The S4 stateside
The new policy at Porsche meant that virtually all cars within a certain model range were the same. That’s not to say there weren’t subtle differences, however. The main area where market requirements pushed through necessary changes was in the field of exhaust emissions, with the US and Japan needing catalytic converters as a matter of course. Cars with a ‘cat’ had a different air pump arrangement, while Japan had its own unique catalytic converter with an exhaust temperature sensor.
In other areas, the 928S4 sold in the States was much the same as the European cars. At long last, they even fell into line with European-style headlights, meaning the end of the ubiquitous chrome trim ring, although side markers continued to be used.
Road & Track made an odd observation at the time: “Interestingly enough, the restyled 928 didn’t generate any rubber-necking on the street. Perhaps that’s not surprising: except for the eye-popping rear wing, the changes are rather subtle. Indeed, the rounder contours and the almost flush lights give the car less of a sculptured appearance than it had before. If the 928 looks better and sleeker now, it’s also a bit less distinctive.”
The 1987 928S4 was priced at $58,900 (in 4AT or 5MT guise), rising to $63,520 by mid-season. In fact, America was in the middle of a currency crisis that resulted in four price increases during the year, amounting to an overall rise of around 14 per cent. Porsche V8 drivers were also hit for a $650 gas guzzler tax!
At least the 928 came fully loaded, with items such as an eight-speaker sound system, a Reno stereo unit and power sunroof coming as part of the package. It seems strange, therefore, that bodyside mouldings were an option when they were standard elsewhere, albeit free of charge when specified. Saying that, there were very few options, with features such as a limited-slip differential, sports shocks, a platinum finish for the alloy wheels, increased air conditioning output, trim variations (such as custom materials and/or combining regular materials in non-standard forms of co-ordination), sports seats, lumbar support, seat heating, and seat memory function about the extent of the extras listing; metallic paint was a no-cost option, although custom paint added $2016 to the invoice.
There’s no doubt, though, the high price put off a lot of people. Porsche sales as a whole dropped to 23,632 units, while 928 sales were down 29 per cent, despite some excellent publicity when Al Holbert set a new production car speed record at Bonneville. He took a stock S4 and covered the flying-mile at 171.1mph (273.8kph), as well as claiming the FIA record for the flying-kilometre along the way.
The 928S4 was certainly a quick machine. Motor Trend gathered together an S4, Ferrari Testarossa, Lamborghini Countach and Lotus Esprit Turbo to find out which was the fastest. Using the oval track at the TRC research facility in Ohio, the magazine noted: “Certainly the most civilized of the field, the Porsche was also the least demanding at top speed. Compared to the others, it was compliant, and managed to turn the bumpy west banking into a non-event. The Porsche was also the quietest at speed. The 4v V8 was silky smooth, the only sound was the complaint of the air as the big red 928 blasted a 170mph hole through it. The speedometer registered a solid 169mph at the end of the front straight, and the Porsche seemed totally unconcerned by it all. We tried both high and low lanes of the banking to see if the 928 suspension would react – it did not. We tried different exits from the banking – the Porsche didn’t care. We considered turning the stereo on but decided that would be sacrilegious; after all, this was serious stuff blasting along here at 170mph on the high banking, and we should be paying attention.”
For the record, the Ferrari clocked an official 177.3mph, while the 928S4 was next in line with a top speed of 166.9mph to its credit. The latter was confirmed in a Road & Track test in March 1987, where the S4 clocked a stunning 0-60 time of 5.5 seconds, and blasted past the quarter-mile marker 8.4 seconds later. The car also had some of the best brakes ever experienced by the magazine.

The S4 In Britain
With the introduction of the S4, fans of the 928 were handed a massive £13,000 increase in price – the car now stood at £48,935 (it was the same in 5MT or 4AT guise), with leading options like a sunroof adding £1221, a Blaupunkt Toronto stereo £670, heated seats £148 per side, a tinted windscreen band £36, and an alarm, an extra £414.
Having complained about the rather harsh ride (as did Autocar in its December 1986 test), Performance Car magazine observed: “In contrast to Porsche’s rear engine legend, the 928S4 is a model of consistency. Some writers have reported that the S4 is impossible to slide in the dry, but even those 245/45s can relinquish grip under Porsche power. The S4 could, in fact, by choice, be driven all day in a series of rear end slides. Not recommended, but technically admirable in that the big car recovers from such antics so gracefully, precisely, and safely. In damp conditions, traction is limited by the surface and one begins to yearn for Quattro manners, or even the 911’s back wheel grip. On wet city streets, conscious restraint is desirable ...”
Considering the hefty price hike, there was only a small drop in sales, with 329 928s finding new homes in the UK in 1987 (most of which were automatics), and 366 in the following year, by which time the price of V8 Porsche motoring had gone up a further £5000.

