US Vogue September 1987
Linda Evangelista wears Carolyne Roehm's little black “tuxedo” dress, short, petite, nude and trimmed with satin. Powder grain wool. Handbag, Carey Adina, tights, La Leg for Lanvin. Pumps, Yves Saint Laurent for Schwartz & Benjamin. Hairdressing, Christiaan; makeup, Bobbi Brown.
Red Porsche 928S4, courtesy of Porsche Cars North America.
Linda Evangelista porte la petite robe noire « smoking » de Carolyne Roehm, courte, petite, nue et bordée de satin. De laine grain de poudre. Sac à main, Carey Adina, collants, La Leg pour Lanvin. Escarpins, Yves Saint Laurent pour Schwartz & Benjamin. Coiffure, Christiaan ; maquillage, Bobbi Brown.
Porsche rouge 928S4, gracieuseté de Porsche Cars North America.
Photo Arthur Elgort
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Porsche 928
Slumping sales of the 911 in the mid-1970s seemed to confirm that the model was approaching the end of its economic life cycle. Fuhrmann envisioned the new range-topping grand tourer model as being the best possible combination of a sports coupé and a luxury sedan. This would set it apart from the 911, with its relatively spartan interior and true sports car performance. The targets were that the car had to compete on par with offerings from Mercedes-Benz and BMW while also being successful in the United States, Porsche's main market at the time.
Several drivetrain layouts were considered during early development, including rear- and mid-engine, but most were dismissed because of technical and legislative difficulties. Having the engine, transmission, catalytic converter(s) and exhaust all cramped into a small rear engine bay made emission and noise control difficult which were the problems Porsche had with the 911. After deciding that the mid-engine layout did not allow enough room in the passenger compartment, a front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout was chosen
The finished car debuted at the 1977 Geneva Motor Show before going on sale later that year as a 1978 model. Although it won early acclaim for its comfort, power and futuristic design, sales were slow. Base prices were much higher than that of the previous range-topping 911 model and the 928's front-engined, water-cooled design alienated many Porsche purists.
The 928 featured a large, front-mounted and water-cooled V8 engine driving the rear wheels. Originally displacing 4.5 L and featuring a single overhead camshaft design, it was rated at 219 hp (163 kW; 222 PS) for the North American market and 240 PS (177 kW; 237 hp) in other markets. Porsche upgraded the engine from mechanical to electronic fuel injection in 1980 for US models, although power remained the same. This design marked a major change in direction for Porsche (started with the introduction of the 924 in 1976), whose cars had until then used only rear- or mid-mounted air-cooled flat engines with four or six cylinders.
Porsche utilised a transaxle in the 928 to help achieve 50/50 front/rear weight distribution, aiding the car's balance. Although it weighed more than the difficult-to-handle 911, its more neutral weight balance and higher power output gave it similar performance on the track. The 928 was regarded as the more relaxing car to drive at the time. It came with either a five-speed dog leg manual transmission, or a Mercedes-Benz-derived automatic transmission, originally with three speeds, with four-speed from 1983 in North America and 1984 in other markets. For the first generation cars, 1978 & 1979, the majority of cars were fitted with the less expensive 5 speed manual gearbox while the optional 3 speed automatic was much scarcer. As the model years continued, this ratio evened out and then finally more cars had the automatic transmission. The exact percentage of manual and automatic gearbox cars for the entire production run is not known.
The body, styled by Wolfgang Möbius under the guidance of Anatole Lapine, was mainly galvanized steel, but the doors, front wing, front fenders, and hood were made of aluminium to save weight. It had a substantial luggage area accessed via a large hatchback. Newly developed polyurethane elastic bumpers were integrated into the nose and tail and covered in body-coloured plastic; an unusual feature for the time that aided the car visually and reduced its drag. Another unusual feature was the pop-up headlamps which were based on the units found on the Lamborghini Miura and were integrated into the front wings.
Although it never sold in the numbers Fuhrmann envisioned, the 928 developed an avid following and had an 18-year production run.
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