Sales of the Porsche 911 were booming in the early ’70s, but the boss had always longed for a proper Grand Touring car. Ferdinand Porsche assembled a team to study the idea of building a balanced coupe with the engine mounted up front. This would be a first for the brand, so they decided to tell us how the Porsche 928 was born in a press release.To achieve perfect weight distribution, engineers decided the 4.5 liter V8 would be balanced by mounting the transmission at the rear. Combining the differential with the transmission, the innovation was known as the Weissach Axle. The rear suspension geometry was so ahead of its time, that Porsche Suspension Manager Manfred Harrer said it is a “revolution in suspension that?s still the basis of our work today”. The Panamera uses the same configuration.The engine and transmission were connected by a torque tube. This rigid structure housed the driveshaft and also formed the basis of a solid chassis. While Porsche claims the 928 was the first car to have this style of drivetrain, they seem to have overlooked the 1961 Pontiac Tempest.Photo credit GM & Motor Trend (May 1961 issue)John DeLorean was Pontiac’s Chief Engineer and he designed the first production car with a rear-mounted transmission. Instead of a solid driveshaft, he used a torsion bar that stored energy between the engine and the gearbox. This car was so far ahead of its time, it has handling comparable to modern cars. We’ll cover it anot...