Porsche 928 – Porsche's previous flagship had no successor. Now that the model is 45 years old, two projects have emerged that have adapted the aging top model to new eras.
Nebula 928
Nebula 928 is a pure art project – not a car you will encounter on the road. The images that abound on Instagarm are the result of a collaboration between artist Danial Arsham and Porsche. It is about a meeting between two generations – the Porsche 928 from 1978 and the “Y2K aesthetic”. It was a teenage fashion trend around the year 2000, led by Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, among others. The sugary color spectrum and bubbly decorative elements are masterfully implemented in Nebula 928 by car artist Khyzyl Saleem . Also worth mentioning are the special rims inspired by the Panamericana concept car from 1989. The interior is produced by ByBorre , which has, among other things, researched new microfiber textiles.
In the name of art
The car was shown at the 2023 South by Southwest (SXSW) arts festival in Austin last week. There it was on display at the Porsche X booth. It should be added that the show car is not lowered as shown in the photos. That is another photo manipulation (in the name of art). There is also no intervention in the powertrain.
Nardone Porsche 928
Like a new car
The next project brings the Porsche 928 into the present. Through his network of top Italian mechanics, Frenchman Thierry Nardone has built a Porsche 928 that many would like to have in their own garage. It involves donor cars that are rebuilt to the specifications of the Nardone Porsche 928 Restomod. Unlike the Nebula project, Porsche is not officially involved in any way.
New gearbox - no automatic
It is impressive how well Nardone has succeeded in bringing the style to the present. The car appears as a completely modern Porsche – as the 928 could probably look today. The car is 100 mm wider at the rear and 80 mm at the front with forged 18-inch special rims. It has been necessary to make completely new axles. The engine is a 5 liter original, self-aspirated V8 with 400 HP. The gearbox has been rebuilt from 5-speed to 6-speed within the same external dimensions as the old one. The cars will not be delivered with an automatic transmission, as the original 3-speed automatic transmission – a legacy from Mercedes-Benz – will not live up to today's expectations.
Externally, the front and rear have been changed with headlights and taillights in a new LED design. Composite materials have been used where possible, and some changes are difficult to see at first glance, such as the fact that the rear side windows have been cut higher to match the new, wide rear fenders.
New instruments
Inside, the old instrument panel has been removed and replaced with smaller, more modern instruments. In addition, a company in the South of France will supply an infotainment system that includes the Porsche Classic Management system (PCCM) combined with a high-quality hi-fi system with Apple CarPlay. The interior is upholstered in Italian leather and Alcantara.
First deliveries in 2024
It is planned to build 8 cars during 2024, and approximately 10 – 12 cars per year. All the work will be done in Italy. The price is 480.000 euros excluding VAT and donor car. Let's compare it with what a Porsche 928 would have cost today given that the tax system was unchanged. The last year the Porsche 928 was sold in Norway was 1994. According to the Norwegian Tax Administration, the Porsche 928 GTS then had a list price of more than 1.7 million kroner in November of this year. Converted to today's price level, this corresponds to close to 3.4 million.
What about the original?
Here is a picture of an original Porsche 928 S photographed at Kjeller last year. It is from 1984. The Nardone Porsche can be dated to 2024. The Nebula 928 is somewhere in between. So we have 3 Porsche 928s over a span of 40 years. Which one is the nicest?
Porsche's track selection
When Porsche began producing cars with front-mounted water-cooled engines and power transmission via transaxle to the rear wheels, it looked for a while that they would gradually replace the 911 series. But that didn't happen. New 911 series became more popular than ever. So after being in production for 17 years, the 928 was discontinued without any successor. Has the 928 ended up on a side track in Porsche's history?
Restomod
Restomod has long been popular on the continent. It is based on professional restoration of classics - not only with original parts, but newer components to make the cars more operationally reliable, traffic safe, comfortable and easy to drive. Among other things, early Porsche 911 models have been modernized in this way, but Nardone's project (2022) should have been the first for the 928.
See
Lee Sibley in conversation with Thierry Nardone – 9WERKS TV
Nardone Automotive keeps us constantly updated on the Instagram account @nardone_automotive. Here we see the car in daily use, as well as meeting some of Nardone's contacts in Northern Italy.
Nebula 928 - Official photos are only published on Instagram, where they have been widely circulated. You can see the entire photo series here @porsche_france.
