Here's What a $180,000 Porsche Was Like In 1994 

The car that made Clarkson to meet his father for the last time.

2017 Doug is like 2019 Doug at 1.25 speed

I used to repair these in the 1990's, and from a technician's perspective, there were even more quirks. One weird feature was that on a steel body, this car had aluminum alloy doors and hoods to reduce weight. Another was the insanely long timing belt Porsche used on the engine, which not only drove the camshafts of both cylinder banks but also the oil and water pump, and which was a day's work to replace. Last but not least, hidden under the passenger footrest, there was a massive electric panel with literally dozens of relays and fuses, all connected by a terrifying jungle of hundreds of wires. Other cars from that era already had some modern circuit boards and electronic control units, but the 928 stuck to its 1970's heritage. Still: a very nice, surprisingly civilised car to drive. I remember how I hit the gas pedal for the first time, and while it felt as if the car wasn't accelerating a lot, a look on the speedometer revealed that I was already going over 100 mp/h (within city limits, jeez!).

The 928 is astonishingly beautiful. I don’t think it looks dated at all.

Doug the type of guy that holds the door open for himself and says thank you

I think Doug drank too much coffee before shooting this video!

I still like the 928 styling. To me it's timeless!

I love how even at 27 Doug looked 40 lol

FYI: The rear sun visors were designed to flip all the way back against the top portion of the hatch back glass, to act as sun shades.

The "OIL OK?" flap protects the paint, the inscription is just an add on.

The looks aren't "dated," they're timeless. That car will ALWAYS look cool. As cars get more futuristic looking, cars like these will look more and more classically beautiful, like how we view 60's European cars today...

3:09 Doug, the Porsche RWW is a parallelogram wiper system that requires two wiper arms. When the wiper is turned on, the 1st wiper arm pushes the wiper blade to sweep in a vertical arch. Then as it sweeps across, the second arm drags the wiper blade vertically to the other side of the window. Then it reverses the motion similarly back to the original position. The wiper works similarly like the wipers on the Greyhound buses

Ok, there are a number of issues with your review of the 928. The heavy accelerator that you are talking about is almost definitely caused by a worn accelerator cable, its relatively common and a simple fix. I owned a 928 for 17 years and if maintained properly the accelerator isn't any heavier than any other car. The lever on the dashboard that switches the miles to km/h also controls the onboard trip computer. There are hatch release buttons on each side of the car. They don't operate if the doors are closed. The variable wiper delay using a rotary knob on the dashboard was very common in the late '80s as you could infinitely adjust the intermittent delay setting on the wipers. The light in the key is dim because the battery is flat. Go to a supermarket and buy a new cell and it'll be bright again. The rest wiper is designed like that so that it wipes across a larger area. The rotary knob for the door locks was common across Porsches. The centre console compartment was designed to hold cassette tapes and originally had little holders tor them - the car you drove has had that removed. The odometer zero button on the car you tested is different to any 928 I've been in. Normally that button is for controlling the rear fog lights independently of the front fog lights. The back seats are not suitable for a 6' tall person. The rear air conditioning was added to boost cooling system performance in hot climates, not really for the rear passengers. It is a cooling unit only. Similarly the sunvisor in the rear is designed to block the sun coming through the rear window. The steering is heavier than most modern cars but provides great feel. The automatic in the GTS is ok but the choice for me was always the 5 speed manuals - especially the later unit put into the 87 and later cars. They are showing their age, but go and drive another '80s or '90s car and you will appreciate just how advanced they were. The poise at speed is phenomenal, and the passive rear wheel steering is amazing if you start to over-cook it. Similarly not mentioned is the traction control/active differential that provides an open differential at low speed to reduce under steer but will up based on input from the ABS sensors and a G sensor under the passenger seat to 100% locked to boost traction when needed. Put one wheel on a loose surface and this will lock the diff so that you drive off without the low traction wheel spinning. They also have 50-50 weight distribution and a nice low centre of gravity. They are an awesome GT car that you can drive long distances very fast in complete comfort and with confidence.

Doug, the kind of guy who calls Detroit “lovely”.

First let me say I’m a big fan but there are two correction I’d like to make. 1, the 928 was not design to cruise at 65mph but more like 120mph. It was designed for the Autobahn. 2, the rear sun visors were not designed to block the sun from the front, but to keep it off the sun coming in from the back window and onto your head and neck. Keep up the great work

Love the 928. The beauty eternal design of It is amazing.

Doug the type of guy that wears Power Ranger underwear

Doug the type of dude to wave at a dog

I lived in Stuttgart when these were being produced and I must say I dont know if that was the reason for it, but the 928 is my favorite car of all time. I know it's a silly thing but It's really quite a cool car.

