The 928, Porsche's front-engine entry in the coupe GT market, never quite enjoyed the success of the signature sports car, the 911. Since Porsche stopped producing the 928 in 1995 after an 18-year run, the German automaker has gone without a front-engine coupe to compete with the likes of the BMW M6, Jaguar XKR, Aston-Martin DB9, and Mercedes CL-class. Built on the platform that will underpin Porsche's 2009 Panamera four-door sports sedan, the unnamed two-door will ride on a shorter wheelbase but will share at least 60 percent of its parts with the Panamera. Coupe buyers will choose from a selection of Porsche's next-generation direct-injection-equipped V-8 engines. The Cayenne SUV will also get these new V-8s. Power is expected to be about 350 horses upward, with turbo versions making in excess of 500. There are rumors regarding a possible 6.0-liter V-10, which would reportedly make about 650 horsepower.
Pricing for this front-engine Porsche will likely begin where the naturally aspirated 911's leaves off, a base version of the coupe going for about $100,000, with prices of higher-horsepower versions rising quickly into the rare $150,000-plus stratosphere, where the Bentley Continental GT rules.
