Jeff McCabe decided to build his own electric car. He gutted a Porsche 928, taking everything out he could to save weight, then slowly added things back in. It will take him between 120 and 150 miles before needing to be recharged and has a top speed of 85 mph.

An interesting video and even more interesting paint job.

It seems one Oregonian is expanding the “Keep Portland Weird” bumper sticker statement to the entire state. He has taken a 1982 Porsche 928 S and dropped in a Boing T-50 Turbine Engine. He completed the package with dual hood flame shooters.

Let me say again…ASININE.

Here are specs from the eBay auction (it was re-listed since it didn’t sell the first time around: eBay Item #170507790267):

• 1982 PORSCHE 928 WITH A BOEING TURBINE ENGINE
• POWER STEARING
• POWER DISK BRAKES ALL 4
• HEATER AND DEF….(BLEAD AIR TO HEATER CORE)
• AIR-CON (BLEAD AIR FROM ENGINE WITH INTER COOLER) SEMI-COLD AIR
• NEW PAINT
• NEW WHEELS
• JVC FM AND CD PLAYER WITH REMOTE
• FLAME SHOOTER
• 17 MPG
• OVER 160 MPH
• 365 HP
• 700+ FOOT POUNDS OF TORQUE
• IT’S A DAILY DRIVER AND A SHOW CAR

If you take a look at the Car Lust post Brad originally sent me, there are some pretty entertaining comments on the post worth reading. Many of them disproving the viability of this setup, lack of performance, etc. You can see them here: Asinine or Awesome?.

I know Porsche 928′s are less than desirable these days to most people. It’s also reasonable to understand how people are getting their hands on them…being so cheap. But I just don’t understand why someone would take a perfectly good Porsche and do something ridiculous like this. Unless of course the car was junked and they brought it back from the dead with their upgrades. I seriously doubt that was the case though. I wonder if anyone will ever buy the thing?

If the owner will email me back, I’ll drive down and take a look at this thing first hand.

What does everyone think? Awesome or asinine?

Several car sites are asking the obvious question about the sketch of the 2 door Porsche Grand Touring car above. It’s an image used on the Porsche Consulting home page. Of course the speculation is that this is a representation of a 2-door Porsche…a 928 successor perhaps.

We’ve had a number of rumors float around the last 6 months about a front engine grand tourer. Something to bring back the super car, luxurious glory of the Porsche 928 that was last seen in 1995. The success of the Porsche Panamera has fueled the future model lust so much so that many of us 928 fans are starting to believe our own day dreams. I’ll spare you all the possible specification blather adoring fans are throwing around.

Whether or not the speculation is valid, it’s still fun to dream of a successor to the 928. Maybe my wife will like this one enough to let me get one!

What does everyone think? Porsche 928 reborn or useless rumor?

[Source: Porsche Consulting]

I’m a bit of a sucker for cool Porsche stories. I still think about one I read in a copy of Excellence a long time ago about a pristine 356 hidden in a mountainside in Cuba (I think it was Cuba). Never was able to find the story again, despite a lot of hours of going through old magazines.

When Lyndon, one of our PorschePerfect.com readers, sent me a link to a WikiCars.com entry about the Porsche 928 S4 GTE, of course it gets the imagination racing a bit. I vaguely remember seeing the magazine article to right (click on it if you want to access the full size image to read the article), but I completely forgot about this car.

This special Porsche 928 S4 was a prototype built as a possible replacement to the 928 Club Sport version. It sported enhanced body work, a beefier engine and upgraded interior to add even more creature comforts than the original 928 offered. Here are some reported upgrades and stats for this car:

• 360+ bhp (this is more than even the Porsche 928 GTS cars built in the mid-90′s)
• Close-ratio gearbox
• Top speed of 182+ MPH
• 17″ Cup design rims
• Date of factory roll out: 1988

Supposedly the owner, from the article, saw the car while visiting the Porsche factory. He decided he had to have it and after “badgering and nagging” the factory, they agreed to let him buy it. Sounds a bit fishy to me, but maybe it went down like that. There’s quite a bit of debate on different forums about whether or not this car even exists.

Uncertainties about the authenticity of this Porsche 928 aside, it’s one fine looking car. Even worthy of replicating if a 928 S4 ever comes along. Supposedly the mirrors and body work are available. This car reminds me why I love the 928 models and especially the 928 S and S4 versions. Gotta get my wife to agree to me buying one of these some day.

Check out the rest of the info on WikiCars.com here: Porsche 928GTE.

Tempting Porsche #1

“Get Your Sweetheart a Porsche This Year!” At least the ad title was catchy. I’d love to find a 928S or 928S4 to buy some day. This one is tempting because even with the crapola pictures, it still looks promising. What doesn’t look promising is 32749 miles on the odometer (something’s wrong there) and the pimp daddy wheels someone decided to put on the car. Here’s what the ad had to say:

Shiny Black 1986 Porsche 928 – Super Condition – First reasonable offer drives her home!

Price: $3,800

Tempting Porsche #2

This one may be one of my “ultimate” dream Porsches. Kind of an old meets newer type of thing. I love the 944s, primarily because those were popular when I was growing up. The 968 benefited from a bit more thump from the engine, an updated interior, and styling that brought in some of the 911 characteristics while maintaining the 944 feel. This car isn’t a screaming deal, especially with 175k miles on the clock, but could be cool if it was well maintained.

