Bonneville 928 Rediscovered Al Holbert's 928 S4 speed record car is still proving the point that Porsche's big GT was one seriously fast car. Story and photos by Zachary Mayne

On August 7, 1986, racer Al Holbert donned his helmet and Nomex racing suit before strapping into a pre-production version of Porsche’s latest — and, according to the factory — greatest iteration of its front-engined GT, the 928 S4. Through the windshield, he saw the white, billiard smooth landscape of Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats. For decades, the surface beckoned to manufacturers desiring to determine the ultimate speeds of their cars. Porsche was no different.

Holbert, then the Director of Porsche Motorsports of North America, was about to prove just how fast Porsche’s upcoming supercoupe really was. Powered by a 320-hp 5.0-liter V8 featuring four valves per cylinder, this 928 would turn 171.110 mph in the flying mile and 171.926 mph for the flying kilometer. In March of 1986, the same car reportedly did 180+ mph at Nardo, but the Bonneville run netted USAC’s official record for International Category A, Group 2, Class 9, for normally-aspirated vehicles.

That made 1987’s 928 S4 the fastest non-turbocharged production car in the world (with catalysts). In truth, the 928 used to set the record, serial number WPOIBO92ZGS860062, wasn’t identical to the production version slated to hit the streets in 1987. Minor differences on the Bonneville 928, such as a lowered ride height and shaved Pirelli tires as well as a supposedly smoothed-out undertray and adjustable air vents in the nose, certainly helped with Porsche’s efforts (see Excellence June, 2004).

Basically a pre-production development vehicle, this S4 prototype arrived at Holbert’s shop wearing a coat of gray primer. A coat of red paint was hurriedly applied to its flanks and the 928 was trailered to Utah to meet the team. Once the car proved its performance potential, Porsche used the accomplishment heavily in print and TV advertising to promote the S4. One of the slogans used in the ads was highly appropriate: “It’s about as fast as you can go without having to eat airplane food.”

One might assume that, after proving just how fast the new S4 was, the actual car that accomplished the record-breaking feat might be destined for a museum for preservation purposes. But Porsche Cars North America decided to instead loan the speedy S4 to IMSA for use as a racing rescue-and-recovery vehicle. IMSA sent it to Fabcar Engineering in Indianapolis to be converted for use in its new role. It was painted white with a few red crosses on the front and sides. Roof lights and a large radio antenna were also installed. The interior was outfitted with safety and medical gear. IMSA used the 928 in the 1987 Camel GT racing series, where it even got hit — fittingly enough — by a Porsche 962 in a televised race!

Once IMSA was through with the 928, the worse-for-wear S4 was returned to PCNA. At that point, higher ups decided to donate the tired 928 to a high school in Reno, Nevada for educational use in auto shop courses. Instead, the 928 ended up languishing in a corner for many years until it was discovered by enthusiast Ron Lewis. A psychologist and Porsche owner, Lewis stumbled across the car sometime in 1999 while doing contract work for the Washoe County School District in Nevada — where the 928 had ended up.

“I saw the car sitting in the corner of the auto shop at the high school it had been donated to,” recalls Lewis. He had seen a video of the 928 record car years earlier at a Porsche Parade that documented its use as an IMSA safety vehicle. The video showed it being driven by a professional driver with a doctor in the passenger’s seat. Lewis was sure he was looking at the same car. It was still painted white and, even though the IMSA stickers and safety equipment had been removed, Lewis could see the ghost of the IMSA sticker on the hood as well as the holes drilled into the roof for the radio antenna.

“It didn’t run, was covered with dirt, and had been bumped by other shop vehicles, so the aluminum was a little dented,” says Lewis. Looking into the matter further, he learned the machine was about to be discarded because the school was in the process of cleaning up. “The school didn’t really have a use for it anymore and was about to scrap it. Fortunately, they still had the key! I knew the history of the car, and decided to save it as a race-car project.”

Lewis struck a deal to purchase the forlorn 928 and had it flat-bedded home. Upon arrival, it was obvious that the 928 had suffered an ignominious fate for too long. Says Lewis: “It had been stripped, with parts being exchanged or just taken off of it.” After consulting with several different 928 specialists — in particular Mark Anderson of 928 International — Lewis was eventually able to get the 928 running. It needed a new fuel pump, a new battery, and a new computer and wiring harness to replace the non-operational items in the car. Lewis was even able to drive the old 928 briefly.

“I drove it down the street — and it was a rocket,” says Lewis. But he had too many Porsche projects going on at the time, so the 928 sat neglected for yet another year. When Lewis returned to the 928, the fuel pump was faulty again and the fuel had gone bad. He quickly lost his enthusiasm for the project and started looking for a buyer who could appreciate the unusual machine’s history. Lewis decided to approach his mechanic, Jon Freismidl of Engine Builders Supply in Reno, who specializes in high-performance and racing Porsches.

