Thursday 20th October 2011

Spotted: Porsche 959... delivery miles only

After 23 years of storage, a very special 959 sees daylight again

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This little story started when Specialist Cars of Malton received a simple request from one of their customers to 'find the best 959 in the world'. Suffice to say they didn't start with a copy of Exchange and Mart...

We sourced this 959 from a Mexican customer through his Swiss company, and now it's going to the other side of the world! Whether the new owner will drive the car and put some more miles on it remains to be seen,' says MD John Hawkins.

When Specialist Cars took delivery, this 959 had quite literally had not run for 23 years, which meant that the fuel tank had to be removed and flushed, and all the fluids replaced. After that it transpired that both fuel pumps were kaput, but with new items fitted the twin-sequential-turbo motor fired right up. They even took it on a (short!) road test.

'It is quite simply a brand new 1988 car. It smells like new and the original underseal and the protective film on the door bars is still intact, but like all of our cars it had to be road tested so we took it on a seven mile run to make sure that all was well - which it was. We ship a lot of cars overseas to customers who often buy unseen, and when this one is unloaded from the container its new owner will think it is Christmas,' says John.

What makes this find all the more extraordinary is that this is a 959 Sport, which was 100Kg lighter than the more common Komfort version (the lack of a passenger side wing mirror is the main external difference), and what's more this one is chassis number 001 of the Sport models.

This find begs a question, doesn't it? We'd all love to find an original, low mileage, cared-for example of the car of our dreams and then enjoy using it, but is something like this the exception to the rule? Does the fact that it's been around for so long and with such low mileage make it sacrilegious to take it out and use it as Porsche intended, or should it be used and displayed whenever possible despite the mileage and that chassis number?

Whether you'd put it in a glass box, treat people to the sight of it in public, or even finish it in Rothmans livery and rally it (Woo-Hoo! Ed.), this must be one of the finds of the decade.

[angry jock]

Wow. Do love a 959 How hard can it be to pick the right numbers!

[AMG Merc]

A fantastic find - how £much?

[thewheelman]

Possibly my favourite Porsche, & my second favourite supercar after the F40. I remember a friend of my dad had a silver one (possibly still has it), a stunning car.

Delivery miles only is almost criminal in my mind. Cars like this are made to be used, it's just wrong to buy such a magnificent car & keep it locked up as an investment.

[AMG Merc]

A fantastic find - how £much I wonder?

[mwstewart]

AMG Merc said:

A fantastic find - how £much I wonder?

Yes, I too wondered that. Can someone enlighten us?

[Amizade]

Pity they didn't respray it!

[Mermaid]

AMG Merc said:

A fantastic find - how £much I wonder?

£500k+ for a private collection, not to be used.

At one stage 959's were down to £100k.

[ZesPak]

As much as I hate to say this, I wouldn't drive it . Imho it's too special, especially with delivery miles.

[AndyM31]

Awesome find, one of a kind - Where is my lottery win? :-(

[sisley]

mwstewart said:

Yes, I too wondered that. Can someone enlighten us?

I asked the question at the Big Breakfast meet on Sunday and was told £750,000

[thewheelman]

Hey PH! Remember this? http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=297...

[k-ink]

It'll be worth a million at some point, if it is left unused. Just sit back and wait...

[loose cannon]

Shame about the colour looks like it needs a good polish and are those seats covers in l/r defender vinyl The last 959 I sat in had a far nicer interior trim though to be fair it was king hussein of jordans and it was mettalic green though not great . looks better than flat red , still nice car I should imagine most 959 have no miles on them

[thewheelman]

sisley said:

mwstewart said:

Yes, I too wondered that. Can someone enlighten us?

I asked the question at the Big Breakfast meet on Sunday and was told £750,000

This one has factory miles only, it's the last ever 959 to be made, & costs a lot less than the price you mention, i hope the buyer hasn't seen this advert http://www.jameslist.com/advert/333846/for-sale-po...

Edit.....oh, & the seller also has this one too...... http://www.jameslist.com/advert/321384/for-sale-po...

[E36GUY]

ZesPak said:

As much as I hate to say this, I wouldn't drive it . Imho it's too special, especially with delivery miles.

IF I could buy it, I would definitely drive it. I can't bare collections of unused cars.

[Kazlet]

Wow, even for a Porsche thats ugly.

[cookie1600]

Sounds like the same kind of story as the multitude of cars sitting in warehouses in Brunei. I bet the first owner made a packet on it to part with such a rare beasty - my guess? £350,000+

You can always enquire about this one, if you missed the one in the article:

http://www.jameslist.com/advert/333846/for-sale-po...

[thewheelman]

cookie1600 said:

Sounds like the same kind of story as the multitude of cars sitting in warehouses in Brunei. I bet the first owner made a packet on it to part with such a rare beasty - my guess? £350,000+

You can always enquire about this one, if you missed the one in the article:

http://www.jameslist.com/advert/333846/for-sale-po...

I posted that already

[AndyCzech]

Think a new GT3 RS 4.0 would be both a better investment and a better driver’s car.

[BertBert]

Full Service History?