While the Porsche 911 has evolved into an iconic roadster, the Porsche 928 has played second fiddle in shaping the acoustics for the sports car all these years. You probably might never have heard about the Porsche 928 but the famed grand tourer initially created to replace the 911, faded away into the mid-90s.
One lucky Porsche 928 served as a testbed for three decades to test the noise to help the German manufacturer stay within the permissible limits of the law while also having a sweet sound signature compared to the competition. The Grand Tourer was the perfect fit as opposed to the 924 which had a lower engine speed, the 911 which was too loud, or the 944 which had a lot of gearbox rattle at low speeds. Porsche test engineer Harald Mann called it the dinosaur for obvious reasons.
Designer: Porsche
The prized vehicle saw a host of additions for the purpose of acoustic testing, like adding scoops to the engine compartment or bonnet. Porsche had a routine of testing the car to achieve the sweet 63 dB low noise level by accelerating to 30 mph and smoothly moving up to 37 mph on a 20-meter stretch rigged with microphones. This one-off gem also comes with a 5.4 liter V8 engine refined from the early 90s tests. The vehicle’s interiors are kept to a minimum, making it a unique proposition. No doubt it adorns the Porsche Museum now for automotive enthusiasts to revel in the live history of Porsche’s innovation.
What we are interested in about the rare 928 is its Mad Max-esque looks that have a hint of Back to The Future element. The engineers had to wrap the car in cotton wool for noise dampening, and it was mounted on the radiator giving it a very intimidating persona. On the rear, the enormous exhaust silencer strapped to the window gives off the same vibe. Imagine this rare Porsche driving on the streets for Instagrammable reels and pictures.