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Back in 1991 — a couple of weeks after relocating to Reno — Freismidl had seen an article in the newspaper about a 928 S4 that was donated to a local high school. Recalls Friesmidl: “There was a picture of the car on the front page of the business section. The article talked a little bit about the history of the car, and how Porsche was helping out the community by donating it to the school’s auto shop.” The article also talked about the car’s use at Bonneville and as an IMSA safety car. Years later, after Lewis had acquired it, Friesmidl had even helped Lewis a little in his efforts to get the 928 going again.

“Ron was trying to get it running, but he just had one too many projects going on,” says Freismidl. “He asked me if I knew anyone who might be interested in the car, and I thought it might make an interesting project.” Thus, around the middle of 2001, Freismidl became the “fourth” owner of the Bonneville 928.

“It didn’t run properly, it had fuel injection problems, and the interior was very rough,” says Freismidl. Its shape was of little concern because Freismidl intended to clean it up for PCA driver-education events and time trials. But, as it would turn out, Friesmidl would only keep the historic machine for a few weeks.

Mark Anderson had been keeping tabs on the Bonneville 928 ever since Lewis contacted him in his effort to get it running again in 1999. In turn, Anderson had been telling a customer by the name of Mark Kibort, who raced a 928S in club and pro racing, about the famous S4. But Kibort wasn’t really motivated to buy the historic Porsche. Says Anderson: “He already had a 928 race car. So he didn’t really need another one, even though he did think it was an interesting vehicle.”

Kibort was well aware of the car’s provenance, as he had won a poster that pictured the S4 during its record-breaking run at the Salt Flats at a 928 owners event at Devek back in 1997. The poster on his wall would prove prophetic, as Kibort found himself in need of a new 928 race car in September of 2001. Coming around Laguna Seca’s Turn 10, Kibort had attempted to make up for lost time and experienced a serious case of “red mist.” He lost control of the 928, sending it nose-first into the wall. Kibort was lucky to walk away, but his 928 was a writeoff. After the crash, buying the Bonneville car seemed like a logical move.

“I called Mark Anderson and asked if it was still available,” explains Kibort. Anderson subsequently tracked the car down and discovered that it was now in the hands of Jon Freismidl at Engine Builders Supply. Kibort made the call and, after a brief conversation, Freismidl decided to sell the car. Says Freismidl: “He was very passionate about his 928 and seemed to be the perfect owner for this special car. Since I had another project ongoing, I decided to sell the car to Mark. It turned out to be a great match.”

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Kibort flew to Reno in late December of 2001 to take a closer look at the 928. Says Kibort: “It was in pretty bad shape and probably would have been considered a junker by anyone else.” There was literally a rat’s nest in the engine bay and the interior had been partially gutted, mostly due to the car’s use as an IMSA safety car. It was running — but barely.

“I got it to run well enough to drive it around the block,” says Kibort. He kept his test drive within a block of the shop and, after an hour of driving in circles, he decided it was a pretty solid car. He purchased the S4 and then drove it the 300 miles from Reno to his home in the Bay Area. At this point, the 928 had only 18,000 miles on its odometer. The five-hour trip was accomplished without any major catastrophes, though it did have its share of memorable moments.

“I drove over the Sierra Nevadas,” relishes Kibort. “It wasn’t raining, but it was winter and the semis were throwing up melting snow.” The electrics were questionable at best. There were headlights but no windshield wipers, forcing Kibort to improvise with a glove-covered hand. And then there was the matter of the baby socks. When he inspected the car, he noticed the air box was missing its filter. Kibort embarked on the drive anyway, thinking the lack of a filter wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Then he started seeing a lot of dirt on the road. Afraid his motor might ingest foreign matter, Kibort pulled over to find a solution. A pair of baby socks were put on the inlet of the air box in lieu of the missing filter. Around 10:00 pm, the tired but still powerful 928 arrived at Kibort’s home in Los Gatos.

The next morning, Kibort went out to the garage and proceeded to gut the S4 in preparation for its new racing career. The carpet was ditched along with the sound-deadening and headliner. In place of the factory dash, Kibort mounted a plastic shell designed to cover cracked dashboards. He supported it with his own fabricated brackets. Removing the 928’s extra baggage is the first key to making it a good racing platform in Kibort’s opinion.

“The 928 truly is a gut-and-go racecar,” opines Kibort. “Taking most of the weight off the car and adding a set of headers, you suddenly have the potential to beat cars even 10 years newer.” During the process of stripping the interior of the car, Kibort came across an IMSA official’s business card, hard evidence that this was indeed the same car that was used as a safety vehicle.

Kibort planned on painting the car the same shade of red as his last 928 race car, so he took the doors from his wrecked car — which were undamaged and had the appropriate stickers — and put them onto his newer car. The S4 received the GTS rear wing from his old car as well as several interior safety upgrades. The Sparco driver’s seat bolted right in. The passenger seat is a Corbeau seat that’s removed when the car goes racing. Kibort also removes the side windows and stereo at the track. That’s right, the Bonneville 928 has a stereo — complete with subwoofer. Since Kibort drives to his track events, he says music helps the freeway miles go by.

