haunches, its dash layout is largely the same as it was in the 60s with individual round dials and a big rev counter dead center. There's a simplicity in the overall design, yet the end result is absolutely captivating. The
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Engine makes a fantastic sound, which is raw and visceral, as it powers you from behind. You get a real sense of involvement and connectedness when you drive this car. |
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The Boxster is a very important model for Porsche because in many ways it heralded a revival for the company after it struggled financially in the early 90s. This was an all-new sports car from Porsche – with styling that harked back to the legendary 550 Spyder, which enjoyed considerable racing success in the 50's. The Boxster was launched in 1996 as a convertible, mid-engined sports car.
The Boxster, at launch, had a 2.5 litre water-cooled flat six engine that produced 200 horsepower. The car pictured is the last of the original Boxster – it's a 2004 special edition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 550 |
Spyder, and has a 3.2 litre engine producing 265 horsepower. The Boxster made Porsche ownership more accessible as it was considerably cheaper than a 911. Yet it's a thoroughbred sports car – one that many believe handles better than the 911 due to its mid engine layout. |
