Stop everything and stare at this 400bhp restomoded Porsche 928

Porsche sold just over 60,000 versions of the 928 throughout its lifespan, and as French restorer Nardone Automotive points out, there’s never been anything like it in the carmaker's offering since.

A fine time to revisit this front-engined, rear-wheel-drive V8 classic then. Welcome to the French company’s restored 928, which debuted – fittingly – at the Milan Design Week and is scheduled to make quite the splash at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Because it’s quite special. NA boss Thierry Nardone – “a sophisticated and expert car guy”, apparently – loves transaxle Porsches. He’s given the old boot a bit of a once over, beginning with a subtle evolution of the 928’s body, here resplendent in full carbon fibre.

There are wider arches, and both front and rear lights are completely new, designed specifically for this car. Indeed the front lights appears to operate via a classic pop-up system but one that swivels around, like one of those portraits that follow you around the room. It sits on new forged 18in wheels – a reinterpretation of the ‘manhole’ 16s the 928 ran on – while the interior has been completely redone too.

Redone in gloriously period fashion. There’s lots of leather and Alcantara but precious little fuss about the design, an excellently retro Porsche Classic Management system that sorts the infotainment, a digital dash ahead of the driver with a single analogue clock, and brown. Lots of brown. This was a car that came from the Seventies, remember.

The V8 underneath has been tweaked and tagged at 400bhp, thanks in part to a “modern” ECU, hooked up to a modified six-speed manual gearbox and a limited slip diff. Both front and rear axles have been tweaked, there’s active suspension, bigger brakes and “adaptive” electric power steering.

This car is the first thing to emerge from the French startup, built in collaboration with BorromeodeSilva – the Milanese studio that worked on the Delta Integrale restomod too – and Podium Advanced Technologies.

Nardone wants to begin delivering these finished 928 restomods in 2024, though there’s currently no word on prices, or how many they’ll build. With just over 60,000 928s originally sold, it won’t be that many…