Immaculate, incomparable Porsche 959 for sale
Has there been a more influential supercar in the modern age?
Who else is suffering from supercar fatigue? January has already seen the reveal of Bugatti’s Veyron homage, Apollo’s Evo and Italdesign’s tribute to the Honda NSX, and while they’re all spectacular in their own right, the problem is that new one-offs, homages and boutique V12s seemingly arrive every week, with cavernously-pocketed collectors looking for a car that’s unique to them.
And that’s where the second problem arises: today’s supercars don’t seem to convey any tangible purpose other than exclusivity. Not that you’d turn down the opportunity to commission your own creation if you had the means, but they’ll only ever be truly special to you. I'd argue that it's the supercars built to push technical boundaries or grant access to a racing series that really set the car world alight. The LaFerrari, Mclaren P1 and Porsche 918 were special for being the first cars to merge piston and electric power for the sole purpose of performance, while the aforementioned Veyron shattered top speed records all while being comfortable and refined. Then you have the Porsche 959, like the one we have here, which was built both to go rallying and pioneer technologies not yet seen on a road car.
Like a good chunk of supercars from the '80s, the 959 started life as a homologation special for Group B rallying. The idea behind the 959 was to see how far the 911 platform could be taken, with the highly competitive landscape of the WRC seen as the perfect place to accelerate development. When the ‘Gruppe B’ concept appeared in 1983 it resembled more of a streamlined silhouette of a 911 rather than a Group B rally monster, though of course we’d never get to see it go up against Audi Sport Quattros, Lancia Delta S4s and MG 6R4s in the WRC as the ruleset was scrapped after the 1986 season - just as the 959 was about to hit showrooms.
It would, however, see action in the Dakar, which Porsche used to develop the 959’s sophisticated all-wheel drive system. The new configuration could modulate power between the front and rear axles, which was very trick for the '80s, with up to 80 per cent being sent to the back under certain conditions. Then there was the suspension, an active setup that could automatically adjust the ride height while on the fly, a technology Formula 1 teams were struggling to wrap their heads around at the time.
However, what really put the 959 on the map was its world-beating pace. Using a variant of the 2.8-litre, twin-turbo flat-six featured in the dominant 956 and 962 Le Mans cars, the 959 put out 450hp and was capable of speeds of almost 200mph, making it the world’s fastest production car in 1986. That’s not all, because the sequential turbochargers, another first for the 959, helped drastically reduce lag, which, when coupled with the trick all-wheel drive system, resulted in a 0-62mph time of 3.7 seconds. On top of that, it was the first production car with tyre pressure monitoring, the first fitted with magnesium wheels and the first with run-flat tyres. Space age technology at a time when you could buy a car with a manual choke.
Yes, the Ferrari F40 and Jaguar XJ220 arguably made for better pinups, but the 959 truly moved the game on. Obviously, that makes them incredibly popular with collectors, driving prices to stratospheric heights. You’ll need £1,800,000 for this one, but in return you get a supercar legend with a mere 19,300 miles on the clock and the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from knowing that restoration work reportedly totalling £60,000 has already been completed. Moreover, the seller says they’ll put it through a service once the sale goes through, so it ought to be in fine fettle for the year ahead. And if you buy it, why not join us at Le Mans? With no 963s this year, Porsche will need a car capable of 200mph...
959 was NOT for Group B Rally class, it was for Group B Racing class, just like Ferrari 288GTO.
The shape is a hint...
It wouldnt stand a chance in the forest, have you ever BEEN to a rally??? 
That a rebuilt version won the Dakar Rally - as well as Le Mans - doesn't prove anything.
There was a Ferrari 308 rally car but it doesn't mean it was built for WRC.
Secondly, none of the group B rallycars had "hit any showrooms" either in 1986, except the Sport Quattro.
Should have blagged a drive as part of the deal!
The looks will always be Marmite, but as I have a different take on aesthetics to seemingly everyone else, I love it*.
From what I understand, the performance is more accessible than just about anything else on the road, and not dependant on the weather due to the clever 4WD gubbins. Could well be the only car I'd ever need.
* The 959, not Marmite. I don't like being in the same county as Marmite.
959 was NOT for Group B Rally class, it was for Group B Racing class, just like Ferrari 288GTO.
The shape is a hint...
It wouldnt stand a chance in the forest, have you ever BEEN to a rally??? That a rebuilt version won the Dakar Rally - as well as Le Mans - doesn't prove anything.
There was a Ferrari 308 rally car but it doesn't mean it was built for WRC.
Secondly, none of the group B rallycars had "hit any showrooms" either in 1986, except the Sport Quattro.
Damn you PHChatGPTArticleWriter.
Some big pics here: https://www.avants.com/magazine/porsche-959
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