Leno and Osborne Have a Debate About the 928! 

Love this channel. No drama or annoying generic rock music, just cars and genuine car people

I don't care what anyone says about the 928. It's positively gorgeous. I've been in love with the 928 from the moment I first saw one. I would always prefer a 928 over any 200mph multi-million super car. Thank you.

I drove a 928S4 as my daily driver for over 7 years. I loved it. It cornered like it was on rails. Mine had the standard transmission. Lots of fun. Lots of power. And I learned a lot from other 928 drivers over that time. For instance, this was the car that the Porsche engineers and production line folks in Stutgardt all wanted to own. 80% of the cars in the employee lot were 928s. This is the first car in many years that was built from the ground up by Porsche as a Porsche. I could put my child easily in the back seat. I sold this car when my wife was pregnant with twins. I traded it in on a minivan. THAT trade was emblematic of my changing status in life - fun loving young man becoming a serious dad. I would own one again.

The 928 was actually quite a capable car. This thing could go 100 mph+ on the Autobahn all day long, no problem. Ans it would do it comfortably and sit stable on the road compared to many of the "supercars". Extremely underrated car.

In the late 70s, Kool cigarettes raffled off a 928. I was eleven, loved the look of the car, and pestered my mom to send in a stack of tickets I had clipped out of Kool ads. I recently asked mom if she really mailed those in but she pretended like she didn’t know what I was talking about. I’ll never recover from the betrayal!

It was around 1980 - I was on a long lonely highway in the middle of nowhere - and behind me came a red 928 doing 110+ - it passed me like I was standing still - and was out of sight just a couple of minutes later - It was such a beautiful thing to see - a touring car actually touring at over 100. I've had a thing for 928's ever since.

The 928 is a car to which you wouldn't add or subtract anything. The design is still fresh. Those who know these cars regard it as Porsche at its pinnacle. A clean sheet design that was light years ahead of the competition upon its debut. Sadly, for most car enthusiasts, it will always live under the shadow of the 911. Having driven both, I can firmly say that I would choose a 928GTS over the 911, and frankly, many other modern sports and GT cars.

As a kid watching Tony Montana running out of that Miami nightclub after a fierce shootout then jumping into his 928 flipping the lights before driving away made me fall in love with this fine piece of German engineering.

Back in the day, I worked in the service dept. of a Porsche dealer, drove many 928's. People didn't compare them to the 911. The 911 was a track car with license plates. The 928 was an Autobahn missile that was extremely comfortable to drive for tall people. I liked the smoothness, the tall gears, and the power to get beyond cruising speed in a relatively short time. Hypothetically one could be going 150mph, whilst playing around with the radio, and feel safe.

The 928gts is a superb piece of machinery. One of the finest automobiles ever made.

I had a 10 year old 928 in 1994, my wife was pregnant so it had to go, once our two kids were grown up my daughter had a picture of the 928 that I took with our dog in the drivers seat wearing sunglasses taped to her door and my son said "dad, why did you get rid of this?" I said because of you 🙂

Our local rich kid (who was a couple of years ahead of me in school) pulled into the student lot in a brand new 82 white 928s and the entire student body went over to check it out. Unbelievable how amazing that car was to all of us. Love them to this day.

The 928's appearence in the film Risky Business was also a huge reason the car was so popular with kids of the 1980's.

I've always liked the design of the 928 since its inception. It truly has a unique shape.

I have a 928 GTS with manual transmission. It’s a great car for traveling on long distance, and that is how we use it. You even can sleep surprisingly comfortably in it. Have a ride across the alps, than along the shore down to south of Italy and you had a great day - we love it.

I bought my first Porsche around 1990 and it was a 1989 model... I had originally been looking for a 928 S4 with a manual transmission, but every 928 that came through the dealership was an automatic, a 928 or 928S model... I ended up with a 944 Turbo and was quite happy with it... We used to say about the 2+2 seating in them that it stood for "2 people plus 2 bags of groceries"...

The most dismissed and underrated GT ever. A master piece from 1978 no less!

