USED BUYER'S GUIDE Porsche 928

FROM £10,000 With a water-cooled V8 in the front end, the 928 was a dramatic break from Porsche tradition - today, it's a rapidly appreciating classic

- By Richard Dredge

BY the start of the seventies, the Porsche 911 was getting long in the tooth and sales had slowed down. Porsche felt that it needed a replacement, so it developed something completely different: a front-engined, water-cooled grand tourer with an all-aluminium V8.

With passive rear-wheel steering courtesy of what's known as a Weissach axle, and a 4.5-litre powerplant in the nose, the 928 was fast and brilliant to drive. When it was unveiled in 1977 it caused a storm and was awarded European Car of the Year in 1977 (the only sports car to take the honour in its 61-year history). The 928 is now a bona fide classic – and rarer than you might think. It's been 30 years since the last 928 was made, yet the 911 remains in production to this day, in its eighth generation.

HISTORY

THE Porsche 928 made its debut at the 1977 Geneva Motor Show and reached the UK a year later, with a 240bhp 4,474cc fuel-injected V8 engine. The 928 S arrived in January 1980 with a 300bhp 4,664cc V8, with the standard 928 sold alongside it until autumn 1981. Then, the 928 S2 took over, with a 310bhp 4,664cc engine. Power steering was now standard fit and air-con became optional. The 928 S4 of summer 1985 brought a 320bhp 4,957cc engine and upgraded Brembo brakes with anti-lock tech as standard.

In the summer of 1988, the now highly collectable 928 GT appeared, with a five-speed manual gearbox and sports suspension. Then, in the summer of 1991, the S4 and GT models were replaced by the 350bhp 928 GTS with a 5,399cc V8 and a revised cabin.

Production of the GTS ended in summer 1995 with the final cars being sold in spring 1996.

WHICH SHOULD I BUY?

YOU'LL get more for your money if you buy an early 928, but the later ones tend to have more spent on them because they're that much more desirable.