RE: Porsche 959 v 997 Turbo

[Raven Flyer]

I have only ever seen one 959 and it was memorable. It was around 1988 (I think) and I was driving a new 2.9i Granada Scorpio, which I used to cane everywhere. No cameras in those days, laddy. Anyway I was working on what is now the new marina village at Pevensey Bay and used the A23 to get there. Shortly coming off what is now the M25, heading south, the dual carriageway ends. Wiping about 70mph of the dial of my leviathan I saw that I was behind this purple goddess of a 959. Its curves were like Marilyn Monroe wearing only Channel Nr 5. I followed it for a couple of miles, admiring its sexy arse and the way it didnt change speed or attitude when cornering. I did this matching its comfortably brisk pace and then she got bored with me. This car, put in the only way that describes it, just f*cked off. Aroud a bend to a short straight and she was gone. Around another slight bend and she must have been nearly a mile away and the big boys' side of 150mph.

I never saw her again, but my heart has always raced a bit when I have thought of her.

I have thought of her often.

[spark_s]

dk engineering have a lovely black one. iirc it's around £150K but understood the going rate's circa £100K ?

[Adam B]

johnnywishbone said:

959 !
THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE !!!
JWB

no particular special interest then

I know its sacrilege but I don't like the styling of the 959 and the interior is the usual 60s mess with the added horror of often-specced interior colour horror-shows such as this one.

To me it was a car to be admired for the technology only - would never have made my wall over a Lambo, Ferrari or 965/993 turbo

Agree with the article that the 997 turbo styling is also a fussy mess compared to the 996TT - strange as the normal 997 is a much nicer looking car than the normal 996

Edited by Adam B on Thursday 5th October 17:47

[GTRene]

FourWheelDrift said:

997. If I saw a 959 I'd think it was a kitted 911 rather than a real one.

me too..seen a few and though I realy liked them when they came out...its not on my shopping list if I could pay, it looks like a kit mostly...
Anyway I'm more RS type...or GT3 RS even better
GTRene

[flemke]

GTRene said:

... GT3 RS even better

Which is, unfortunately, a charisma-free zone.

[markbe]

flemke said:

Carrera2 said:

DO you have anything else that we need to be made aware of? Zonda, konesiggggggg etc maybe?

Carrera,

I may have some other things.
I don't have any cars that have truly misconceived bits (such as Zonda back end or K'egg rear window).
I don't like cars that are stylised with junk, such as Veyron spun-aluminium console, or almost everything on the mind-bendingly ugly Spyker.
I don't care for girls' cars, although I admire women who have them and drive them well.
I prefer NA in sports cars.
I can't stand heavy cars.
I don't have any Italian cars, because of my aversion to dishonesty.

Does that narrow it down enough?

Cheers.

Flemke,I new you are a proper chap.You have just described a Reliant robin,arn't they lovely,so light,so Engish,no wasted detailing,so functional.

Mark

[cross-eyed-twit]

I quite like the 959 and would have one over a Ferrari, any Ferrari.
That steering wheel though...

[DucatiGary]

I like it

says he with the metro 6R4 in his dream garage

[flemke]

cross-eyed-twit said:

I quite like the 959 and would have one over a Ferrari, any Ferrari.
That steering wheel though...

It's the same wheel that they used on their other cars at the time. It works beautifully on a road car, and feels good in your hands as well.

Some people might be surprised by how often a wheel that looks great - racy and purposeful - actually works poorly.

[cyberface]

flemke said:

Some people might be surprised by how often a wheel that looks great - racy and purposeful - actually works poorly.

Bizarrely enough I reckon this applies to many ladies as well

[benyeats]

Read somethinng in one of the mags recently by someone who was involved in the 959 rally efforts and described leaving the chase camera helicopter for dead on some of the long straights. Any car that can outrun a helicopter off road is alright by me.

Ben

[sidesauce]

cyberface said:

flemke said:

Some people might be surprised by how often a wheel that looks great - racy and purposeful - actually works poorly.

Bizarrely enough I reckon this applies to many ladies as well

Never a truer word spoken....

