1988 Porsche 928 S4

We know this car rather well.

It’s come our way before.

Twice.

And each time we’ve been confident in asserting that it is an excellent example of a ground-breaking model from a legendary marque.

That judgement holds true as much today as it did when we first clapped eyes on this magnificent machine in 2021.

The pre-penultimate owner forked-out over £24,000 on this car over the course of 5 or 6 years and made sure that it was as thoroughly sorted, fettled and ready to rumble as it could possibly be.

His successor carried on the good work, as has the current vendor, who has spent somewhere in the region of £1,500 on it during his year of ownership.

He is only selling now because he has recently become the proud owner of a 911 and doesn’t have sufficient room to house two of Zuffenhausen’s finest.

It starts, goes, handles and stops as you would hope and expect and is a fitting testament to the obsessive over-engineering that sets the 928 apart from virtually every other car of the era.

This car was assembled by serious-looking chaps called Gunther and Wolfgang.

It’s quite possible that they had terrible mullets, no sense of humour whatsoever, lots of pens and micrometers sticking out of their jacket pockets, and they ironed their socks. 

Despite that (or perhaps because of it), they ensured that the panel gaps and shut-lines on this car were as Teutonically crisp and consistent as possible.

Their work has not been compromised either by time or use.

This car looks and feels pretty much as well screwed-together and fastidiously assembled as it would have done in 1988.

The bodywork is reassuring devoid of any dinks, dents or creases of consequence.

The black paintwork has retained plenty of shine and lustre and is mostly good.

We noticed a spot of bubbling below the rubber trim at the base of the nearside rear window; some blistering at the lower, forward corner of the offside window by the wing mirror; some scuffs to the rubber trim at the base of the front valance; some scuffs and scratches below the nearside headlight; scuffs and scrapes to the rubbing strake on the nearside; some splits to the rubber trim around the driver’s door window; and a fairly standard number and distribution of stone chips, scuffs and swirly scratches elsewhere on the car.

The wheels are very good, save for the odd spot of compromised lacquer, and seem unacquainted with kerbs or other roadside obstacles. The matching Toyo Proxes look to have a decent amount of life left in them, but we can’t vouch for their age.

The pop-up headlights pop up. The sunroof lets in the sun, but not the rain.

The lights, lenses, badging and other exterior fixtures and fittings are all in decent order, as far as we can see. 

The tank-like build quality of these cars carries on from the exterior to the interior.

The black and grey ruched leather upholstery is as 1980s as Don Johnson with his sleeves rolled up and, this being a 928, it has stoically resisted any temptations to split, fade or scuff.

The rear seats, as ever, don’t look as if they’ve been called upon to support anything heavier than a hat or a handbag. 

We’ve seen no fading or anything else to complain about on the dashboard and centre console plastics, and the steering wheel, gear selector and other controls all look good to us.

Ditto the door cards, headlining, carpets and mats, all of which are in very good order even for the car’s mileage, let alone its age.

The capacious (particularly with the rear seats folded) luggage deck is in fine fettle and currently contains some of the spare parts and bits and pieces we mentioned earlier.

Lift up the floor and you’ll find a space saver wheel shod in Vredestein rubber, some original tools, and a car cover and air compressor – both with Porsche branding.

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

The undersides of the car look to have been afforded ample protection by underseal treatments and various protective cowls and covers. 

There’s the odd spot of what appears to be surface rust here and there, but nothing we’ve seen has given us any cause to doubt the car’s structural integrity or question its honesty.

The Porsche’s service and maintenance record is very good and the car comes with more history than the Parthenon.

Highlights are as follows.

• 17.03.1990 and 8,751 miles – service by Ian Anthony of Wilmslow including brake fluid
• 30.05.1991 and 18,089 miles – service by Merlin Manchester
• 21.02.1992 and 25,045 miles – service by Strattons of Wilmslow including brake fluid
• 21.06.1993 and 33,875 miles – service by JCT600
• 12.05.1994 and (unknown) miles – service by Strattons of Wilmslow including brake fluid
• 16.09.1994 and 47,869 miles – service by Evans Halshaw including brake fluid
• 25.09.1995 and 53,041 miles – service by Evans Halshaw
• 13.09.2002 and 62,857 miles – service by AFN Porsche
• 27.10.2008 and 70,628 miles – service plus miscellaneous work by JZM at a cost of £2,410
• 15.05.2009 and 72,748 miles – service by GT One Ltd including brake fluid, and transmission oil and filter
• 04.05.2010 and 76,542 miles – service by GT One Ltd including brake discs, pads, and fresh fluid
• 18.05.2011 and 79,378 miles – service by GT One Ltd
• 23.04.2012 and 81,713 miles – service by GT One Ltd
• 17.04.2013 and 84,226 miles – service by GT One Ltd
• 19.03.2015 and 88,127 miles – service by Arun Limited
• 15.10.2015 and 88,218 miles – service by (unreadable) including cambelts and waterpump
• 10.10.2016 and 88,743 miles – service by ProMAX Motorsport
• 24.11.2016 and 88,810 miles – new radiator by Radtec Racing Radiators and ProMAX Motorsport
• 07.07.2018 and (unknown) miles – service and miscellaneous work by 928 Spares including Polybushes at a cost of almost £3,000
• 03.10.2020 and 89,680 miles – service and miscellaneous work by 928 Spares including new cambelt, waterpump, and tensioner and much more at a cost of £4,761
• 07.11.2022 and 89,903 miles – new odometer and miscellaneous work including the gearbox by CavendishPorscha at a cost of just over £700
• 27.09.2023 and 90,751 miles – service by CavendishPorscha including brake fluid, sparkplugs, cambelt and tensioner at a cost of just over £2,000

It comes with a V5C and a recent HPI report. 

While in the vendor’s ownership the car has covered very few miles but has had the front bumper resprayed, a new battery, replacement speaker grilles, the central arm rest fixed, engine coolant flushed and changed, A/C recharged, and the accelerator cables silicon sprayed.

With the car and waiting to be fixed/installed are the following items.

LED headlight bulbs, LED interior and gear selector illumination kit, model-specific digital clock, replacement electric seat recline switch, unused Porsche mats…and a spare rear fog light control switch.

The car’s MoT certificate is valid until 12.3.26.

Even people who stubbornly refuse to like Porsche’s seminal 911 - the Cotswold sheep herder and home-brew salesman Jeremy Clarkson springs to mind - are usually in agreement that the 928 was, and is, an extraordinary engineering achievement and, arguably, one that only Porsche could have achieved back in the day. 

Even 37 years after it left the factory, this thoroughly sorted and fettled example has the power to impress with its huge reserves of grunt, excellent road manners and ability to cross continents without breaking into a sweat.

It’s a whole lot of car.

We’re confident to offer this fine car for auction with an estimate of £10,000 - £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’.