1982 Porsche 928

This 1982 Series 1 is a sought-after early example and benefits from having been preserved rather than restored, the emphasis being on retaining the car’s originality, authenticity and honesty.

It comes to us courtesy of an automotive industry ex-colleague of Paul, our specialist on this car, and has a particularly impressive history of maintenance, repair and generally assiduous curation over the course of its long and well-documented life.

Much of the thanks for the car’s impressive all-round condition and originality must go to its first owner, who bought the car new in 1982, kept it for the next three decades, and ensured that it was cared-for and looked after throughout his tenure by his local Porsche dealership.

It later joined an enthusiast's car collection. Previous owners have, in recent years, employed Porsche main dealers to go through all the electronics and change the timing belt – all of which is annotated in the wad of invoices and receipts that comes with the car. 
 

The bodywork on this 928 is really very good and there are no dinks, dents or dimples of any significance anywhere that we can see.

The shut-lines and panel gaps have all the Teutonic precision we’ve come to know, expect and admire of Zuffenhausen.

The only very minor exception is the nearside of the bonnet, which is very slightly proud of the surrounding bodywork.

As for the Zinc/Silver paintwork, which we understand to be quite an unusual shade, it has weathered the vicissitudes of time and use with remarkable resilience and has retained a good deal of its original shine and lustre.

The car was the happy recipient of over £5,000 worth of remedial paintwork at a specialist body shop in November 2022.

Flaws and blemishes are broadly more notable for their absence than their presence but, as the car is over 40 years old and unrestored, it’s earned a few scuffs, scratches and other badges of honour over the years.

In no particular order….

There is a very light mark to the front offside corner; some light stone chips around the front in the usual places; a small paint chip to the front edge of the bonnet; a spot of moisture in the nearside headlight; some light scratches on the wing mirror housings and the rear bumper; and a few marks on the roof and some lacquer peel near the windscreen.

Beyond that, we found a couple of spots of corrosion at the base of the rear screen; some touch-up marks on the nearside of the bonnet below the windscreen; and a patch of lacquer peel on the offside ‘A’ pillar.

The Porsche Tele-dial alloys wheels are in very good order and seem largely unacquainted with kerbs or other roadside obstacles.

They are shod in matching Michelin rubber which seems to have plenty of life and service left in it.

The tyres are sufficiently new that even the little rubber hairs (‘vent spews’ is the somewhat unpleasant technical name for them) are intact and proudly bristling.

The pop-up headlights pop up in a timely and obedient manner.

They, the badging, trim other exterior fixtures and fittings are all in very fine fettle, as far as we can see. 
 

If the exterior of the 928 can be said to have no real resemblance to that of any car before or since, much the same applies to the interior.

Maybe the E31 BMW 8-Series gives it a retrospective nod in a couple of places, but otherwise the interior is unmistakably, uniquely, that of a Porsche 928.

This one has a Navy/Silver interior with leather upholstery, and so avoids attracting the Marmite-like reactions generated by its Pasha-patterned alternative.

As with the exterior, everything is built-to-the-hilt and over-engineered to the max.

And virtually all of it is in a condition that’s very good for both its age and mileage.

The front seats have a few creases and patches of rubbing to attest to their age and use, but they’re in excellent nick in general, save for a split to the piping on the outer bolster of the driver’s seat backrest.

There is some warping and lifting in evidence on the door cards and one or two sections of trim in the rear.

The rear seats, as is ever the case, don’t look as if they’ve been called upon to do much work. They fold flat as they should, creating a vast and very practical storage space at the rear.

The carpets and mats are decent throughout, bar a couple of splits to the carpet either side of the gear selector on the transmission tunnel.

The central storage cubby at the front is shedding its interior trim and looks a little ragged inside.

The headlining has come loose at the rear where it meets the tailgate.

Lifting up the carpet in the boot (and elsewhere in the car) reveals no rust or anything else to worry about. The boot contains a space-saver spare wheel in the floor.

As far as we’re aware, all knobs, dials, switches and buttons do what they’re supposed to do.

That said, we couldn’t get the electric mirrors to operate (but that might be a failing on our part) and the ‘exclamation mark’ warning light – which doesn’t seem to signify anything in particular – remains illuminated at all times.
 

The very full engine bay is dry, orderly and everything appears to be in its right and proper place.

The centrepiece, of course is Porsche’s 4.5-litre water-cooled V8 masterpiece, mated to an auto box.

Everything on and around it seems to be present, correct, orderly, clean and dry – as befits a car with such an exemplary service history, with a further spend this month with a renown specialist on a new radiator, front steering arms and boots, oil sensor, a complete set of tyres and new battery. This car has wanted for nothing!

The undersides of the car look to have a good deal of structural integrity, and bar a few bubbles in the sills, we’ve seen nothing to make us tut, frown or otherwise question the car’s honesty or character.  
 

This car comes with more history than the Parthenon.

As well as a substantial and well-documented service history, a thick wad of bills, invoices and receipts, and evidence of over £4,000 spent in 2021, and over £3,000 this month prior to sale. It also comes with its driver’s manual and often "lost" original service book, two sets of keys, a recent HPI report, a V5C and a Porsche Classic Recognition document. 
 

Porsche were looking to make a point with the 928 and they knew that there was a great deal riding on its success.

It needed to be so technologically advanced, so brilliantly engineered, so fantastically well-built, and so supremely capable that it would leave its rivals from Munich, Sindelfingen, Browns Lane and Ingolstadt wondering what had just hit them.

Even a curmudgeonly critic would have to admit that they did a fantastic job and that, arguably, the car’s only failure was its long-term inability to supplant the marque’s stubbornly pre-eminent 911.

This example is a truly admirable survivor.

It hasn’t been taken apart, restored and screwed back together again, and that’s a good thing.

What are the chances of anyone doing a better job than the detail-obsessed Meister Technikers who built it in the first place.

It performs and behaves exactly as you would want and hope to find in an inter-continental, high-speed, mile-munching über-coupé.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, it is also original, authentic, unmolested and comes with a gold-standard history file.

What’s not to like?

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £12,000 - £15,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.