There are many reasons why I like the Porsche 928, its design, the build quality, its history, few cars have those qualities. car of the year, set speed records in several places such as la salt de utah and the 24 hrs nardó in italy. it was handmade where each car took 3 weeks. It was the first car to bring all the modern technologies where today's cars have adopted. it's a futuristic car, pedigree, strong, can do a lot of miles and still look like new. when you get inside the 928 it's a strong smell of the quality of the leather. the engine roars, truly I tell you it is a handmade masterpiece.

I visited Tony Lapine at Weissach when the 928 was being developed. He was head of Porsche Design at the time and the 924 had just been introduced. He wouldn't allow me to go into the room where the 928 was being designed, When I opened the door to go in he almost had a coronary and called me back. I knew generally what was going on but it was still secret!

I rebuilt a totaled 928 in 1985. It was one of the strongest cars I have ever seen. Had it mounted on a floating post frame machine and it was really difficult to bend it back in shape! Horrible to service as all the systems were stacked upon one another. Just a nice, difficult car.

928 GTS. Nice, that's definitely one of the really desirable models to get. Not a lot of those around.

I owned one of these for a number of years in a very rare manual, a mirror image of the one in Risky Business. It was quite fast in it's day. It looked fantastic and it was however incredibly comfortable, you could do a 1000 mile trip, then get back in and do another 1000, it was the ultimate in fast GTs.

Definitely two different cars, 928 auto vs 5 speed. I owned an 89 928 auto for 16 years and loved it, but picked up a 91 GT 5 speed 10 years ago and its a totally different driving experience, pure fun! Now days, every where I go with it , Cars and Coffee or car shows, it draws a crowd. It was way before its time when it came out.

I didn't know they made purple denim like that, this was a pleasure to watch. Interesting to see any discussion about the 928 but its time has come!

I've owned 9 Porsche's over the past 22 years, including 911 Turbo's & 2 manual 86 928's. I must say and admit that out of all of them, the 928 was Porsche's Pinnacle & at the time was the true definition of a Super Car. It literally did everything well & it did it better than any other car on the market. IMHO, the 85-86 is the sweet spot of the entire 928 range because it's the last 2 years for the original body, but also the first two years of the larger & more powerful 5 liter 32V motor. What an amazing car!

I drove the first version of the 928 in Dallas in 1979. It had been sitting on the used car section of a local Mercedes dealer for six months, I knew they were anxious to get rid of it and could probably get to test drive it. My dad and i had a scheme where he would drive up to a car dealer in his Fleetwood Cadillac and he would chat with the salesman while a companion and I would go drive sports cars. The dealer was in north Dallas next to an industrial park which was deserted on Saturdays. It had wide streets to accommodate large trucks so it was a great place to rip around in a sports car.. My buddy Asko taught me how to hang the tail out in a 74 Alfa Spider that had also languished on their used car lot. The car wouldn't start and I had to tell the salesman where the battery was and convinced him to check the water in the battery ( I said "just pull one cap" which turned out to be low). After filling ALL of the cells the car jumped off and away we went.I put my Alfa training to good use and slid it all over the industrial park. It had a dogleg 5 speed which I preferred having learned to drive a stick in a 66 912. It had been widely reported that the 928 had tamed the 911 tail happiness which we tested with abandon. I REALLY LIKED handling of the car but thought it needed another 100 horsepower, which it eventually got. This being Dallas, where German cars were dearly loved, I got to talk to several 928 owners about their cars. They ALL had electrical problems. The cars were not easy to service and had the same accessibility as a current diesel Ford pickup. Alas, I realized that it was not a car for me. The lack of sales success, at least in this area where there is a very low tolerance for unreliability, was probably more due to its inherent problems than the water-cooled front engine.

A lot of people don't even know of the concept of "grand tourer" and only have the mental concept of "sports car." Which can be bad news for a grand tourer when people start judging it as a sports car. All of which amuses me because so many people want to be seen in a sports car, but in reality, want a grand tourer, and the number of people really showing up for a lightweight, smaller sports car is really quite small. Also amusing/frustrating was that at the time, the automotive press was moaning about how heavy the 928 was. Well, the 911 never was all that light, and now almost everything's heavier than those 928's were.

