This is a Porsche M28 V8 sourced from a Porsche 928 that has now been turned into a glass-topped coffee table sitting on four small caster wheels to make it easy to move when required.
The Porsche M28 V8 made its debut at the 1977 Geneva Motor Show under the hood of the Porsche 928. The 928 was a high-performance grand tourer intended to replace the Porsche 911 – as a result Porsche engineers had thrown everything they had at the car to make it state-of-the-art.
The Porsche 928 was developed to take Porsche into the future and replace the 911. This wouldn’t happen of course, but it did lay the groundwork for the many modern, liquid-cooled Porsches to come. Image courtesy of Porsche.
For Porsche, the American market was the most important in the world in the 1970s, and it remains so today. To increase the allure of their new model they developed a car that featured ingredients that Americans were known to love – a front-mounted V8 engine, rear wheel drive, a sweeping fastback-style roofline, and a pair of rear seats that were downright roomy compared to those in the 911.
The 928 would go on to be a relatively strong seller for Porsche, though it was never a threat to the 911 and it certainly never replaced it. Despite this, the 928 would set the ground work for the Porsches of the modern age, which are now all powered by liquid-cooled engines, and most have the engines mounted up front.
The engine that was developed for the 928 was the 4.5 liter Porsche M28 V8. It featured an aluminum block and heads, a single overhead cam per bank, two valves per cylinder, and a relatively low compression ratio of 8.5:1 which allowed it to run on lower octane pump gas. It was good for 240 bhp at 5,500 rpm and 258 lb ft of torque at 3,600 rpm.
Later versions of the engine would get double overhead cams per bank, four valves per cylinder, advanced electronic fuel injection systems, an increased compression ratio, and more displacement – as a result the power increased all the way up to 345 bhp and 369 lb ft of torque.
The coffee table you see here has been made from one of the earlier single overhead cam versions of the M28 V8. The tempered glass table top has two holes cut out to allow the intake manifold to rise up above the surface, with a Porsche badge on the top front and center.
Here you can see the two cutouts in the tempered glass table top that allow the intake manifold to rise above the surface.
The engine lacks internal components as it no longer needs them and it would just add weight, the tabletop measures in at approximately 46″ long by 34″ wide and rises 28″ above the floor.
If you’d like to read more about it or place a bid you can visit the listing on Bring a Trailer here. it’s being offered for sale out of Daly City, California with no reserve and it weighs approximately 280 pounds in total.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer + Porsche AG
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