The wheels Kibort had on his last 928 were Kinesis K18s, measuring 18x9.5 inches up front and 18x11 inches in the rear. These are still being used and are shod with World Challenge-spec Toyo RA1 275/40ZR18 tires up front and 335/30ZR18s at the back.

While prepping his 928 for track use, Kibort managed to troubleshoot some problems that were causing the car to run poorly. To do so, he relied on help from a fellow 928 racer: “Mark Anderson helped me work out some coding issues in the computer. Also, the distributor cap was cracked and the mass airflow sensor was incorrectly installed.” Once the gremlins were tracked down and eliminated, the 928 was running strong. Kibort then drove the 928 to CT Automotive in Fremont, California to enlist the aid of Don Wiese and Chris Young to complete the suspension and exhaust.

Kibort’s old suspension consisted of a Devek Level Two setup — a combination of Koni two-way adjustable shocks, H&R racing springs, and a 32-mm front anti-roll bar. When Kibort removed the front bar on the Bonneville 928 to install his old setup, he thought the bar seemed to be larger than stock. He speculates that it might have been fabricated by factory engineers for the runs at Bonneville or Nardo. The rear bar Kibort races with is a stock 928 item that’s been made stiffer with the addition of adjustable droplinks sourced from 928 Specialties. This same company provided a front strut brace. The brakes are essentially stock, though the original discs were replaced with Zimmerman rotors of the same diameter. These are clamped by stock calipers with Pagid pads.

The internals of the four-valve V8 have been left untouched, and Kibort believes the motor in the car has never been apart. The exhaust system consists of a set of Devek Level Two equal-length headers mated to a 3.5-inch exhaust that exits out of a Borla racing muffler. The muffler is easily removed for events with no sound limit. When the engine was put on the dyno, Kibort claims freer-breathing helped it pump out around 400 hp.

Kibort sold his old car’s roll cage and had Bugformance in San Jose fabricate a new one out of DOM tubing according to Speed GT specs. The door and quarter windows are Lexan, as is the rear hatch glass — which Kibort fabricated himself. Once all of the unnecessary components were stripped from the car, Kibort estimates it lost more than 700 pounds. Considering a stock S4 is supposed to weigh 3,660 pounds with a manual transmission, that’s a significant savings.

Kibort chose University Autobody in Los Gatos for paint. In order to keep costs down, Kibort did the prep-work himself, spending every Tuesday and Thursday for three weeks sanding and getting the car ready for the paint booth. Again, more evidence this was Holbert’s old car presented itself, as a layer of white paint revealed red paint, and — below that — gray primer. The shop then sprayed the exterior and, for the sake of durability, painted the bare-metal interior with bed-liner coating tinted red to match.

Just a few months after acquiring the 928, Kibort lined it up on the grid of a touring car race at Buttonwillow in February of 2002. Kibort says he placed second or third in class that weekend. Since then, he has been entering 8-10 events per year, two of which are Speed GT races. At PCA events, Kibort says he’s usually able to place the car squarely in the middle of a pack of 996 GT3 Cups, which is no small accomplishment as a GT3 Cup can command $100,000+.

During a World Challenge race in September of 2002, Kibort’s 928 gained yet another claim to fame, albeit a small one: the signature of Al Holbert’s old running mate Derek Bell on its nose. Bell signed it after a race in which his Audi hit the nose of the 928 when Kibort spun into oncoming traffic. Says Kibort: “I was following Mark Anderson in his 928 on the first lap when a Mustang Cobra R spun and hit me.” When the smoke settled, the 928 was pointed in the opposite direction and Bell — who was at the back of the pack and clawing his way to the front — nudged Kibort’s car head on. After the race was over, Bell and Kibort struck up a friendly conversation about the on-track incident. The Le Mans winner signed right next to where his Audi had left its mark.

As for his experience racing the old Bonneville car, Kibort has nothing but praise for the 928 as a race car and this particular example as a reliable mount: “In my over 100 racing days, I have had only two mechanical problems. Only one of those prevented me from finishing a race and driving the car home.” In addition to the car’s bulletproof reliability, it has also posted some impressive times. “I did a 1:40.2 lap at Laguna Seca with a set of headers as the only modifications to the engine. If that had been in 1999 at a World Challenge race, I would have been in the top ten in a field of Corvettes and BMW M3s. And that’s in a car that would have been 13 years old! I think that says a lot about the design of the 928’s chassis.”

The jury may still be out on whether this is an appropriate use for such a historic Porsche, and Kibort has certainly got his fair share of heckling from purists who decry his use of this, one of the most significant 928s of them all, as a Speed GT race car. But there’s no denying the 928 once used by Al Holbert and then IMSA continues to demonstrate Porsche’s superior engineering — long after the factory completed its adventurous speed campaign for the 928 S4.

SOURCE: Excellence Magazine November 2004 issue

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