Eric Minoff
Vice President, Head of Department - US
LOT 167P
1979 Porsche 928 Coupe Chassis no. 9289201213
Estimate: US$1,400,000 - US$1,800,000
Lot 167P
Featured in the movie Risky Business
1979 Porsche 928 Coupe
1979 Porsche 928 Coupe
1979 Porsche 928 Coupe
Chassis no. 9289201213
Chassis no. 9289201213
4,474cc SOHC V8 Engine
Bosch K-Jetronic Fuel Injection
230bhp at 5,250rpm
5-Speed Manual Transaxle
4-Wheel Independent Suspension
4-Wheel Disc Brakes
*One of three 928s used in the filming of Risky Business
*Understood to be the feature car used for principal shots in the seminal car chase
*Reported to be the vehicle on which Tom Cruise learned to drive a manual transmission
*Arguably the most famous transaxle Porsche ever built
*Extensively documented
*Equipped with the rare and desirable 5-speed manual transaxle
*One of 2,275 built for the US in 1979
*"Porsche, there is no substitute"
*Due to California emissions laws, this vehicle may only be sold to an out-of-state resident for use outside the state of California or to a licensed automotive dealer
THE PORSCHE 928
"Auto das Jahrzehnts" or car of the decade, as it was referred - the Porsche 928 was for a different sort of individual.
By the late 1960s, executives including Ferry Porsche, began considering the addition of a luxury touring car to their line-up. With slumping sales of the then-current flagship 911, managing director Ernst Fuhrmann, credited for development of the type 547 engine (used in the 550, 356 Carrera GT and GS cars), initiated a design study in 1971 for a new range-topping gran turismo model. Several drivetrain layouts were considered early on including both mid and rear-engined designs. Deciding that a mid-engine layout did not allow enough room in the passenger compartment and a rear-engine layout made emission and noise control difficult, a front-engine, rear-wheel drive transaxle layout was selected. The chosen front-mounted type M28 single overhead camshaft, water-cooled V8 engine displaced 4.5liters and featured a Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection system. Combining a transmission, axle, and differential in one integrated assembly in the rear, this new 'type 928' achieved near 50/50 weight distribution- realizing a combination sports coupe and luxury sedan. A car technically different from others on the road had the right to look different. Lay-flat/pop-up headlamps borrowed from the Miura, flared wheel-arches and curvy flanks caught the attention of many influential characters of the 20th century including the likes of the Risky Business movie production, Stanley Kubrick and Steve Jobs.
THE MOTORCAR OFFERED
The 1980s were particularly fertile times for high school coming of age movies—with the North Suburbs of Chicago playing host to many of these films thanks to the directorial success of auteurs such as John Hughes. But before Ferris Bueller took his day off in Cameron's dad's Ferrari, fellow Chicagoan Paul Brickman directed a young and largely unheard of actor from upstate New York by the name of Tom Cruise in the 1983 classic Risky Business. Moodier and edgier than Hughes' jovial and heartwarming films, Brickman's Risky Business saw the high school senior played by Tom Cruise engaging the services of a prostitute, played by Rebecca de Mornay. Co-starring heavily in the film—both in the plot, on the screen, and in the movie poster—is a gold Porsche 928. According to one of the film's producers, John Brickman, the 928 was because it was a high-end GT car that could be a daily driver for a successful Chicagoan over and above a more exotic Ferrari. He also found the 911 "too mundane".
Three 928s were used for the driving shots (while one was famously dropped into Lake Michigan resulting in the famous line, "who's the captain of the U-boat?") and only one other is documented in the production records with a VIN. Of those three, two were used in the riveting chase scene through downtown Highland Park, Illinois—of which this car was utilized for many of the principal shots including the final one in which cruise stared straight into the camera and declared the famous marketing tagline, "Porsche, there is no substitute." This car was also used for any wide shots with the whole car in view—earning the moniker of "fill car" given its use filling in the gaps in the driving footage in post-production and editing.
This 928 was originally finished in white with a 5-speed manual transmission, but was repainted Platinum Metallic—a color available for a contemporary 928 but not introduced until 1981—for the film. Rented from a movie car company by the film's transportation captain, the late Jim Riccio, it was primarily used in driving and close up shot, especially during the climactic chase scene where the 928, piloted by Tom Cruise's character, manages to out run and outmaneuver a pimp-driven 1975 Cadillac Coupe Deville. At the culmination of the chase, reportedly in this car, Tom Cruise then stared directly in the camera and uttered the iconic marketing line, "Porsche, there is no substitute".
In additional to its on-film feature, it also figured prominently in Cruise's own trajectory as an enthusiast and famous executor of his own stunts. At the start of filming, it is understood that Tom Cruise did not know how to drive a stick, so producer Jon Avnet claims to have taught him the craft of rowing your own on this car.
Following its use in the film production, it was returned to California. While famous on screen, initially the 928 was just a used car. It was resprayed white and passed through a few California owners before it was rediscovered by documentarian Lewis Johnsen of Denver, Colorado. Johnsen had always loved the car from the movie and went about interviewing the film's producers, John Avnet and Paul Brickman, as well as others. In reviewing production documents (copies of which are on file) that list the vehicle with its serial number, he next sought out to find the car, which took him to an owner in Cathedral City, California where an owner unaware of the history of his car was ready to rid himself of it to work on other projects. Purchased sight unseen in the mid-2000s, the car would head to Colorado and Johnsen would document his quest in the film The Quest for the RB928 (Risky Business 928).
The 928 would later move to a collection on the East Coast where it would receive substantial cosmetic and mechanical refurbishment, with receipts on file. Acquired by the current owner in 2021 it has been carefully stored in a climate controlled garage for the past three years.
A chance to own a piece of cinema history and arguably one of the most famous Porsches to ever grace the big screen, this 928 is ready for a new owner. Whether you have to open a brothel in your house to pay for it is up to you.
Footnotes
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Please note, due to California emissions laws, this vehicle may only be sold to an out-of-state resident for use outside the state of California or to a licensed automotive dealer.
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