Happy 40th Birthday To The Porsche 928

Porsche is marking the 40th anniversary of the 928 this year, and it has big celebrations in store for the upcoming Oldtimer Grand Prix – one of Germany's preeminent classic car events, taking place at the Nürburgring in just a few days from now.

Though arguably not as iconic as the 911, the 928 remains a legend among Porschephiles. It was the company's last luxury grand tourer until the Panamera arrived, and is only growing in popularity among enthusiasts and collectors.

The model launched in 1977 as a 2+2 and represented the height of Zuffenhausen's transaxle models, with a V8 engine up front driving the rear wheels. That engine grew in size over the course of nearly two decades of production, from 4.5 liters at launch to 5.4 by the time its lifecycle culminated in 1995.

It was the manufacturer's first V8, presaging those you'd find today in the Panamera, Cayenne, and 918 Spyder – whose similar nameplate may very well not be a coincidence. By the time production came to a close, eighteen years after it begun, Porsche had sold over 60,000 of them – the most common being the original 928, followed by the S4 and the S1/S2.

At the Nürburgring this weekend, Porsche will bring out several 928s – including the one-of-a-kind four-door prototype that lead the way for the Panamera, along with a convertible prototype that also never saw production, and a racing version recently restored in the UK.