Tag Archives: Porsche 928

An Ultimate 1980s Porsche: Clubsport 928

April 22, 2024 The Silo Leave a comment

Lot 106 | The Porsche Auction in partnership with Air|Water | Auction Estimate: $275,000 usd – $375,000 usd/ $378,000 cad- $516,000 cad

INQUIRE

Ahh the 1980s. What a time to have lived through….when the panache of the laid back 1970s transformed into an MTV generation that fueled itself with (briefly) New Coke, parachute pants, Mr. T and Miami Vice. You may already know about “the car”- the one that taught Tom Cruise how to drive a stick and made famous the line “Porsche, there is no substitute”, but as the decade closed and styles began to change so too did the vastly misunderstood yet gorgeous 928.

Enter the 1989 Clubsport

Highlights

A matching numbers German-market example initially retained by the Porsche factory per its Porsche Germany build sheet
One of just seven lightweight 928s optioned with the “M637” Club Sport package built for 1989, one of Porsche’s rarest creations
Special lightweight Club Sport package features include the absence of a sunroof, a lighter exhaust, a lack of undercoating, and lighter magnesium-alloy wheels
Special sporting Club Sport package features include manual sport seats, short throw shifter, limited-slip differential, lowering by 20 mm, 150 mm wider track, and special badging
Fitted from the factory with special “SP” stamped “M28/41” 5.0-liter V8 engine producing a conservatively factory rated 320 PS
The only 928 Club Sport finished in Forest Green Metallic (Tannengrün Metallic) over a Cashmere Beige and Black leather interior
Over € 65,000 invested between 2019 and 2021

Description

Chassis No. WP0ZZZ92ZKS840540
Engine No. 81K 00246 SP

There are rare Porsches that many know about — the 997-generation 911 Speedster (356 total) and 2010 911 Sport Classic (250 total) come to mind — yet there are those special cars built in low double-digit quantities that are exceedingly uncommon and far less known. Take this lightweight series of 911s, for example. Just 20 1967 911 Rs were produced, only 21 1984 911 SCRS, and just seven years later Porsche produced 22 Carrera 4 Lightweights. The 911 wasn’t the only model in Porsche’s lineup that received the lightweight treatment in small quantities, and it was the 928 on which Porsche engineers interestingly focused their weight saving efforts.

Their initial efforts focused on four prototypes gifted as company cars to each of the four factory 962 sports racing prototype drivers that season: Jochen Mass, Derek Bell, Hans Stuck, and Bob Wollek. All four loved the changes made to their prototypes intended to comfortably transport them across the continent at high rates of speed to the European races. In fact, Derek Bell enjoyed his so much he kept it as his daily driver for 18 years! With such a positive reception, Porsche made these changes available to the public the next year as “M637” Club Sport option. Those 928s optioned with M637 were approximately 120 kilograms lighter than their S4 stablemates due to the removal of comfort features like the rear wiper, a portion of the wiring harness, and PVC undercoating.

Heavier parts were lightened. The exhaust system, a smaller AC compressor, and magnesium wheels special to the Club Sport were added. In addition, the 928 Club Sport featured stronger acceleration due to a modified final drive ratio, short shifter, a limited-slip diff, a transmission without vibration dampening, and sports seats. The Club Sport also featured lowering by 20 millimeters and a 150 millimeter wider track along with special badging. Finally, the Club Sport was fitted from the factory with a special “SP” stamped 5.0-liter V8 engine likely producing more than the conservatively estimated 320 PS, due to special camshafts, a 1 mm increase in valve lift, a modified engine control unit, and a higher rev limit. Following their tried-and-true path, Porsche, along with their racing drivers, developed a 928 with more power, lighter weight, and better handling — a true Porsche Club Sport!

This matching numbers 928 Club Sport on offer is one of just seven production lightweights built for 1989 and is the only example finished in Forest Green Metallic over a Cashmere Beige and Black leather interior. It was originally retained by Porsche AG as a special “Werkswagen” company car for longtime Porsche employee Bernd Kahnau. Kahnau was no mere employee. After his father’s passing – a longtime Porsche employee himself — in 1979, Kahnau was personally recruited to work for Porsche at the request of Ferry Porsche. The former BMW employee quickly became immersed in all manner of important development projects, most notably as a production planner for the 928, 911 Club Sport, 911 Speedster, and 911 models from the 993 to 991.

Beyond being equipped with the highly desirable Club Sport package, this rare 928 was optioned by Kahnau with air conditioning, a tinted windshield, and a Blaupunkt Bremen radio in addition to the sporting items inherent in ordering a Club Sport. It is said that Kahnau was very attached to his Club Sport, as the green on tan livery matched the colors of his English country house! He owned it for approximately two years before it eventually landed with an individual based in Switzerland, where it was located until at least 2019.

