It’s safe to say that there are enough high-dollar Porsche 911 resto-mods. Been there, seen that—you all can’t be the new Singer, folks. There’s fodder in less-appreciated Porsches like Nardone Automotive has done with the Porsche tourer that was too far ahead of its time: The 928.
Revealed Wednesday, the Nardone 928 is described by its creators as “a perfect little sister for all the beautiful 911 restos out there.” Like all resto-mods, it’s a modernization of a classic car, one that nevertheless pays respect to the traditional form while enhancing function. Nardone does so by reskinning most of the vehicle in lightweight composites, paying tribute to its stock 16-inch “manhole” wheels with new 18-inchers, and restyling its headlights and taillights with a modern twist. The latter is now a single, skinny cyberpunk light bar, while the former remains the pod-like original pop-ups—though they’ve now got the four distinct elements of current Porsches.
I think they make the 928 look like a Budgett’s frog, which is appropriate given that it is Wednesday, my dudes.
Its interior is updated accordingly, with a streamlined design, and upholstery of Alcantara and Foglizzo Italian leather. The center stack looks like something out of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and would be mistaken for such by the show’s original audience, with Porsche Classic Management infotainment and integrated Apple CarPlay. (Fortunately, it’s not that new dash-spanning system revealed this week.)
Today’s tech also underpins the chassis, with electronically controlled active suspension and variable-ratio electric power steering. Its brakes are bigger for good reason because the car’s naturally aspirated V8—whose displacement wasn’t specified—has been retuned to 400 horsepower. A six-speed manual transaxle (up from the factory five) with an integral limited-slip differential splits power between the rear wheels, via reinforced axle shafts to handle the extra oomph.
Those who already know the 928 as the under-appreciated machine it was, having sold only about 61,000 units over its 18-year production run, will undoubtedly be glad to see this poor Porsche get its fair shake at last. The rest of us, well, we’re just happy to be in on the secret. It won’t be a well-kept one for long, though, as Nardone’s 928 will be on display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed from June 23 through 26, where it may finally make the wider public feel the way about the 928 that a select few always have.
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