I first owned a couple of 924:s, also underrated, a couple of 944:s, one 911 and then a 928 my 1985, and one 1986, then tha last one a 1987. Loved the 928:s, went twice from Sweden to Spain. Cruising at 180 km/h (120 Mph?) on Autobahn was unbelievable pleasant. Never any mechanical, drove them on studded tires in the winter - perfect balanced car made it a pleasure.

Donald and Jay, if you're listening, I will happily bring my 6.5 liter stroker GTS 5-speed up to Burbank, and disabuse you about the 'not enough power' notion...

I’ve always been a huge 928 fan. I never thought I’d ever own a Porsche. As a small town Canadian kid, an “imported sports car” was a far and distant dream. These days… I currently have an ‘87 Carrera (3.2L Cab) - for 17 years now, but my first love was the 928. The iconic shape just looked fast even while sitting…. those headlights! Risky Business, Scarface and Moonlighting also helped me fall for this car. I thought it’s real competition was BMW’s 633/635/M6 and the Mercedes-Benz 500/560 SEC (Two other cars I love). Thanks for sharing your impressions.

The 1987 928S4 set the world speed record at Bonneville of 171 MPH. That made it the fastest production non-turbocharged car in the world (Category A, Group 2, Class 9, for normally aspirated vehicles)

I loved my 1990 928GT. Absolutely fantastic car. I owned it for 16 years and sold it with 424,000km on it. Manual transmission in all GT’s and hotter cams than the S4.

Lots of people bought 928s in Europe and used them to cross the continent. It sure didn't feel like failure to its lucky owners. It was low, elegant, very snug and fast. It was beautifully finished and reasonably comfortable. The GTS in particular was a great car. I used to drive 1500 km in one day and it felt absolutely thrilling.

The exhaust wail on these things as they reach redline is absolutely incredible. One of my top five favorites.

I love my 1981 5 speed manual 928! It's everything I want in a classic sports car. Comfortable, looks amazing, one of the best sounding engines, fun to drive on back roads and highway. Maybe I'll stop by at your next Cars and Coffee.

I used to deal in older 911SC's as a hobby. I used to refer to 928's as "boat anchors", almost couldn't give them away in years past. Cool looking car though! Glad they are making a comeback.

My friends dad hauled 3-4 of us to soccer games all through middle and high school in a 928. Back seat WAS useful.

I was 21 when the 928 was released and to me at that time it represented success and sporty all in the same package. Porsche was smart to make the 924, 944, 928, etc., as those cars got a lot of people into the brand that wanted the Porsche image but didn't want to buy a 911. Another benefit of making those models back then is now there's used Porsches that younger people without a trust fund can actually afford. Cheers!

Really enjoy you guys together. I was hoping for a deeper dive into the car. I have always loved the 928. I don’t know if I would ever own one though. I fear the cost to own and the parts availability.

All of us kids that were going to grade school In the 80's loved this car.

I second a lot of the sentiment; The 928 was a beautiful car in it's day, it's a beautiful car today, and one that has held up better mechanically than almost any other car of the era. This was Germany's last real "German car" if you will.. Before they adopted VW's disposable car attitude (I'm looking at you, BMW!). I remember when these first came out thinking "this is special, it's different, it's everything the 911 *isn't* and that's a *good* thing". I blame the marketing of the day. They just didn't aim for the right demographic

I test drove a 928S. What a great driving experience. Love 'em.

I've owned several versions of the 928 and it was a very trackable car. The faster you go is the smaller it gets....lol. My last iteration was a 1987 928 S4 5spd with limited slip, a SuperCharger (500hp) and lightened by 600 lbs. Add a cage for body stiffness and the car was a rocket that sounded like thunder. I'm driving a GT4 now and I still miss the 928.

When the 928 came out, it was the flagship. The luxury "Doctor's car". True Porsche fanatics sniped "It's not air cooled so it's not a Porsche". The all aluminum bodied 928 is a leap forward over previous cars. But like you said with Harley, if you put an engine in a Harley that had twice the power without the "potato" sound and cut the weight in half, they'd sell 6 of them a year, then cut production. Same with any water cooled Porsche. (Volkswagen) 924 and 944 always depreciated like crazy while the 911 and even the (Volkswagen) 914 didn't nearly as much. Moving to water cooled 911's introduced the IMS bearing catastrophy. Turbo and GT cars didn't use the IMS, so became the reliable 911.