[DJC]

Adam B said:

[Agree with the article that the 997 turbo styling is also a fussy mess compared to the 996TT - strange as the normal 997 is a much nicer looking car than the normal 996

Edited by Adam B on Thursday 5th October 17:47

Ahh ty. I have been struggling with that myself since the summer and havent found the right way of thinking/phrasing it, but you are spot on! I dont understand it, I dont get it! The normal 996 looked frankly...like shite... the 996tt, esp in Basalt Black looked hard as f**king nails and to be perfectly honest the exact right comeback after what I thought was a slightly poncy & nancy boy looking 993tt. Now the normal 997 looks far better than the 996 ever did, but somehow they seem to have done a 993 again and produced a Turbo version looking...well...ever so slightly naff.

[markbe]

cyberface said:

flemke said:

Some people might be surprised by how often a wheel that looks great - racy and purposeful - actually works poorly.

Bizarrely enough I reckon this applies to many ladies as well

Serves you right, lower your limmit to 5 pints and what you thought were ladies; are really Russian Olympic Lifting Persons, .
Silly man.

Mark

[adam b]

flemke said:

Chris944 said:

I always thought the 959 looked pretty horrible. It came in some truly awfuly colours too.

There is a metallic violet car that's in the UK and that has got a disproportionate amount of media coverage, so I can see why that might have made a lasting impression on you.

Apart from that anomaly, however, what are the other "truly awful colours"?

erm... how about white with a burgundy woollen interior with grey stripes?

seen a few with Allegro brown interiors too

[flemke]

adam b said:

flemke said:

Chris944 said:

I always thought the 959 looked pretty horrible. It came in some truly awfuly colours too.

There is a metallic violet car that's in the UK and that has got a disproportionate amount of media coverage, so I can see why that might have made a lasting impression on you.

Apart from that anomaly, however, what are the other "truly awful colours"?

erm... how about white with a burgundy woollen interior with grey stripes?

seen a few with Allegro brown interiors too

Those combinations sound grim, but wasn't Chris referring to exterior paint colours?
Carmakers contrive so many either hideous or unbearably boring interiors that as a category they are almost a lost cause.

When you have the time to study the 959 up close, and from every possible angle, you may find that in many respects it is very good looking.

In contrast - and I recognise that this is the ultimate heresy on the "Porsche" forum - although the 2.7 RS is a nice, neat package as a whole, most of its details and contours are uninspired and ordinary.

Edited by flemke on Thursday 5th October 23:21

[Dave 321]

FourWheelDrift said:

997. If I saw a 959 I'd think it was a kitted 911 rather than a real one.

HaHa! So true, there is a "kitted" 993 over here, first time i saw it i was is, it or isnt it a 959?? What a let down! 997 please

[framps]

Thanks. that's all I can say, tear in the eye, the 959 is why I bought a porsche and why I have a big smile every time I look at her in the car park. 1980-s 911 turbo, 959.. ths is why women will never understand why we love our cars.. [beats chest, puts on war paint emoticon]

[adam b]

flemke said:

adam b said:

erm... how about white with a burgundy woollen interior with grey stripes?

seen a few with Allegro brown interiors too

Those combinations sound grim,

it is the actual car in the article. 959 looks OK in black or silver (although the rear still looks very odd and saggy to me) but maybe an odd paint selection was offered but red and white do it no favours and there were a bunch of dodgy 70s colours. Th einteriros were eve odder.

Still thanks for deflecting the attention from me flemke by daring to criticise the beardy types holy grail

[trackdemon]

flemke said:

Carrera2 said:

DO you have anything else that we need to be made aware of? Zonda, konesiggggggg etc maybe?

Carrera,

I may have some other things.
I don't have any cars that have truly misconceived bits (such as Zonda back end or K'egg rear window).
I don't like cars that are stylised with junk, such as Veyron spun-aluminium console, or almost everything on the mind-bendingly ugly Spyker.
I don't care for girls' cars, although I admire women who have them and drive them well.
I prefer NA in sports cars.
I can't stand heavy cars.
I don't have any Italian cars, because of my aversion to dishonesty.

Does that narrow it down enough?

Cheers.

A man of impeccable taste. How is your NSX?