1988 Porsche 928 S4

A 928 is striking in almost any colour, but black lends Porsche’s enigmatic two-plus-two the gravitas it deserves. It was a hugely well thought-out car, and its form seems to highlight that aspect of its history and character.

This early example of the formidable S4 has only had five owners during its thirty-something years and 89,900 miles on the road – relatively few on both counts for one of these. And luckily, judging by its condition and the ample paperwork, all of them have been willing to spend regular and in some cases considerable amounts of money to keep the Porsche running as efficiently as was intended by its Stuttgart builders.

An automatic transmission emphasises the big GT’s touring mien – though don’t whatever you do take that to mean sluggish. The black over black looks give the coupe a very understated and sophisticated air, and its silhouette…well, to be honest, there’s nothing else out there like a 928. And their owners are as hard to pigeonhole as the cars themselves.

As we’ve already said, black is a super-tasty colour for one of these and this example presents very well. The 928 uses a range of alloys and plastics in its bodywork, and its form features a subtle and dramatic array of curves. All of these still flow into one another as smoothly as when the car was new, with joins and shut lines maintaining the close and exact panel gaps that Porsche is noted for. The running strips down the sides of the car tell you that the doors line up nicely, and the snug fit of the beading separating the deformable front and rear bumper sections tells you that nothing has sagged or shifted.

The paintwork remains consistent across the car. The finish doesn’t fade or change colour across different materials, and there are no worrying blemishes around wheel arches or headlights. There are small blemishes of course; tiny chips on the odd edge, nail marks in the handle recess on the driver’s door, and small scuffs around the key socket, and there is slight crazing to the paint around the off-side rear light.

The black-coated window surrounds are in good condition – no corrosion bubbling up from below, and the joins are by and large very neat. Rubber seals look similarly good, though the area near the mirror mount on the driver’s side shows a small cracks and is a little perished. The windscreen looks to have delaminated very slightly in the top corner on the driver’s side.

Apart for the rear spoiler, which in good shape, the 928 carries no the adornment save for the wing mirrors, the edges of which have remained scuff-free.

Eschewing, as they did, any wood or chrome elements, Porsche 928 interiors can look rather too sober (okay, we’re ignoring early ‘Pasha Velour’ examples). The light grey ruched leather inserts and piped edges in this car’s otherwise black leather cabin lighten the mood, as well as help to highlight and define areas and shapes.

Those high-backed front seats maintain a good stance. Seat bolsters look solid, with understandably a little creasing to side sections. The hides remain in good shape; clean, and showing only a fairly gentle patina. Those light grey sections in the seats especially show no significant stains and the grooves between segments are clean. Like so many of their kind, the rear seats don’t look to have been used.

The wide centre console looks pretty good – no marked elbow wear – the black leather showing no scuffs and the switches below the gear selector lining up nicely alongside each other. Moving through to the front, knobs and switches look similarly good and the gear selector and its gaiter are clean and free from heavy scratching or grime. The colour and texture on the gear selector and steering wheel remains very good.

928s sport some thick door panels (with those ingenious storage compartment lids). Everything here looks pretty straight – and again no significant scuffs or tears, though one of the speaker covers in the driver’s door looks a little tatty.

The rear cargo area looks very tidy (save for one small section of the headlining); the leather-trimmed edges of mats are still pretty crisp and the carpet material retains a good colour. This is true of the carpeting throughout the car. Below the carpet, the spare wheel cavity, the spare wheel hatch is pretty clear. (There was a small puddle there at the time of photographing, but the area shows no real rust). Door cavities as well as the sun roof well are clean and their seals healthy.

The Porsche’s engine bay may not win any concours prizes – it’s a little dusty and there is slight oxidation to one or two components (nothing remotely significant), but the motor and its ancillaries have a solid, ‘taking care of business’ look. There are no signs of leaks or rust and the paint on the inner wings and around the bolts looks very healthy.

Plastics and rubber components under the bonnet; hoses, leads, ducting and cowls – all look to be in good shape, retaining a very healthy shade of black and showing no signs of perishing, fatigue or cracks. Air boxes and their fasteners look very robust too. Retaining bolts and clips look similarly good, showing to rust in teeth and screw heads, nor accumulated crud around joins and sockets. Hose junctions and joins look very clean.

The underside of the car looks pretty healthy. It’s seen its share of gravel sandblasting from its eight-odd thousand miles, but both the underside of the monocoque itself and the suspension assemblies appear very much intact.

There is a smattering of surface rust and abrasion here and there, but the suspension components look sturdy and servicable. The exhaust also looks to be in good health. The seven-slot alloys are in great shape and they tyres have a lot of life left in them.

A coat of undersealing might be an idea before the winter, but if the car is tucked away indoors, it will be less of a priority.

Like certain other big classic GT (looking at you Ferrari 400), the Porsche 928 went through lean times as regards their value, leading to some people buying them who couldn’t really afford their upkeep. Judging by the paperwork and service records, this has definitely not happened with this car.

As well as all its original handbooks, it offers up a well-stamped service book - often with successive visits to the same specialist (always nice to see the car going back to someone who knows it).

Over its lifetime we seeregular fluid/filter changes, as well as the constant refreshing of perishable items elsewhere in the car.

What is also encouraging - for the next owner - is the presence of some pretty hefty invoices in recent times (£6k-plus) that cover a general refettling, most especially around the transmission and brakes. 2018 saw a gearbox leak taken care of, as well as all new engine mounts. A new steering pump followed in 2019. A £4700 visit to the doctor in 2020 included that brake refettling, a whole raft of worn items replaced including the water pump and all the cambelt tensioners. And yes; the all-important cam belts were replaced in September 2020 at 89,677 miles.

928 values began heading north three or four years ago, with the ‘right’ cars commanding good money. Granted, one or two dealers think they are a bit more ‘right’ value-wise than they probably are, but the model is a sound if quiet classic investment. They are a slight puzzle of a car for people you ‘get it.’ We estimate it'll sell for between £16,000 - £21,000.

If you are in the know, you know to get one that has been well fettled the whole of its life (remedial maintenance isn’t pretty on these), and we think this one’s history file puts it in that group. Big mileages aren’t a problem, but in 928 terms, this one hasn’t covered a huge mileage. We also think it’s in one of the most tastiest colour combinations. So…the main question you need to address is; have you completed your bidder registration?