Want to follow in the footsteps of Jochen Mass, Derek Bell, Hans-Joachim Stuck and Bob Wollek? There’s a way to do that without having to risk life and limb while motor racing – as the four legends were original test drivers for the particularly sporty but slightly unknown Porsche 928 Clubsport.
Let’s start with numbers. Only 27 examples of the Porsche 928 S4 Clubsport were ever produced. Out of these cars, four were prototypes, painted in Guards Red, and officially revealed to the public in 1987 – although gossip suggests that, in some form, testing might have started as early as 1983! Four other cars, painted in Grand Prix White, were given to Le Mans drivers of the Porsche 962 as test mules and PR vehicles to measure the public interest in a more driver-focused version of its flagship GT.
Differently specced to match their owners’ individual tastes, these machines were driven hard while racking up the miles to and from the racetrack. Stuck once confessed to having to have the rear tires changed every 10,000 kilometres, as the car was so engaging to drive it prompted him to slide it at every possible occasion. Derek Bell loved his Clubsport so much that he kept it for 18 years! This should already be enough of a recommendation to get the attention of any sportscar enthusiast.
Out of the 27 Porsche 928 S4 Clubsports built, nineteen cars were official production cars. Again, four of those were intended for internal use, as press cars or simply company cars for top Porsche managers. That meant only fifteen were left for actual customers to buy. Even in today’s world of limited-edition Porsches this is an extremely low number. Keep in mind as many as 250 units of the 997 Sport Classic were produced – a car which nowadays sells for over half a milion dollars. Even more impressive is the fact that this particular 928 CS you see in the photos is one of only seven cars made in the last year of production, only one of two ever to be painted in Forest Green Metallic – and the only one with a “cashmere beige” interior! Luckily, it is now offered for sale with Classic Driver.
Built in 1989, sporting the characteristic front-left wing “CS Clubsport” decal, it was produced as one of the two very last cars to ever wear that distinctive badge. Which means that, like its fifteen sister cars, it is as much as 100 to 120 kilograms lighter than the regular Porsche 928 S4s, depending on the specification. The weight-saving measures of this already largely aluminium-based car include: the absence of a sunroof, no electric seats, a smaller compressor for the air-conditioning unit, a lighter exhaust, no rear wiper, no rear sun visors, a simplified wiring harness, no PVC undercoating, and lighter, thinner wheels made out of magnesium-alloy.
Although at the time most cars were also deprived of a radio and a central locking mechanism, Porsche was not yet the mass manufacturer it is today, so models varied depending on what was available on the shelves of the factory warehouse. Therefore, this particular car, chassis number 840540, unusually has an original Blaupunkt Bremen unit with six speakers – probably because the factory had run out of door molds without speaker holes in them by the time it was produced.
This “individual” approach to manufacturing also means that apart from typical Porsche 928 CS mods – like a different final drive ratio of 2.72:1 for stronger initial acceleration, a shorter throw shifter, a factory limited-slip diff, a transaxle, dog-leg pattern ZF gearbox without a vibration dampener, sport seats, a 1,5 cm wider track and a ride height lowered by 20 mm – this particular car also has a special engine: One left-over from the days of the early prototypes. Distinguished by a special “SP” designation at the end of the engine number, it suggests a different control unit and modified, more aggressive camshafts than the ones used in the standard 320 hp, 5-litre V8.
This Clubsport’s next owner can therefore expect a sharper throttle response, a sharper turn-in, more grip, and better acceleration, breaking and engine notes than on all other 928 variants. Naturally, he or she will have to answer countless questions about the car’s unusual history and provenance at upcoming Porsche reunions, cars and coffee meetings or simply at petrol station stops – for such an understated machine, the car attracts quite a lot of attention.
Currently residing in Berlin, Germany, this particular, well-kept and regularly driven Porsche 928 Clubsport has around 120,000 kilometres on the clock. It was bought by the current, third owner – a collector of unusual, limited production cars – from a dealer in Switzerland, who had acquired the car from a Swiss owner that had bought it from the famous Porsche engineer, Bernd Kahnau, the man responsible for the 924 GTS. He had owned it from new as a company car. It comes with a Porsche AG certificate of originality, confirming its matching numbers, and original service and instruction manuals.
Considering the car’s heritage, the only thing its new custodian will have to do is to take it to the next roundabout and try to tackle it like Hans-Joachim Stuck. Sideways. Because that’s what these Clubsports were built for.
Words and images by Błażej Żulawski
Keyword: This one-of-a-kind Porsche 928 Clubsport will have you reaching for your wallet