I can't wait for the documentary about this years show. They are fantastic.

Love all my 911s, but something about a 928 S4 , feels like a german corvette, blast to drive, roomy , great porsche.

I bought my first 928 when I first come to Washington DC in 1983, I felt in love with it. Then in 1987 I got my second 928, my third in 1990 and finally in 1995 got the 928 S4 that I still have today. Never sold it because I promised to my son Robert that I would give this car to him. We both love it. I moved to my first 911 Carrera, which is a totally different concept. Porsche is like the old add says, like peanut butter in your mouth. Once you taste it, you don’t want anything else. I had always curious as to why Jay Leno never reviewed a 928. Now I know. In spite of that… I am in love with what my son and to this day call Mr. Muscle.

I own a 85 928 with the 5-speed manual and it is a wonderful Driving Experience they are not hard to work on but Parts can be pricey

The 928 is the Ultimate Porsche! You really have to own one to get a good understanding off what it is 🔥🚀🚀

Great video gentlemen! i especially like your point that most of us don't or can't drive our cars 9/10's on the street, but we get enjoyment in how the car feels when we drive it! As far as the 928 goes in my humble opinion, it was Porsche trying to branch out and follow the trend of the time for a modern GT car. Every once in a while an auto maker will create a niche in the market like the crossover, but most it sems try to jump on the bandwagon in order to sell to a new market.

“Ok which of you guys is the U Boat Commander “😂

Jay talks about everything but the 928. Appreciate this wasn’t a technical deep dive but more an emotional discussion, but the 928 was the first ground up Porsche design and introduced technology adopted in the later 911’s.

A guy I worked with in an international oil production company smuggled in a 1980 928 s manual right hand drive was my first experience in one and it was impressive,then I rode in a california 928 auto and it wasn't the same car,just three years ago was the last time to buy one.

Great discussion

This was a great discussion! I’ve had my 1990 944s2 Cabriolet for two decades. Never been a 928 fan….but sitting there in Polar White, under those lights, it appears to be doing “light speed” sitting absolutely still! Bravo-Zulu on a great automobile discussion!

There is something to be said about a good looking sports car. The 928 is very sharp. The 911 is a Beetle on steroids. The 928 design turns heads. Just like my Ftype today. It may not be the absolute fastest car, but it is beautiful and luxurious and is a legitimate sports car.

Great, entertaining as educational ❤️

What a great conversation!

About time this wonderful car is getting recognized. I love my 88 928 S4

I recently sold my 1986 928S Strosek Edition wide-body. Sellers remorse, but I’m glad it went to another enthusiast. The 928 was a “quick” comfortable car and would turn heads and start conversations everywhere I’d go. It was nice to be able to take my wife with me and our kids fit fine in the backseats (even though I didn’t like them not having shoulder belts). We had fun in that car as a family and a lot of great memories. I actually made a video about it and have it here on RU-vid on my channel.

