VEE FOR VICTORY

Twenty-twenty hindsight allows us to scoff at the idea of the 928 superseding the 911, but that’s exactly how things were supposed to be. Certainly, this was the thinking of Ernst Fuhrmann, Porsche Technical Director from 1971 and Chairman of the Board for the eight years leading up to 1980. While many disagreed with his view of the 911 as a sports car reaching the limit of its development potential, the company feared the impact of rumoured changes to North American crash safety, emissions and noise legislation, rules which would have had a detrimental impact on the long-term viability of the 911 to continue as Porsche’s flagship model. Central to these fears was the packaging limitations of the 911’s rear-engined layout.

A mid-engined alternative to the 911 was explored, but Fuhrmann’s technical team concluded the resulting four-seater’s cabin space would be seriously compromised, which is why a front-mounted engine was deemed the best solution. Meanwhile, the aforementioned concerns regarding operating volume saw the team opt for a liquid-cooled engine early on in the project. A short while later, after high-powered rival models from BMW and Mercedes were identified, the basic architecture of the 928’s engine was set in stone. And so began development of the M28