Ferrari 308 vs Porsche 928 Zuffenhausen and Maranello set off in entirely new directions with these two designs. A pair of enthusiasts discover that it’s not what they can do, but how they go about doing it, that separates these two cars. As the 1970s unfolded, both Porsche and Ferrari found themselves at a crossroads. At Porsche, the issue was particularly urgent: The time had come to design the eventual replacement for the 911, the bread-and-butter car that was heir to the Zuffenhausen firm’s glorious sporting history. Meanwhile, 230 miles to the south in Maranello, Ferrari was wrestling with the challenge of building a successor to the beautiful and beloved Dino 246.
1991 Porsche 928 GT Engine type: V8, water-cooled, alloy block and cylinder heads, two overhead camshafts per bank Displacement: 4,957cc Bore x stroke: 100.0mm x 78.9mm Compression ratio: 10.0:1 Induction: Bosch LH Jetronic injection system Horsepower: 326 @ 6,000 rpm Torque: 317-lbs.ft. @ 4,100 rpm Transmission: Five-speed manual Brakes: Front, discs; rear, discs Suspension: Front, independent double A-arms with coil springs; rear, independent Weissach multilink design Number produced: 61,221 Top speed: 171 mph 0-60 mph: 5.6 seconds Quarter mile: 14.2 seconds
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Two very different carmakers, two very different sets of challenges. Yet the bold new designs that resulted were in many ways similar, and promised to change the course of both manufacturers’ fortunes. For Ferrari, it was the 308, the first V8powered road car to roll out of Maranello bearing the company’s name. For Porsche, it was the 928, a two-plus-two coupe that threw decades of tradition out the window with its water-cooled, frontmounted V8, the company’s first. Both promised hedonistic levels of luxury and performance for those who could write the sizable check. But only one would lead the way to the future.
The powerplant Porsche developed for its new flagship was a beauty: a 4,474cc, 16-valve, single overhead-cam V8 with a linerless alloy block and alloy heads that produced 219hp in U.S. trim. The engine was equipped with the Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection system, often referred to as a continuous injection system or CIS. Delivering the power to the rear wheels was either a five-speed transaxle or (more often) an optional automatic sourced from Mercedes-Benz. At the rear was the innovative Weissach axle, which counteracted any tendencies to oversteer through a linkage designed to induce a kind of passive rear-wheel steering.
The 928 had been under development for six years when it was unveiled at the 1977 Geneva Motor Show. As an automobile, the 928 was a fine piece of engineering; as a Porsche, it was heresy on wheels. Starting with a blank sheet of paper, Porsche’s engineers had come up with something as un-911 as possible. Porsche’s daring was rewarded with critical acclaim, including European Car of the Year honors in 1978. It was the first time a sports car had been so honored.
All of that sophisticated machinery was wrapped in a smooth hatchback body designed in-house by Anatole Lapine. The majority of the body was steel, with aluminum used for the doors, hood and front fenders; there was a substantial luggage compartment in the rear, and a wide and deep cabin where two passengers could stretch out in comfort. Two children or very small adults could be squeezed into the vestigial rear seats for short periods.
The 928 was born as Porsche was going through a transition, with the arrival of a new chief executive, Ernst Fuhrmann. Fuhrmann, who was responsible for the design of the Carrera engine in the 1950s, believed that the time had come for a front-engined grand tourer to appeal to American tastes. A shift to water cooling, it was thought, would help the car meet America’s ever-tightening emissions standards.
Lapine favored unadorned designs-”When little kids draw a car, they draw a beetle. When little kids draw a fast car, they draw a flattened beetle with a big exhaust pipe: in other words, a Porsche. That’s how simple and archetypal good design is,” he once said-and the 928 was a distinctive design that borrowed almost nothing from Porsches that had gone before. Poly-urethane nose and tail sections that bounced back on impact gave the car the appearance of having no bumpers,