Another quirk of this car: with a right numberplate it can cause a riot in Argentina

If Doug thinks the door storage latch is useless, try picking up the wallet you just inserted from the tiny opening.

Doug is the kind of guy that suddenly develops a cocaine habit before reviewing a 1980's Porsche.

The round door lock knobs are there for 2 reasons. The locking pins disappear into the door sides when locked so you can't pull them up with your fingers. So you need the knob. Also it makes it more difficult for a thief if the window is left with a narrow opening. Some would use an improvised tool to grab and pull the door pin to unlock the door. Here you can't do that. The knobs are both functional & comfortable to use in everyday driving.

The "weight" of the car and steering make it incredibly stable. I occasionally had mine up to 150mph and it felt just as stable and smooth as cruising at 60. It also had pretty good grip and you can, with effort, throw it around winding roads and corners with confidence. Winding mountain roads at a steady70 to 80mph? No problem at all. Handling was incredibly predictable, unlike 911s of the era.

If you ask any car interior designer, he or she would tell you the 928 interior was a milestone and has influenced a lot of the sports cars ergonomics that came after it.

Doug the type of guy who can't figure out the rear sun visor is for the rear window.

Doug is the type of guy to get into a sleeping bag head first

I had one of these when I was in the Army up in Alaska. A dude was PCSing and I bought it off him for 8 grand. I drove that thing for 5 years and dogged the absolute piss out of it. I didn't touch it besides changing the oil. Sold it when I PCS'd out for 8 grand! Lol. I had a blast in that little Porsche and will never forget all the fond memories whipping that thing around. I hope it's still on the road somehow.

-the rear sun visor is ment to cover the rear window. wish my 911 would have that. - the "overcomplicated" door pockets are also the armrests. they come closer to the driver when pulled open and are very useful on long highway driving to rest your arm. they are very stable.

Doug the type of guy to give someone the finger on the highway but then follow them when they exit so he can apologize.

These jumped in value over the past few years. I shouldn't have sold my '87 S4 in 2015 (it's doubled in value since then). Really nice GTS models sell for over $100K. In order to appreciate the 928 you need to take a 100+ mile trip with it that includes plenty of high speed roads and twisties -- that's what they were designed for.

Weird Science has the best shot of this car ever when Gary Wyatt and Lisa leave the mall...2nd is "Risky Business" w Tom Cruise...great 80s movies

Legend has it that Doug's wallet is still in the cars door

This is honestly still a nice car it has good looks

I must say I like Doug's videos, but I do disagree with him on this one. That's one of the best looking cars ever. And if it looked that good in the 90s, just think how good the new version would look now. They should have kept this one going

I was a mechanic at a shop about 20 years ago and an early 928 came in for a safety inspection. A very cool car. Magnesium lug nuts, a handful of them were so light you almost couldn't feel them in your hand.

“Maybe your uncle has one” Yes. He does. Only reason I’m here is because it’s in terrible condition and I want to fix it

Can we all just take a moment to give Doug the credit he deserves? He is one of the most consistently good car channels on RU-vid. Every video is well put together and interesting. The view count on his videos are a testament to how good they are. Most of his videos get upwards of a million views, and for good reason! Anyways, Doug, if you're reading this, keep up the good work!

Doug has thankfully chilled his delivery since this stage. Love watching the archives Doug. Pura Vida.

You missed the coolest feature of the 928: The cruise control. A friend of mine had an early '90s 928, and one of our favorite things to do was take it up to 70, let it coast back down to maybe 20 mph, and hit "Resume". The car responded by immediately applying all available horsepower to rocket us back up to 70, whereupon it continued in its usual, stately fashion.

One thing about the 928 in the UK is that they were driven by careful drivers and hardly ever stolen, that made the insurance as cheap as a large family saloon. I love the 928. The sun-visor in the back is to stop the sun through the back window, you fold it all the way back...

The Math on inflation is incorrect. $88,000 in 1994 is closer to $145k in 2017.

If you haven't driven a manual, then you don't know how much better it is than the auto

I had one of the rare manual 928 gts with a five speed ZF dog leg transmission. It was a real treat to drive.

Doug, I bet those rear sun visors are meant fold back to go behind the rear passenger's head to keep sun off their head/neck. Would make more sense.

I can't see a 928 without thinking of Jeremy clarkson... anyone else?

This is one of the most beautiful, well engineered, high quality GT built by any manufacturer, ever!

As a 15-year-old German teenager in 1977, I was fascinated by this car with an incredible 300 hp

Still looks fantastic today !

