You could say that someone back then had already realized that a 928 S didn’t necessarily have to be fast only in a straight line.
And it is precisely this unusual factory configuration that makes this car particularly interesting today. Not because some retrofit modification would have made it “sportier” at some point, but because Porsche itself built and delivered it exactly this way.
That’s an important distinction.
Even more important, however, is what happened to this car afterward.
The 928 S was originally delivered to Italy. There, it spent the first decades of its life under conditions that could hardly have been better for a car. Above all, it didn’t have to endure something that, in our part of the world, can take a significant toll on a classic Porsche over the years:
winter.
Since its initial registration, this 928 S has never been exposed to winter driving conditions. More than 42 years without salt or winter grit leave their mark—or, to be more precise: they prevent a whole host of issues that one would normally expect to find in a car like this at some point.
In 2015, the car arrived in Germany. The buyer was the president of a Porsche club, who imported it from Italy and then had it undergo a technical inspection at the Porsche Center in Karlsruhe—an inspection that, in fact, had to define what that term actually meant in the first place.
After all, the goal here wasn’t simply to get a 928 that was over 30 years old back on the road for as little money as possible.
The engine was completely overhauled.
The 5-speed manual transmission was completely overhauled.
The suspension, the braking system, and the entire transaxle drivetrain were overhauled from the ground up.
Further work and upgrades followed, including on the air conditioning system, the gearshift mechanism, and the suspension tuning. The vehicle was then maintained and further refined under the best possible conditions.
The original invoices from the Porsche Center in Karlsruhe and the Krämer company in Vogt total approximately 70,000 euros.
That is a considerable sum.
Above all, however, it speaks volumes about the approach taken.
With such a large sum, one could have done many things “differently.” Repair one thing, replace another, and leave the rest for now. The car would likely have been running again for significantly less money.
But that was clearly not the point here.
The goal was to restore the 928 to such a technical state that, while driving it, you aren’t constantly reminded that more than four decades have passed in the meantime.
And that’s where the invoices reveal their true value.
You can invest 70,000 euros in an old Porsche and end up with an impressive invoice.
Or you can invest 70,000 euros and end up with a car that drives accordingly.
Fortunately, with this 928 S, the latter is the case.
Since the extensive restoration work was completed, it has covered only about 9,000 kilometers. And anyone who drives this Porsche quickly understands why all that effort was put into it.
The engine runs powerfully and smoothly. The manual transmission shifts exactly as you’d expect from a mechanically sound Porsche. The entire transaxle drivetrain operates without the typical signs of aging that such a vehicle eventually tends to develop, where one component starts blaming another.
The suspension doesn’t feel like that of an old car whose components were replaced at some point.
It feels like a very good car.
Precise, firm, controlled, and free of that slightly indefinable “mind of its own” that is often described as “full of character” in older vehicles—even though what’s actually meant is a worn-out bushing.
The braking system also reinforces this impression.
And the technical quality doesn’t stop where the major assemblies end.
The air conditioning works, as do all the electrical features. The power antenna works, the speakers do what speakers are supposed to do, and even the little things—which in a 40-year-old car often start to slowly give out—work just as they should.
Even the hood struts have apparently decided not to consider their original task complete just yet.
That might sound trivial.
But it isn’t.
Because it’s precisely these little details that reveal whether someone is merely keeping an old car technically alive or whether they had the ambition to restore it as a whole.
The odometer reads 126,000 kilometers.
You can read this number on the odometer.
You don’t notice it while driving.
That is perhaps the most accurate description of the current condition of this 928 S.
After all, its true mark of quality isn’t that a great deal of money was once invested in it. What matters is that the investment went where it belongs: into the driving experience.
You get in, start the V8, and don’t feel like you have to be especially careful with an old car.
You get the feeling of sitting in a Porsche.
Just as it was probably meant to feel back in 1984.
And of course, the unusual technical configuration helps with that.
The manual sports transmission doesn’t make the 928 S a purist’s Porsche. That was never the car’s intention. But it gives the driver an additional level of control. The 40% limited-slip differential and the sports suspension reinforce this character without compromising the 928’s true gran turismo aspirations.
It’s a remarkably harmonious combination.
And in retrospect, it’s almost a stroke of luck that, over four decades ago, someone chose the more interesting path rather than the most convenient one when placing the order.
Today, that decision can no longer be reversed.
An automatic 928 can be converted. A different suspension can be installed. A limited-slip differential can be retrofitted.
But you can’t retroactively order a car with these features from the factory.
That is precisely why the original configuration of this 928 S is so important.
And that’s why the second, at least equally important half of its story is also part of it:
It survived more than four decades without being driven in winter, was brought to Germany from Italy by a Porsche enthusiast in 2015, and was subsequently overhauled with a level of effort that isn’t exactly part of the typical maintenance budget for a 928.
Today, the odometer reads 126,000 kilometers.
Yet the 928 S doesn’t drive like a car with 126,000 kilometers on it.
It drives like a Porsche whose key technical components have just relearned how they were originally meant to function.
Perhaps that is the most convincing form of a technical overhaul:
You don’t even notice it.
You only notice that everything works. For more detailed information about this vehicle, please contact us or schedule an appointment to view it. This sales listing does not constitute an offer within the meaning of §145 of the German Civil Code (BGB). Rather, it provides information for the purpose of initiating contract negotiations. The information provided here is without warranty and therefore does not constitute any warranted characteristics. The seller is not liable for errors, data entry errors, or data transmission errors. Subject to prior sale.
Features:
Zinc Metallic, dark blue leather, 5-speed manual transmission, sport suspension, rear axle track widening, Porsche Classic radio, electric antenna, ABS, various other extras
1986 
1985 