The 959 project
The 959 had been announced at the 1983 Frankfurt Show (as the ‘Gruppe B’), but it was not until September 1986 that deliveries of the first 250 production cars (the figure was upped from the original 200) were scheduled. Ironically, the works rally raid entries had come to an end following a convincing victory on the 1986 Paris-Dakar, Group B rallying had ended (the 1987 season was campaigned by Group A machines) and, although the Type 961 was being developed, most of the serious, high-budget racing teams were competing in Group C.
Anyway, with a capacity of 2848cc and twin, water-cooled sequential turbos (a feature unique for a road car at that time) and intercoolers, the 959’s flat-six developed 450bhp at 6500rpm. The six-speed gearbox transferred power to a computer-controlled, variable split four-wheel drive system with four switchable modes. Suspension was via double wishbones all-round, with a computer-controlled ride height system acting on a pair of gas dampers in each corner.
The body had a steel monocoque, but the bolt-on panels were either aluminium, polyurethane, carbonfibre or Kevlar. With a bonded-in windscreen and no rain gutters, it had a Cd figure of just 0.31 with zero lift, and, thanks to the lightweight materials employed, the whole thing weighed in at 1450kg (3190lb) in standard trim.
The Sport was 100kg (220lb) lighter thanks to the deletion of the automatic ride height system, air conditioning, rear seats, some of the soundproofing and the passenger side door mirror, and by replacing the standard front seats with lightweight versions. Otherwise, the interior would have been quite familiar to the driver of a 1986 911, apart from the 340kph speedo and torque split indicator in place of the clock.
The 1988 season
The biggest change for 1988 was the adoption of 15-inch Fuchs alloys as standard on the Carrera, meaning the end of the so-called ‘telephone dial’ wheels for the 911. All 911s got more equipment as standard, although one particular model was given less ...
By now, the 911 range was very extensive, with standard and Turbo Look versions of the three main body types, slant-nose models, and a choice of two extremely refined powerplants, which were available with up to 330bhp in some cases. However, prices had increased dramatically over the years, and some of the raw appeal of the original models had been lost. Enter the Club Sport.
Introduced to the public at the 1987 Frankfurt Show, the so-called Club Sport model was a Carrera specified with option M637, which ultimately reduced weight by deleting a number of items, helping to get the machine’s weight down by around 70kg (155lb). Mechanically, the Club Sport had a higher rev limit, although power output remained at 231bhp. While there was no badge on the engine lid, fancy graphics, aping those of earlier lightweight 911s, were listed as an option.
Porsche prices continued to rise, however, being about DM6000 up on 1987 model year levels at the start of the season, before another increase in the spring of 1988. Part of these increases was doubtless to cover the cost of a new body plant, which opened at Zuffenhausen in 1988 – it cost the company DM125,000,000 ...
Still, although 959 production was due to end in mid-1988, Schutz expected Porsche prices to continue climbing rather than decrease – the marque was going even further upmarket. Daily production at Zuffenhausen was around 102 cars per day at the start of the 1988 model year (a good 75 per cent of these being 911s), with NSU’s old Neckarsulm plant producing the four-cylinder 924s and 944s.
Rumours of a four-door 928 were strong at this time, with most commentators stating that it would possibly be powered by a detuned Indy unit (Porsche was known to be working on a modular engine family that could give all manner of V6, V8 and V12 powerplants from the same basic tooling). The Type 989 was to have replaced the 928, but was ultimately put on hold in the early 1990s.

The 1988 Model Year 928S4
With production now up to 24 cars a day, the S4 started the domestic 1988 season priced at DM127,865, but standard issue now included driver’s seat position memory, cruise control (a completely new system was employed at this time), and the eight-speaker audio set-up. The only new option was supple ‘Raff’ leather trim (code M980).
There were a few minor mechanical changes, with revisions to the camshafts, cam covers, timing belt, ignition control unit, front muffler and clutch friction plate. There were also detail changes to the air cleaner, throttle valve housing, injection tubing and pressure regulator, while the front brake calipers inherited bigger pistons, and the con-rods were uprated midway through the season.
Of the few visible changes, the rear spoiler was no longer hinged, and lifting the rear hatch it was attached to enabled a view of the new tyre compressor in the tool kit. There was also a new steering wheel centre pad with an embossed horn symbol beneath the ‘Porsche’ script for the vast majority of markets, and the rear seatback releases were moved to the outside of the headrests to an inner position.