Dude your 928 is automatic :( Unfortunately a lot of them are. FUN FACT YOU MISSED: automatic 928's launch in second gear. No jokes. They always launch in second gear. The only time 1st gear would ever get used is if you actually put the pedal to the floor. This gives the 928 a sluggish reputation. As most of them are automatic and people dont even know about it. Very suprized that you missed this dougey! Its quirktacular.

this car’s design was like 15 years ahead of its time, really incredible

Doug this is an awesome review!

Doug the type of guy who waves at the police

The way the headlights raise and lower on Porsche's 928 is just like on the legendary Lamborghini Miura !!

Great review Doug!

You sir is an absolute gear head. Your enthusiasm reviewing any cars is epic!

Doug DeMuro: ruining my childhood one exotic car at a time

I like these vintage reviews. They're a nice break from all new cars

The 928 made headlines when it was released and it's still one of my favorite vehicles. It was an amazing step to this from the then-current 911.

Friend of mine owned a few 928. He had a hobby of dropping the large powerplants in them. The frame was stout enough to handle close to 800hp without twisting.

Doug, you think these features are weird because you don't know what problems these features solved!In Germany there weren't many sunroofs on the 928 but the dealers pushed for one because they thought at this price in the 70's that customers would want it. They were right because most 928 buyers were married! The Door pockets with the crazy folding arm rest is there because in testing with the sunroof open the wind blasts blew papers out of the pocket and all over the car. The slit is there to drop maps or directions back into the pocket without opening it while the car is in motion. Everything is there for a reason. The Germans are the most intelligent people on the planet. Believe me I wish I was one of them, I'm not! For the headlight, there were covers offered for them if you want to hide the headlights completely. You twist the door lock knob because in testing people tore rotator cuffs when pulling up on the button from the back or from weird angles. It was bad! You pull up the trunk button because it is a "safety switch" if you push it down you might press it while driving. The center console if for maps. That is why they made it shallow. You could buy an after market deeper pocket. The odometer reset button is there and it's big for rally racing just like the map pockets!!! I'm going to stop here and shut off the video. You have shown me time after time that you don't know about cars. There is an old saying "if you don't know what the bump on the roof of as GT40 is for just buy a Prius and call it quits!

Add 2 doors and you have the new panamera styled twenty years ago. You can option one of those to $180k as well

The rubber flap that say's "Oil OK", is to protect the paint when you are filling the car up, the rubber folds down covering the painted area.

Shame Doug doesn't mention two of the car's most notable innovations, being its body-coloured bumpers and its 'Weissach' rear axle with rear-wheel steering. These and other features earned it the coveted European Car of the Year award in 1977, the only sports car ever to win.

If it ever becomes collectable?! It already is!

Shots of the engine? No mention of the 7ft timing belt or insane looking intake manifold?

Loved the vehicle in motion shots! Please do more!

Thanks for showing these interesting quirks. Fun fact if you care, in Denmark you can get a high reduction of registration tax when registering a car as a pickup van (2 seater), but the interiour and exteriour had to obey some rules. Some smart guys (in Norway afaik) found a way to make this particular car and the Chevrolet Camaro pass these rules, more than halving the registration tax. The cars had a pickup lid that camouflaged them as passenger. The only way to see the difference is the color of the license plates (yellow for vans and white for passenger) Rules for vans were changed shortly after, but I still see a Porsche and a Camaro van from time to time :)

Doug. Review a Subaru SVX, then you will know true fear of someone breaking your windows.

This model and it's styling is completely relevant today. It could have come out last year and been a hit. Amazingly beautiful.

In love with all of your work! Note: the backseats sunvisors are for the glass lunette!

I happen to find the 928 still looks contemporary 25 years on, it's just beautiful. But I think it would be too impractical for me - what, no cup holders? I wish Porsche would build an updated version now, so I could afford it in another 20 years after that. I'd only be in my mid 70s, so doable! 🤣

The 928 was my favorite car as a kid after seeing "Risky Business". I remember back in '96, I used to always see the same red 928GTS driving around town. It belonged to some guy that was built like Brock Lesnar, and he always wore Gold's Gym clothing or something similar. I often wonder if he kept that car and decided to preserve it. I haven't seen many nice examples of the 928 for some reason. I guess the maintenance costs may have been disproportionately high compared to the other models. Those cars still look great to me, and it has fantastic lines. Old (pre-F355) Ferraris? They definitely look dated as hell.

I need 16 minutes of complete silence to even this out.

Hey Doug. With regard to the rear “sun visors” they actually fold all the way back to keep the sun off the back of your neck and head since you’re sitting under the rear glass ;)

A back seat in the 928 (and other Porsche models) was a result of trying to reduce the insurance costs.

Show the engines!

