The Porsche 928 is a luxury grand tourer produced by Porsche AG of Germany from 1978 until 1995. Originally intended to replace the company's iconic 911, the 928 combined the power, poise, and handling of a sports car with the refinement, comfort, and equipment of a luxury sedan. The 928 became the top-of-the-line production car sold by Porsche. Porsche executives believed such a flagship would have wider appeal than the compact 911. The 928 has the distinction of being the company's first production V8-powered model and its only coupé powered by a front-mounted V8 engine. Conception By the late 1960s, Porsche had firmly established itself as a manufacturer of high-performance sports cars. In the wake of the 1970s oil crisis, executives, including owner Ferdinand Porsche, were beginning to consider adding a more fuel-efficient luxury touring car to the line-up. Managing director Ernst Fuhrmann was pressuring Ferdinand to approve development of the new model due to concerns that the then-current flagship model, the 911, was reaching the limits of its potential. Fuhrmann believed that the future of the company relied upon grand touring cars with conventional engines rather than unconventional sports cars. 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. Ordered by Ferdinand Porsche to design a production-feasible concept for the new model, Fuhrmann initiated a design study in 1971, eventually yielding the 928 which was the first clean sheet design by the company for its own model; the 356 was a similar design to the Volkswagen Beetle, the 911 was an evolution of the 356, the 914 was a joint effort intended as a replacement for the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia and 912, and the 924 was the result of abandoned project by Volkswagen and Audi. 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