I was “blessed” that my 12 cylinder Jaguar had so many flaws, that I had to make the decision to change to a more reliable vehicle. At the time I was thinking between a Mercedes or 7 series of BMW, but both cars had waiting time (not instantly deliverable), which was not something I considered, so I went to Porsche, to see how it played out with the 928, which was also a fairly new model, I had seen on the streets (mid 1979). At Porsche in Essen/Germany, they also told me, that if I wanted one, there would be a 3 month waiting time, but they had one, where the customer had spect it to his pleasure, but had not taken it in the end, and if I would take this car, I could have it immediately. I looked at the car, and decided to take it, as they (Porsche in Essen) would even give me a discount. What a blessing this was ! I loved the car right from the beginning : a perfect handling and reliable car, which even at really heigh (top speeds on the Autobahn, was never tired from driving, even after 700+ miles stretches. After 3 years and about 180,000 miles on the tachometer, during a scheduled maintenance visit, “my” Porsche salesman showed me the new 911 Carrera Cabrio (just presented), and “convinced” me to order one, which I should get delivered after the “Summer-pause “. So I ordered one to my spec’s - white, with white leather interior and white Cabrio roof. When I got it, the waiting time for a Carrera Cabrio was meanwhile close to one year, and the white colored Cabrio roof was not an option anymore, so I had a pretty unique 911 as my new car. Now, having driven the 928 previously, this car was not comparable at all: very loud, “nervous”, road holding in comparison to the 928 (which was excellent) , very poor, because the 928 was like a train on tracks never trying to “break out”, while the 911 tended to break out with his back, so I couldn’t understand the people/drivers, who were soooo convinced, that the 911 was the way to go. Long story short : at my first scheduled maintenance with the 911, I asked the salesman, if he would take it back, and at what price, and sell me a new 928 S instead. I was surprised, that he offered me 25,000 DM (Deutsche Mark) more, than I had paid for it, and sold me the 928 S for less… What a happy ending for me ! Unfortunately I had to sell my loved 928 S, because I moved to Italy, which at that time “punished” everyone with extra taxes, if the engine had more than 2,000 cc… From Italy I moved to the United States, where sports cars don’t make any sense (in my humble opinion), since if you drive them as supposed, you lose your license quickly, and also risk your and all the incapable drivers lives… It actually hurts me to see people driving very capable cars, blocking lanes on highways with 2, 3 and more lanes per direction doing 70 and less miles/hr. I’m still in love with 928’s, because they were wort every penny ! ❤ …and no, I don’t think the manual shifting ones are the better choice, as the automatic shifting ones were damn good, even if in my early years I was driving only manual gears. The 928’s automatic gear was exceptionally responsive, maybe it’s due to the fact, that the mechanics in the US are not as capable to fine tune this kind of cars…

The early model 928 is still my favorite Porsche.

I bought a 1984 Porsche 944 about 15 years ago with 72,000 miles on it for $3200. Mechanicaly sound. Had it repainted for $3200. A guy down the road from me has an original 928. Sounds awesome. .. I still kick his as on winding roads of Maine.

You guys do a great job 👏

It was Porsche’s answer to Mercedes 500 SEC, thinking in USA market: V8, five liter. Absolutely gorgeous car.

One of my ALL-TIME FAVES

Had a buddy with a 928 GTS, manual trans. That thing was a blast to drive:)

Very interesting, civil discussion on this car. I also enjoyed the comparisons to other cars.

928 is my favourite car ever made. I have a 1979 red (indischrot) 928. I also had the S, S4 and GTS. But the Urmodell (1st model) is my favourite. The interior fits perfect to the time and driving it is a real time capsule. The GTS is the most perfect one, drives like a new car. But as a classic enthusiast, I would always go with the 1978-1979 models.

I bought a 928S4 and used it for it’s design purpose. Had a business in Dallas and lived in Florida turned I10 into the autobahn often. Had another business in DC same with I95. Loved the car kept it 10 years. Serviced by EUROTECH Winter Park.

Glad I found this channel! Growing up a Neihbor (I was 12 or so 1985) had a 928. I thought it was the coolest car ever. I would love to buy one now but mechanically they’re nightmare’s.

I always enjoy listening to both of these gentlemen presenting facts and giving their opinions. Mr. Leno has talked about individuals inaccurately think car design and building it is simple. He mentioned the New Coke campaign which turned into a controversial calling card. Auto manufacturers have to 1. Keep customers 2. Keep pleasing customers 3. Attain new customers (who apparently don't care for the current product) and let's not forget the legislative consequences of safety, pollution, fuel economy, etc. How different would this car have become had VW not looked to Porsche design for the Beetle replacement - which became the 924?

Great video, getting to the "Nitty-Gritty" of automotive preferences on your likes and dislikes of a sport car, whether it be a rear engine car , a front engine, having back seats and manual vs automatic transmission. Gear heads can spend a Saturday afternoon conversation about this subject. I'm with Jay Leno as favoring a manual transmission in a sports car. That connection you have when your rowing through gears and shifting when YOU want to shift. The art of learning to drive a manual transmission should never die but it looks like car manufacturers belive otherwise. Nice content gentlemen, keep up the great work.