Most recently, under current ownership, this matching numbers Club Sport has been the focus of a lavish amount of attention totaling over €65,000 worth of repairs and servicing between 2019 and 2021. Most importantly, following a 33-point Porsche inspection at 120,800 kilometers in 2019, the car visited Landsharks in 2020 for a new water pump, fresh coolant and engine oil, filters, and an oil pan gasket. At the same time the thermostat was replaced, along with the clutch disk and pressure plate, and engine electrical items including the ignition cable, distributor cap and rotor, spark plugs, and two knock sensors.

Underneath, the Club Sport received new brake discs and pads front and rear, a new brake master cylinder, the replacement of the center catalytic converter with lambda probe, and a fresh battery. This work along with other sundry items and parts totaled €22,736.91. Following an accident to the rear of the car, additional invoices from Landsharks that year show the Club Sport was the recipient of cosmetic attention as well with interior saddlery work, a new windshield, new seals, unibody work to repair the rear accident damage, and fresh paint in its original shade of Forest Green Metallic. In 2021, the air conditioning system was refurbished with a new compressor, dryer and a system clean with new liquids and fluids. Today, this rare, well-preserved 928 Club Sport with its matching number engine and transmission is offered with 122,748 kilometers at cataloging with a copy of its Porsche Germany build sheet, recent service paperwork, and manuals.

For the Silo, Bastian Voigt/Hagerty.

Transportation

Twenty-One Vehicles With Elite Silhouettes

March 11, 2024 The Silo Leave a comment

There’s nothing quite like the sleek side profile of a vehicle with a long hood, a fast roof, and a smooth decklid. But there is more to our shared love of cars, because, we should also consider the smooth, singular sideline of a minivan. While that isn’t an answer one would expect when asking about the most appealing vehicle silhouettes, a minivan is indeed one of the many candidates our friends at Hagerty received here in their latest installment of our According to You series.

So what other vehicles deserve a mention here? Have a look below and tell us what you think in the comments!

Porsche 928 GT

The original series 928 was clean and wonderfully well balanced and was striking from every angle but take a look at this silhouette and marvel that this design is almost fifty years old.

Shelby Daytona Coupe

@DUB6: Hard to beat an early 911 in my book, but really, I’m voting for the Shelby Daytona Coupe. It has some of the muscle of the Cobras built in, with the sloped down nose for aero, the long, sleek roofline, and then that striking rear spoiler and chopped-off tail.

It may not be the most beautiful, but to me, it’s the most striking silhouette out there.

Chevrolet Corvette

@Bernard: The first few years of the C3 Corvette. I wasn’t around to see them new, but the C3 has always stood out in the school of cool, IMO, especially the silhouette. I think the crash bumpers and other stuff of the later years softened them up too much, but the silhouettes of the early ones could’ve been used as scalpels.

@Tony: I’d say any modern Corvette. They’re all designed in the wind tunnel these days so they’re all aero-efficient, but the later C4s with the rounded ends I think look great.

@Dave Massie: C3 Corvettes—especially the ’80–82 models.

@C: I agree. I am partial to my 1973 Corvette coupe. It’s a one-year-only design and looks great in silhouette.

@Paul: 1984–90 C4 Corvette. The concave rear bumper is just cool. On the other hand, the convex 1990 ZR-1 bumper and its use on the 1991–96 models are strong candidates. In my C4-centric world, the Corvettes nailed the Silhouette Sweepstakes.

Jaguar XKE

@Ken_L: I am partial to my C3 Corvette, but I must say the Jaguar XKE coupe has been my favorite since I was very young.

@Howard: And its “top-down” sibling, the XKE droptop roadster … great road car.

@Doug: Hands down, Jaguar E -ype coupe (XKE)

@Jeff: Had a ’68 XKE roadster. I was about to cast my vote for it, but you astutely beat me to it!

@Lew: The first Jag E-Types with the worthless bumpers and glassed headlights.

Jaguar XK-120

@Gayle: In ’56, my uncle bought a ’53 Jaguar XK-120 FHC and I have been enamored with that gorgeous profile ever since, especially with the disc wheels and the spats (skirts)!

1963 Riviera

@Snailish: ’63 Riviera … Not sure what got us there, but for decades after, so many vehicles owed it a debt. It would likely still be a cutting-edge design if evolved to today’s construction methods/rules. But it’s also amazing from several directions, not just the side.

Lamborghini Countach

@Shiven: Lamborghini Countach! It absolutely accentuates the ’70s and ’80s realm of excess!