Great Looking and Well Maintained Porsche 968
Recently replaced parts include: radiator, waterpump, thermostat, timing and balance belts, flyweel, clutch, battery, front suspension parts including struts, wheel bearings, tie rod ends, caster blocks, etc. Last year the car was hit (not too hard) in the driver’s side fender, which was replaced. I took the opprtunity to have the entire front end block sanded and re-sprayed to remove rock chips that had accumulated over the years.
All maintence records and receipts available. Car has approx. 175k miles and a recent leakdown test by Sunset Porsche gave results that were “better then great” without even accounting for miles (5% variance across all four cylinders, and very small leakage = rings and valves still tight). Interior is clean and in good condition. AM/FM Cassette with 6 disc CD Changer.

Not too shabby. Price is $11,500.

I ran across another one today, listed in a post on Jalopnik under the title “Nice Price Or Crack Pipe: $50,000 For A 30,000-Mile 1994 Porsche 928 GTS?” Again, big price for a 928 GTS. Out of 874 votes, an overwhelming 84% say it’s overpriced. Exactly how I would have voted…until I started reading a bit more about the GTS.

Based on some initial research online, I’m seeing that only 422 GTSs were imported into North America with model years of 1993 thru 1995. Only 77 were imported into the US in 1995 with loaded models exceeding the $100,000 price mark. Changed bodywork, larger front brakes and a new, more powerful 5.4 L, 350 PS (257 kW/345 hp) engine were the big changes Porsche publicized.

NOW it’s starting to make sense. Such a low number of imported GTSs is clearly one of the biggest reasons the car has retained a significantly higher value. Not to mention a higher new retail value. In fact, I’m finding that over the last couple of years, all 928 prices have started to creep upwards a bit, although 2008 has decimated many prices. Would be cool to find a 1995 model since so few were imported.

I was rearranging my garage last weekend and ran across a box of old Porsche magazines that I’ve hauled around for the last 10 years. My wife relentlessly hassles me every time we move, which consequently has been about 16 times in the last 18 years, about this “stupid heavy box” of old magazines. She doesn’t seem to appreciate that I have significantly cut the collection down over the years to maybe 100 or 150 issues of mostly Excellence Magazine. I went through a 5 or 6 year period where I bought and saved just about every US and many UK magazines that had an article about Porsche in them.

I finally succumbed to the family pressure and got rid of many of them. I keep trying to tell my wife that the magazines I’ve kept might be worth something someday. Help put our kids through college. Be a great thing to pass on to them. Etc. She doesn’t by it.

As I went to move this box, I decided to crack it open and have a look through the printed treasures I’d held on to. I was treated to some cool old mementos of days (and Porsches) gone by. I thought some of you might enjoy taking a little trip down memory lane with me over the next few weeks.

The first in 5 I snagged out of the box is Porsche Magazine Volume 1, Issue 3 for May/June 1987. This is one of my favorites because it’s the oldest issue of Porsche/Excellence Magazine that I own and I loved the original title of Porsche Magazine before it was changed to Excellence shortly thereafter.

I still remember stumbling across this magazine in a bookstore in Portland, Oregon. I was completely in love with Porsches by that time and had grandiose plans of buying a used 928S with all the money I was saving up. I could hardly believe I had found a magazine completely dedicated to Porsche cars. Even better there was a 928S on the cover!

At this time in the life of Porsche Magazine, the writing staff was still trying to get their writing schedule put together. The articles initially were a bit more haphazard from a coverage standpoint and weren’t always of the best quality since they were added at the last minute to try and broaden the topic base. One great feature about a startup mag is the sparse advertising. Much of the magazine moves from article to article without being broken up by lots of ads.

Some highlights from this issue:

• Cover Story: 928
• The Solo II National Championship
• The Anatomy of a Restoration
• Porsche 924S: Solo II Sleeper?
• Collecting Porsche Brochures
• Interview with Peter Schutz

I have been watching a few cars go down in price the last couple of weeks. Here are a couple that are a bit on the tempting side.

Temptation #1: 1999 Porsche 911 Cabriolet
I’ve seen a couple of decent deals on 911 Cabriolets. I know it’s the end of “the season” for convertibles, but I really don’t get the notion that convertibles have a season. I drove a Mustang convertible for a little over a year and enjoyed it all winter long. The rain didn’t really make that much difference to me. I stayed dry while in the car and got wet when I got out of the car (it’s Oregon after all).

This car has dropped about $5000 over the last month of looking to $23,450. It has lots of options, only about 60,000 miles, and seems to be in great condition. Other than it being white, I’m not a big white car fan, it’d be a great car to drive. The convertible would be a blast. Plus it has heated seats, so maybe I can talk my wife into it more easily.

Temptation #2: 1984 Porsche 928 SE
When I mentioned to my wife “Hey hon, how about a 928?”, her response was “You going to look for a new wife too?”. This car is only $5900, down for $8000 when I first started seeing it on Craigslist. It looks like it has some decent upgrades and was even seen on the Rockford Files and Simon and Simon.

I’m not sure why this is tempting to me. 928s are getting a little long in the tooth. But I’ve always liked them and kind of wanted one. Even though my wife says they look like a Gremlin.

Although this isn’t going to make my Ultimate Car list, this is certainly….well….interesting. I thought it was funny at the end when he talks about not being able to haul anything with it. He should have put a hot tub in the back instead of the bed of the truck. Now THAT would have been something unique.