Get to Know the Blue Shark, a Wild 928 That Makes the New 911 GT3 RS Look Like a Go-Kart

Introduced at the 1977 Geneva Motor Show, the 928 was a daring departure from the rear-mounted, flat-six formula that helped make Porsche one of the world’s most famous sports car manufacturers. With sales of their 911 flagship model tumbling, the struggling German company decided to replace it with a new grand tourer. Safer, luxurious, and powered by a front-mounted V8, the 928 was considered perfect for North America, a market responsible for a big chunk of Porsche’s earnings in the past decades.

Thankfully for the 911 - which was eventually saved from oblivion by Peter Schutz – the 928 was never as successful as Porsche executives envisioned. That being said, it wasn’t a sales disaster either, enjoying a somewhat fruitful 18-year career alongside its more famous rear-engine sibling and developing a cult following in the process.

Four and a half decades after the first 928 rolled off the Zuffenhausen assembly lines, tens of thousands of surviving examples are still roaming the streets. Some owners have spent loads of money to keep their 928s roadworthy and looking new, while others have dared to transform them using modern hardware.

One of these people who elected to transform his 928 is Danny Humphreys of Midlothian, Texas, but unlike those who restomod their cars, he decided to turn his into a drag racer.

Part of a rare breed of petrolheads, Danny had always had an affinity for the German carmaker’s first front-engine, V8-powered grand tourer but also enjoyed good old-fashioned American drag racing.

More than twenty years ago, he decided to mix his two passions and take his 1978 928 to the dragstrip. Of course, the car’s stock engine - conceived during an era when emission regulations forced manufacturers to deliver grossly anemic V8s - was replaced with a modern, methanol-gobbling, Whipple-blown 532-ci (8.7-liter) big block.

Apart from that and a few other mandatory upgrades like a stronger transmission, brakes, wheels, or tires, the 928 was kept in its factory configuration. With it, Danny managed to make a name for himself in the 10.5 Outlaw scene during the early 2000s, when the car was known for running the eight-mile in 4.46-seconds. Even more impressive, the Texan set up a separate fuel pump that enabled the engine to run on pump fuel and often drove it on public roads.

At some point, he took a break from racing but in recent years he decided to make a comeback and race in the Radial 275 class. Moreover, he went on to modify his ride even further, transforming it into the most insane Porsche on planet Earth.

Painted in a striking coat of Blue, the car he nicknamed Der Blauhai (or blue shark, in German) retained most of its stock body panels, but Danny installed a new rear end, as well as a beefed up four-link suspension and anti-roll bar. A talented mechanic and fabricator, he also built a double frame rail and completely rewired the car.

All these goodies paved the way for the most impressive upgrade of them all: a custom 572-ci (9.3-liter) V8 equipped with a supercharger that’s almost as big as the 928’s original motor.

The engine in question is an engineering work of art built by the legendary Steve Morris. An all-billet, fully water-jacketed wedge unit dubbed SMX, it’s capable of no less than 3,500 hp. Apart from its bombproof architecture, the powerplant is capable of such an astonishing figure thanks to the gargantuan R980 Whipple supercharger that Danny decorated with a couple of V8 Kompressor badges that you would typically see on supercharged V8-powered Mercs.

Speaking of gargantuan, on top of the blower, Danny chose to fit a JDF Performance F6 injector hat originally designed for serious tractor-pulling rigs, just because he wanted the car to look more like a shark.

As he did in the past, the owner also plans to fit a separate, pump gas-friendly injection system to the 572 so he can make the car street legal and drive it on public roads.

This outrageous ride made its track debut at the Thunder Valley Raceway Park in Noble, Oklahoma where it was the main attraction. Thanks to 1320video, you can watch footage from the event below, including a short interview with Danny.

The 928 went on to be selected by Mattel as a 2022 Hot Wheels Legends Tour finalist and hopefully, it will be part of enthusiasts’ 1/64 scale collections in the near future.

If you’re a Porsche purist, you might be tempted to throw your device out the window after reading this article, but if you’re an open-minded, big-power enthusiast of the German brand, you can help but fall in love with the most insane Porsche in existence. It might have a new heart (on steroids) and a modified chassis, but with most of its body panels left untouched, the Blue Shark is still a legit 928.