Toyota Previa

@ap41563: Toyota Previa! Turn the lights off and illuminate it from behind and the egg shape still looks fresh today, even at 30 years old.

Hyundai Genesis Coupe

@Colton: For the more modern, cheaper cars, I’d say the first generation of the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. The car itself was a mixed bag (I owned one for eight years), but the side profile, especially in low light, just highlighted how well that body was sculpted.

MG TF

@T.J.: Without a doubt, my 1954 MG TF is a constant head turner with classic vehicle lines (running boards, smooth curvature in fenders, spoked wheel on the exterior of the gas tank, etc.). A timeless beauty.

1961–63 Ford Thunderbird

@Jon: I have always liked the 1961–63 “bullet” Thunderbirds. There was just something perfect about their profiles.

Third-Generation Pontiac Firebird

@Espo70: Third-gen Firebird/Formula/Trans Am. One of the best designs to come out of GM. Still looks exotic today.

Aston Martin Project Vantage

@George: I might be biased, but the Aston Martin Project Vantage Concept—which became the Vanquish—is the most cohesive and accomplished shape of all time.

1958 Chevrolet Impala

@Don: How about the 1958 Chevy Impala 2-door hardtop? My wife’s uncle thought it looked like a water buffalo!

GMC Motorhome

Hemmings

@Chuck: For oversize vehicles, the 1973–78 GMC Motorhome. Ahead of its time when new, smooth and sleek (compared to other coaches), and has aged gracefully.

@Kent: Still a very sought-after vehicle after all these decades. Would love to have one!

Ferrari 250 GTO

Amalgam Models 250 GTO 4 — Amalgam Models

@David: One of the most recognizable, and possibly the most desirable profiles of them all: The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO by Scaglietti.

Fiat 500

@Alex: 2012–19 FIAT 500: Totally unique and unmistakable. You would never confuse it for any other car from any other marker.

1966 Oldsmobile Toronado

@John: Without question for me it is the 1966 (and only the 1966) Oldsmobile Toronado.

Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic

@Tom: So many Ferraris—the Dino, 250 GTO, 275 GTB, La Ferrari, etc., as well as the GT40, Miura, E-Type, and numerous British Roadsters of the ’50s and ’60s. But the granddaddy of all side silhouettes has to be the Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic.

2003–08 Mazda Mazda6

@Mike: From a basic sedan point of view I’ve always loved the 2007 Mazda 6 profile with the spoiler.

1956–57 Continental Mark II

@Jeff: The 1956 Continental Mark II is still the most elegant and beautiful production American car.

1984–86 Pontiac Fiero

@Jack: 1984–86 Pontiac Fiero notchback. Best-looking shape of the 1970s and ’80s wedge cars.

Flintstones Car

@Greg: The log car that Barney Rubble drove on The Flintstones … feet and all!

Featured image: 1984 Chevrolet Corvette.

Transportation

Porsche 928 auto was machine with personality and speed

August 31, 2021 The Silo 1 Comment

Machine Intelligence

Let me start this article by sharing with you my own observation about the nature of intelligent mechanical life: EVERY machine I ever interacted with exhibited a distinct personality. After all, they’re really analog information processors, aren’t they? Like transformers, only not quite so … animatronic. Even so, they do have a machine “spirit”. Some docile and some down right malevolent.

From my first car, the ‘51 Chevy Deluxe, I inherited from my Gramma Hilda, through my ‘63 Chevy Impala SS dual quad 409, to my Deuce and a half water trucks, my Peterbilts (now there’s some evil shit) to my 60 Egg Sport Fish and 54 Bertram Sedan, each had it, and it made itself known immediately.

Acquiring “Black Beauty”

My demon possessed, assassin “business” associate, King, from early days in Seattle commercial real estate, came to my office in December of 1979. He asked me if I wanted a repo Porsche Rainer Bank hooked. I told him: “The only Porsche I’d want is a Black on Black Euro 928 5-spd with Yellow tinted windows.” His jaw hit the floor. He grabbed me out of my chair and dragged me out the door and said “We’re goin’ for a ride!”

We went to the Bank’s repo yard, and all I saw as I walked through the gate was Black Beauty, crouched there like a cat laying in wait exactly as I described. I grabbed the keys from the yard manager, and told him I’d call him later. Bob and I rolled out the gate and warmed her up a little before BURYING IT! She obviously had issues on the front left. I pulled off, and looked . . . shit– a screwed up brake caliper. We stopped at a pay phone [yeah . . . this is an ancient tale], called the yard manager and told him the issue. I also told him I wanted the car and would give him less than the trillion dollars they wanted. He told me to leave a check for the half trillion at the branch and he’d bring the title, and that my branch manager would handle transferring it.

