That's a nice one! BTW, don't bring one to any dealer as a trade -- they offered me $ 2,500 for the '86 928S! Just spent over $5k last fall for service alone. Ended up selling it to my sister for more.
Nice examples do bring good money now. Add in the low miles and a 5spd, car does deserve a premium. I might be biased the 85/86 S is my personnel variant favorite even over the GTS. You can find them for a lot less. But they are just above parts cars that's drivable for that money! Sure you can find a few gems for around $5k. But for a real nice example with low miles, its near $20k now especially a five spd.
While I think this one is a good buy, even up to $20k. If I wanted another S. I have an 85 S exactly identical to the one my Dad bought new. Id look for an 86.5 in Europe. In 86.5 they updated the suspension, brakes and exhaust to S4 specs. The North American engines still only produced around 288hp. The euro spec produced 310hp as claimed by Porsche. Dyno testing has revealed a little more then the given number with the exhaust update. Some wrongly believe the S was given the S4 engine. No just better exhaust. Anyway, a Euro spec in an S body is basically an S4 like underneath. Would be the perfect start to a 928 collection. To make it really good and rare Id try and find a spoiler delete optioned. You'd get the first gen style with S4 performance! this would be good, too bad its auto https://www.classicdriver.com/en/car/porsche/928/1986/348967
I agree that a '85 Euro 5-speed 929S is one of the most desirable 928s. And if you really want a car like your dad's I may have the answer for you. I have too many cars and need to get rid of the oldest in the stable. I've had several Euro 928s and this one has been my favorite. It's a Euro spec 5-speed we imported new to the US in 1985 and is fully optioned, including triple tan/black leather. It has the 310 hp engine, ABS (not then available on the US cars) and great exhaust. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Nice car. I already have it. More important its in the exact Prussian blue on blue interior. The S is my favorite model. I like the body style. The S4 and GTS look too big and heavy in my opinion. In Euro trim the S with S4 updates is the just the best option to own if you want an early 928.
Talking of rare & desirable, I'm still looking for an SE here in the UK. How many were shipped to US ?
I don't think any SE came to North America. In fact for 88 I think it was only in the UK as a model designation. By 87 and the S4, the HP rating was the same worldwide except in the Australian market. The only difference between North America and Europe was visual, marker lights, rear bumper different shape, etc.
Yes. Grey '86 5.0L, ~40k miles, 5spd. Still hunting an electrical gremlin that's putting into a "limp" mode...
I watch the BAT auctions daily. The other Porsche that is gaining recognition is a stock, low mile 944 Turbo with records. An '88 944 Turbo S sold for $34K while two non "S" models recently sold in the high 20's. It appears that good 928's and 944T's are being dragged along with the stratospheric prices for air cooled 911's.
Yeah, nice ones are going up. Both are tough to find in real nice shape with detailed service history. The one car I kick myself for not buying was a factory 944 turbo cup car. At the time 1998, you could get a nice turbo for under $20k. The seller wanted $28k. At the time you could get an 1989/90 911 Carrera 4 for $30k. So I passed. The seller lived in an apartment on the Lakeshore near downtown Toronto, had two parking spaces. He had a few cars. Kept them at my friends warehouse building. He gave my friend and me permission to drive his cars to keep them running. So I drove it a few times. He also had a 1991 M5 and a 1978 Mercedes 6.9. and a few other cars he kept in Montreal. I took the 944 to the Porsche dealer to confirm it was a factory cup car. I bet you could get over $100k now for a cup car!
I bought one of those low mileage, records back to 42 miles, 1988 944 Turbo's last fall so I have been watching these auctions very closely. I had a fellow track day friend who had a 944 Turbo cup car back in the day. It was very fast. One of the highlights of my wife's driving career was beating another lady driver,who was piloting a 944 turbo cup car, with our normally aspirated 1983 944 track car. It was at a time trial event at Waterford Hills Raceway in Michigan in the early nineties. It is a very tight track so horsepower was not as advantageous and my wife drove very well. I was only a tick faster than her in the same car.
The car is going to be at the Werks Reunion in Monterey. Come check it out if you're attending Monterey. The restorer/seller whose 5-year project is documented in this epic thread http://rennlist.com/forums/928-forum/669754-my-penance-letting-the-cat-out-of-the-bag.html will hopefully be there as well. Duplicating the work on this car in any 928S would be a massive undertaking; finding another 5-speed/LSD/sport chassis 1986.5 32V car as a comparable basis for the work would be essentially impossible. Granted, I'm biased . But I do think this is a remarkable machines and quite the restorer's accomplishment.
David, when I watched the bidding I had no doubt you were ending up with the car. I will say again, as someone with a fairly extensive collection of 70s/80s supercars, the 928 is a very special, very advanced, and incredibly underrated and misunderstood car that is worthy of values far greater than the current market gives credit for. You will never question the purchase or the price paid moving forward. I look forward to seeing the car at Werks. Congrats and enjoy in good health!
Thank you Chris! I knew we shared similar good tastes, but I didn't realize you were a 928 fan. I see that in your profile now. I appreciate the kind comments. See you in Monterey.
Yes, I have a few and the 86.5 is the perfect blend of classic 928 styling and modern engineering. Here is a thread of a 78 OB Jim Doerr is restoring for me: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/porsche/510144-1978-928-5-speed-241-restoration.html
Spectacular thread and spectacular early car. Perfect combination, as mentioned late in the thread (5sp+sunroof+pacha+no rub strips). Great find and congrats. I look forward to seeing it complete; maybe for Monterey 2017?
This car is further evidence of how much value can be added to a car by documenting a build on a forum. Not only do the readers get to know exactly how the car was put together, the builder has access to many eyes watching for potential missteps. I have documented a number of car builds and am always grateful for people pointing out a potential problem. It's much easier to fix something during the build than find an issue after the car is back together. Besides enhancing the value of your car, these build threads are a huge information source for future project car builders. Besides documenting my builds on a forum, I also place them on my car blog. There I can see which builds have the most interest. I can also see where in the world the hits are coming from. There are many days that I get more hits from foreign countries than the USA.
Here is some follow-up on the tale and the car after the auction: http://bringatrailer.com/2016/08/24/bat-auction-success-story-928-buyer-takes-perfect-post-purchase-trip/