Good points nice discussion

What about the magnificent transaxle that gave the 928 50/50 weight distribution and a high polar moment of inertia, since the heavy masses were at opposite ends of the car. I loved it when it came out, also Anatole Lapine the designer/person in charge of development, was great.

Great video, really love the discussions between Donald and Jay about cars, in fact about anything! Two intelligent, real people, I'd invite you both to review my cars!

I personally think 2+2 are practical. It has small back seats to move people short distances, in the 2% of the time, you will need that with a sports car.

I totally dig the original 928, and the '83-'86 928s most of all. The '87 cosmetic "rounding" spoiled the beauty, especially in the front. It looks like it melted.

Excellent! 2 informed, intelligent car guys sharing their views. I Love it! The 928, esp. the later GTS version, is a stand-out car, blending luxury & performance very well. A 'personal luxury' car or GT, rather than a true 'sports car'. There's market for each. In my earlier years, I'd scoff at the lack of 'sport' in this model. At this point, I can appreciate the GT blend. Jay - I encourage you to reconsider. Of course a manual trans allows for more visceral driver involvement, but a good AT isn't necessarily a bad thing. Case in point - my ride is a lovely '98 Lexus SC300 - a personal luxury GT. Only c. 5% of these were 5-spd. manual. Mine is AT, so yes - driver involvement is reduced a bit, but what a sweet ride w/ many virtues. btw - the 1st gen. NSX, up to 290 HP in later versions, was/is a jewel in many respects & sent Ferrari & Porsche back to the drawing board.

The best part of owning a 928s4 is just being different from some hipster 911 driver. I just love driving up and down the beach highways here in the Emerald coast of N Florida .

Great videos as always !!🎉

Good hard car talk. Love it.

I want a 928! Could be automatic or manual...manual is ALWAYS more fun!

Waiting for the inevitable episode where Jay wears the bow tie and Donald is resplendent in denim....

When I was twenty-five, the 928 was my dream machine. Great power and design.

I love these landsharks!

This channel needs more subscribers!

Back seats ARE useable. Been taking 2 elementary age kids to school in 911 (996.1 1999) for over 6 years. With top down they are game for 45 minute drive through canyons to lake for paddle board. Now in middle school, STILL useable for 7 min drive from house to school. 928 manual will satisfy in today’s elevated expectations and it’s a glorious sound plus great steering. Automatic is a pass, just buy a Jag XK 2007+ instead as good engines and paddle shift ZF 6 speed auto is fast enough and reliable. Want a terrific sounding V8? Lexus 5.0 F cars at 3,800 make fabulous, deep, brassy sounds.

I was the proud owner of an early '80's 944 with a similarly stupid back seat. As it was explained to me, the back seat changed the car's tariff category. Two-seater sports cars had high tariffs. With the back seat, even unusable, the tariff was lower. I don't know if this was true for the 944, or the 928. It's just what I was told.

Fun chat guys!

Jay is clearly really out of touch, with his comments on 2+2 cars. Other people dont have the luxury of having a sports car and separate 4 door car.

I have an 83 928S that I purchased a few years ago, and I am fixing up a little at a time. It is a fun car to drive and you get lot of favourable comments from everyone that sees it.

Excellent

I have always loved the 928! It is just sooooooo cool looking. Never mistaken for anything else.

Outstanding content, discussion, and rapport by Donald and Jay. Thank you

Always unique and special...amazing in GT and GTS form late in life.

Beautiful car I’ve always loved . It’s got to have the telephone dial wheels though

The early 928 was not quick. It has always been high speed fast. The ‘89 set the production car top speed record of 172 @ Leguna Sega. I test drove an automatic and was impressed, but not moved. Purchased a (dog leg left) 5-speed and in the early 2000’s. 25 years later, I still love it!

I’m 17 and just picked up an 85 928s five speed! Such a cool car and insanely comfortable driving

One of my colleagues restores 928's and owns 3 himself, one of which is a track car.......