Here's What a $180,000 Porsche Was Like In 1994

The car that made Clarkson to meet his father for the last time.

2017 Doug is like 2019 Doug at 1.25 speed

I used to repair these in the 1990's, and from a technician's perspective, there were even more quirks. One weird feature was that on a steel body, this car had aluminum alloy doors and hoods to reduce weight. Another was the insanely long timing belt Porsche used on the engine, which not only drove the camshafts of both cylinder banks but also the oil and water pump, and which was a day's work to replace. Last but not least, hidden under the passenger footrest, there was a massive electric panel with literally dozens of relays and fuses, all connected by a terrifying jungle of hundreds of wires. Other cars from that era already had some modern circuit boards and electronic control units, but the 928 stuck to its 1970's heritage. Still: a very nice, surprisingly civilised car to drive. I remember how I hit the gas pedal for the first time, and while it felt as if the car wasn't accelerating a lot, a look on the speedometer revealed that I was already going over 100 mp/h (within city limits, jeez!).

The 928 is astonishingly beautiful. I don’t think it looks dated at all.

FYI: The rear sun visors were designed to flip all the way back against the top portion of the hatch back glass, to act as sun shades.

Doug the type of guy that holds the door open for himself and says thank you

I still like the 928 styling. To me it's timeless!

I love how even at 27 Doug looked 40 lol

The "OIL OK?" flap protects the paint, the inscription is just an add on.

I think Doug drank too much coffee before shooting this video!

3:09 Doug, the Porsche RWW is a parallelogram wiper system that requires two wiper arms. When the wiper is turned on, the 1st wiper arm pushes the wiper blade to sweep in a vertical arch. Then as it sweeps across, the second arm drags the wiper blade vertically to the other side of the window. Then it reverses the motion similarly back to the original position. The wiper works similarly like the wipers on the Greyhound buses

Love the 928. The beauty eternal design of It is amazing.

Doug, the kind of guy who calls Detroit “lovely”.

Ok, there are a number of issues with your review of the 928. The heavy accelerator that you are talking about is almost definitely caused by a worn accelerator cable, its relatively common and a simple fix. I owned a 928 for 17 years and if maintained properly the accelerator isn't any heavier than any other car. The lever on the dashboard that switches the miles to km/h also controls the onboard trip computer. There are hatch release buttons on each side of the car. They don't operate if the doors are closed. The variable wiper delay using a rotary knob on the dashboard was very common in the late '80s as you could infinitely adjust the intermittent delay setting on the wipers. The light in the key is dim because the battery is flat. Go to a supermarket and buy a new cell and it'll be bright again. The rest wiper is designed like that so that it wipes across a larger area. The rotary knob for the door locks was common across Porsches. The centre console compartment was designed to hold cassette tapes and originally had little holders tor them - the car you drove has had that removed. The odometer zero button on the car you tested is different to any 928 I've been in. Normally that button is for controlling the rear fog lights independently of the front fog lights. The back seats are not suitable for a 6' tall person. The rear air conditioning was added to boost cooling system performance in hot climates, not really for the rear passengers. It is a cooling unit only. Similarly the sunvisor in the rear is designed to block the sun coming through the rear window. The steering is heavier than most modern cars but provides great feel. The automatic in the GTS is ok but the choice for me was always the 5 speed manuals - especially the later unit put into the 87 and later cars. They are showing their age, but go and drive another '80s or '90s car and you will appreciate just how advanced they were. The poise at speed is phenomenal, and the passive rear wheel steering is amazing if you start to over-cook it. Similarly not mentioned is the traction control/active differential that provides an open differential at low speed to reduce under steer but will up based on input from the ABS sensors and a G sensor under the passenger seat to 100% locked to boost traction when needed. Put one wheel on a loose surface and this will lock the diff so that you drive off without the low traction wheel spinning. They also have 50-50 weight distribution and a nice low centre of gravity. They are an awesome GT car that you can drive long distances very fast in complete comfort and with confidence.

The looks aren't "dated," they're timeless. That car will ALWAYS look cool. As cars get more futuristic looking, cars like these will look more and more classically beautiful, like how we view 60's European cars today...

I lived in Stuttgart when these were being produced and I must say I dont know if that was the reason for it, but the 928 is my favorite car of all time. I know it's a silly thing but It's really quite a cool car.

If Doug thinks the door storage latch is useless, try picking up the wallet you just inserted from the tiny opening.

If you ask any car interior designer, he or she would tell you the 928 interior was a milestone and has influenced a lot of the sports cars ergonomics that came after it.

Another quirk of this car: with a right numberplate it can cause a riot in Argentina

The round door lock knobs are there for 2 reasons. The locking pins disappear into the door sides when locked so you can't pull them up with your fingers. So you need the knob. Also it makes it more difficult for a thief if the window is left with a narrow opening. Some would use an improvised tool to grab and pull the door pin to unlock the door. Here you can't do that. The knobs are both functional & comfortable to use in everyday driving.