First Personality Appearance

I dropped Bob off at the Yard, and took the car to the Porsche Dealer in the U-District. Told the tech what I thought, and he confirmed it when he got her on the lift. I waited in the customer concierge room for half an hour. The tech came out and told me that the work was completed. He said, “what’s with that crazy thing? I thought she was going to hop off the damn lift.” I shrugged and drove her home. My future ex-to-be couldn’t climb into the 928 fast enough!

The author’s future ex-to-be. “I always liked those toes!” photo courtesy of the author

Early Life with Black Beauty

Me and this car? It was literally love at first sight. The first attraction was an instinctual thing: I am an aeronautical/astronautical engineer and looking, touching and feeling her I had it figured out. The 928 was an engineering masterpiece. A work of art.

The next attraction was the sound of the engine exhaust while she ran. (After I smogged the car, she received 3” stainless Borlas with electric cut outs). Then, the car became the epitome of ssssmmmmoooottthhhhh. Readers, they are fucking smooth.

And quick- I drove her for a year and she wiped the deck with anyone who’d stand up. After getting tons of shit talk from everyone who raced against it (not quarters but measured mile rolling starts on the I-5 Express Lane Underpass), I pulled everything in her that didn’t make it go forward … interior, carpets, headliner … everything.

The First Time She Flew

My buddy, Johnny Roselli, worked for Lake Union Air Service flying turbine otters out of Lake Union to Victoria BC and back . . . “The Sewer Tour.” While talking one day at Beth’s Café, we ended up together on the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge where we walked a measured mile in the center span from Juanita to the U of Washington turn out.

I spray painted a vertical line on the side curtain along the bridge deck at the 0’-pt and 5280.0’-pt. The next morning, at 0500, my little brother was riding as an observer with a second stop watch and we rolled out of the toll gate at Juanita and headed up the hill to the bridge.

I hit 145 mph (233.3 kph) on the clock by the time I started down to the 0.0 marker. Johnny was doing 2-min turns in his turbine Otter directly above the road bed and dropped a wing and dove down along side. He was all set to film from 50’ (15.24 meters) above ground level. [Uhhhh . . . and you didn’t get arrested . . . hmmm]

Him in the plane, me in the 928

We were joining up window to window right at 0.0. [Later, the FAA shithead investigating this “maneuver” had an absolute fucking hemorrage and pulled both our pilot licenses, suspend John for a month]. I blew by him like he was standing fucking still. His airspeed when I went buy was 120. I beat him to the 1.0 mark even when he was spooled all the way up and with his throttle buried in the panel.

The authors aerodynamically clean 1979 928. aka “Black Beauty”. photo courtesy of the author.

Later, at the J&M Café, Johnny said he’d never seen anything like it. When we compared the clocks the average was 183 mph (294.5 kph). Gears man! Gears! By the way, an aerodynamically clean 928, no rear spoiler and a reinforced chin strap has a V2 right at 183. The nose lifts, it wants to take off, and there’s no fucking where to go.

V1 and V2 Rockets - Engineering and Technology History Wiki — The WW2 V2 rocket.

I never considered ever selling her and even if I had that couldn’t have happened because she went out in a fiery glory. Burned to the hubs when a hard fuel line ruptured underneath. I fucking cried. I’m not joking. Her loss was unfathomable and what else could I do but cry for her?

Life with Black Beauty

After writing this account I talked with my brother Tim, a retired Cop in Anacortes. He was the was the observer timing the run and talking to Johnny over a walk-n-talkie. Tim, reminded me that there were all sorts of wild stuff that went on with that car.Stuff that somehow I forgot about: Mechanics refused to work on her … she would do all kinda crazy shit, like dance off the rack when I’d walk by, quiver when they touched her. Weird right? Tim even refused to ride in her for a long time, “cuz she made noises at him.”

Evenings in Windermere Circle

The author and the beauty. photo courtesy of the author.

I used to go down into my garage every night, late, and just sit in front of her hood and look at her, five maybe ten minutes. It was a total love affair between that machine and me. When I’d leave to go to bed, I’d always walk around to her backside, run a gloved hand across and along her rear end to caress her right beneath the gap in the hatch. It was nutty, but I could feel the car settle, ever so slightly, a couple thousandths, from the left rear shock to the right.

When I stepped through the garage door to walk back up into the house, I would always, every time, hear her exhaust system … “clink” … and as I closed the door, I’d hear her fuel accumulator gurgle. I’m not fucking kidding. This beautiful shiny black thing would say good night to me every night. For the Silo, Christopher O’Leary.