I think it is a great looking car. But, as my Grandfather told me when I was a young lad "Guy, If everybody liked the same thing, everybody would be trying to sleep with Grandma"

Doug, I may be wrong but I think the rear sub visors are to fold all the way back so they touch the rear glass before you get in. In these Coupe cars the rear passengers tend to end up underneath the glass, and on a hot day effectively get 'grilled'

I've been watching Doug's more recent vids for over a year now. I guess he drank a lot more coffee back then, wooofff, I'm sweating just trying to keep up with the pace...

Doug, you failed to show how much genius this cars designers had. Even the small components of this well engineered specimen need to be looked over carefully to appreciate or even understand.. Lets review your judgement of the rear wiper arms. The twin arm setup although adding a level of complication is used to increase the amount of glass area swept by the wiper. They removed a lot of the arc that most other cars wiper systems provide as tiny unnaturally shaped viewing area's. In this car one wipe does almost the entire rear window. Every tractor trailer out their has used this type system to alter the wiped area's shape for the benefit of safety. Surely you can see the genius. You also did not understand the armrest detail you showed. The armrest and ultra handy compartment are great, but designers felt it was to narrow to be comfortable as an armrest for long autobahn cruises. At the same time a wider deeper armrest would add difficulty to entering the car as the doors are long and therefore can't open very far when next to other cars in the lot. Genius strikes again..After you push the button to open the armrest the armrest becomes that much wider by moving towards the seat occupant. Porsche also provided small cushions that tied on with small laces to pad these armrests for additional comfort. Simple beauty and practicality. This car is full of it. Disclaimer: I own 914,911,928. No Substitute.................

I actually like that the whole gauge cluster moves with the wheel, as my steering wheel can block the gauges at certain positions.

One of the few original condition I ever seen,I always have special love for the 928...

My grandmother’s ex husband used to race these. It sat in the garage for about 25 years collecting dust, still had the racing stickers all over it. I believe he wanted to start driving it again and the thing hasn’t been in working condition longer than a day before it went back in the shop. I rode shotgun once, the drive felt very analog and you can feel the feedback from each gear he shifted in. I’m glad I got to experience that, although i did not feel safe in a car like that lol.

Doug is the type of guy where people will post about what type of guy he is.

Doug the type of guy to applaud in the cinema at the end of a movie

OK- I owned a 928S4 for a few years. I’m sorry I sold it! I owned a 911SC and I liked it! I would buy my 928 back in a heartbeat! It was a manual and that’s how I would want it today. The author had a purpose and tried to carry it through. As with most experts, he had little/no experience as an owner. The “quirks” he made an object of humor were what made the car special. I could go on and on, but he made a big deal out of the rear visors. I owned my 928 when living in south Florida. Those visors came in handy too keep the greenhouse effect of the rear window at bay. The instrument cluster adjustment was also used by Nissan in later years (I wonder where they “lifted” the idea from) Finally, I liked the video better when I was able to mute the author!

I love the number of speakers Porsche installed in this tiny cabin !! 🔊 🔊

Doug is the type of guy to get excited about parades.

I think the rear sun visor was intended to flip up against the top glass behind the passenger. Seems more logical to me anyway. Keeping them from a wicked sunburn on the neck since they are sitting below what is essentially a magnifying glass. 😊

Back in the 80's it was referred to as the Space Bubble because of the futuristic design. Great review. Thanks

“The seats are tremendously comfortable... They have an enormous amount of support… Ahh… They’re very soft leather… You feel like you kinda sit in ‘em.”

The door compartment solution is genius. Easily throw things in but still have a lid.

I can't believe he didn't get the purpose of the rear sunvisors!!, its simply to protect the head of the rear passengers from the sun rays coming through the rear glass hatch, it should be flipped all the way to the back!

I didn’t know back then Doug used to travel to review cars, so cool!

I went from a 650cc twin motorcycle to a U.K. [unrestricted / emissions] early 928 and it was very quick. Front mounted engine, balanced with rear mounted gearbox provided good balance through U.K. winding country roads and lanes early hours of the morning - Caned on by Stefan Wolf and Thin Lizzie’s ‘Live & Dangerous’. In comparison I drove a Jaguar XJS 5.3 around the same time and would choose the Porsche over it every time. Every model of the 928 is iconic and regardless of the manufacture the V8 unit is a versatile and reliable.

You didn't mention the gas flap was designed to protect the finish from damage while fueling up

The only thing that's bothering me about dougscore is that you compare everything to modern cars. So basically you can say some of the best and most iconic cars from the past are rubbish, because they didnt have luxury equipment that wasn't even invented etc. Hard to take this kind of a rating system seriously.

One thing I like about Doug's older vids is that I don't have to listen to any "Cars and Bids!" plugs.

While driving through Bloomfield Hills Michigan today I wanted to see a 928 review and voila. The scenery in your vids look like some area. Coincidence. We probably know some of the same people. Great video.