1979 Buchmann-Porsche 928 Targa

By 1979, Porsche had unveiled its new flagship - the 928. Buchmann saw the car as an ideal base for an ambitious conversion.

Off With The Roof!
Buchmann's previous conversions had never actually included major structural bodywork - only the differentiation of panels. The 928 Targa, however, marked a rapid departure from this mould, as Buchmann's bodyworkers took an angle grinder to the coupe's roof.

The whole roof, from the windscreen top rearwards, was cut off, right down to the top of the rear polyurethane bumper unit. This was replaced by a stylish 'notchback' roofline, with a removeable Targa panel above the driver and passenger seats. The new-design rear window led down onto a flat rear deck, which housed vastly reduced luggage capacity. The drastic bodywork changes above the roofline removed the structural rigidity of the fixed-head coupe - and hence, Buchmann set about a series of arduous trial and improvement tests on the Targa. By the end, the windscreen pillars, and the newly installed Targa roll hoop bore a lot of the stresses placed on the car through corners and over bumpy roads. This was done by using steel tubing and plates to increase the density and thickness, and therefore load-bearing ability of these panels. Thus, the car had very little scuttle shake, making it akin to driving the coupe equivalent - only with fresh air above your head. In fact, the quality of the conversion was such that it was rumoured that Porsche engineers were very impressed with the conversion.

Slight bodywork changes were enforced over other parts of the car - namely the front bumper. The new unit, made entirely from impact-absorbing synthetic, reached closer to the road and was deeper than that fitted to the standard Porsche 928. The interior also benefitted from Buchmann's legendary specifying - a Targa centre strut was utilised, just to home the powerful stereo! The seats remained standard 928 fare, but were trimmed in an attractive multi-coloured lined fabric. No mechanical changes were made.

The conversion time, from the customer dropping off their 928, and picking up their new Buchmann version, took only three months, and cost 35,000 DM - a lot of money on top of an already-expensive motorcar.