Discussion
I've always liked the shape of these cars however they are slightly out of my price range at the present.
I remember from my younger days that there were various companies doing body kits for the 911 back in the early 90's.
Were these based on the 964 or 993 cars?
I quite fancy one of these however I have no idea where to look or if there is still someone doing this, if so which model to use as a basis and who doing it?
Any ideas welcome.
I remember from my younger days that there were various companies doing body kits for the 911 back in the early 90's.
Were these based on the 964 or 993 cars?
I quite fancy one of these however I have no idea where to look or if there is still someone doing this, if so which model to use as a basis and who doing it?
Any ideas welcome.
A 959 kitted 964 or 993? Erm... to be frank, that might be an idea best left in your head? Nothing against replicas or recreations at all, but it would have to be an expensive and thorough job to carry it off with any degree of conviction. I've come across 2 such efforts, and they both looked absolutely rank. In any event, because the 959 was such a technological showcase with it's complex 4WD system, sequential Turbo'd race derived engine and so forth, you'd be left with a largely cosmetic job, no? Maybe I'm wrong.
I realise that is would be largely a cosmetic job, but nothing that different from the many different kits you can buy for the later porsches.
However I was poking around a real one at my brothers the other day and I just like the shape.
I have seen one based on a 930 shape and yes it did look cr*p, however there must be something out there....
I was thinking something along the lines of this
www.carclassic.com/stock.asp?Ref=DU23&Lang=en
However I was poking around a real one at my brothers the other day and I just like the shape.
I have seen one based on a 930 shape and yes it did look cr*p, however there must be something out there....
I was thinking something along the lines of this
www.carclassic.com/stock.asp?Ref=DU23&Lang=en
Edited by dictys on Friday 23 March 15:30
dictys said:
I realise that is would be largely a cosmetic job, but nothing that different from the many different kits you can buy for the later porsches.
However I was poking around a real one at my brothers the other day and I just like the shape.
I have seen one based on a 930 shape and yes it did look cr*p, however there must be something out there....
I was thinking something along the lines of this
www.carclassic.com/stock.asp?Ref=DU23&Lang=en
However I was poking around a real one at my brothers the other day and I just like the shape.
I have seen one based on a 930 shape and yes it did look cr*p, however there must be something out there....
I was thinking something along the lines of this
www.carclassic.com/stock.asp?Ref=DU23&Lang=en
Edited by dictys on Friday 23 March 15:30
What any one would want to do that to one of the best looking cars ever is beyond me, each to their own.
steil said:
A set of those wheels must be mucho $$$ even if the GRP isn't...?
If you went out and got a 959 today, it would probably cost something like £110k. A lot of money, but that car would likely have <10,000 miles on the clock.
A 993 TT with similar mileage and in similar condition would cost - what - about £60,000?
My guess is that a set of the four genuine 959 hollow-spoke mag wheels from the factory would go for 10 grand. Not sure about the body parts, but the Kevlar rear engine cover is something like 15 grand itself. So what might the entire set of bodywork run to - 30k if you're "lucky"?
If you get no other original parts, you'll have spent 100 grand before you've turned a wrench.
Suppose that you got Bargain Bernd to do the work for a price - that'll be 10 grand at the absolute minimum.
So now you'll have spent the same as you would have done on the original. Instead of having an original whose value is quite likely to appreciate in the future, you'll have a fake whose value is guaranteed to collapse.
On the other hand, this might be the best way to get a 959 with an "electrical roof".
outofinterest said:
steil said:
A set of those wheels must be mucho $$$ even if the GRP isn't...?
Those wheels aren't original, the 959 ran 16" IIRC. Not a bad attempt but 993TT is beautiful car and would have looked so much better.
959 had 17" wheels - one of the first road cars to have them, and Bridgestone had to develop special tyres to fit and perform at 200 mph.
IMO the 959 is now looking rather dated and it's complexity has contributed to stunted values. Investors and enthusiasts tend to prefer simplicity.
Koln-RS said:
outofinterest said:
steil said:
A set of those wheels must be mucho $$$ even if the GRP isn't...?
Those wheels aren't original, the 959 ran 16" IIRC. Not a bad attempt but 993TT is beautiful car and would have looked so much better.
959 had 17" wheels - one of the first road cars to have them, and Bridgestone had to develop special tyres to fit and perform at 200 mph.
IMO the 959 is now looking rather dated and it's complexity has contributed to stunted values. Investors and enthusiasts tend to prefer simplicity.
First car (IINM) to have run-flats. They originally were developed by Dunlop as "Denlocs", but production switched to Bridgestone.
Agree with you about the complexity, not about the concept of seeming dated. The car's lines are much fresher than, for instance, a 996's.
Main reason investors have been uninspired is age of car. The kids who lusted after 959s are now 30-something. It'll take another 10-15 years before they're old and wealthy enough to go after them aggressively.
Just look at what's happened to 2.7RS prices in the last few years, as they aged into their demographic sweet spot.
Los Angeles said:
The 959 was a much under-rated sports car in its day It didn't sell too well here in the States either. Personally, I think it still looks space-age.
It was not possible to import them into the States during the period of production. They only became U.S. DOT legal in '99 under "Show or Display".
Los Angeles said:
Early on it got blighted as the football player's choice, and indeed I knew one player who owned one and used it to collect his son from primary school each day. Poo. You can still pick up good ones for in California for $5,000 USD.
Five grand, eh?
Los Angeles said:
Hi Flemke,
Rowan, of "Rowan and Martin Laugh-in" fame, owned a 959 way back in the eighties, so am unsure of your comment on imports.
It was passed to his son, Dan Rowan, who totalled it (a lawyer would you guess) making an illegal turn at a junction causing a motorcyclist to T-Bone him amid ships. The biker had been lane running, doing fifty mph between the parked cars at the junction, didn't stop or slow down at the junction blind-siding Rowan. The lawyer was turned on an orange-red. The biker broke his neck and sued for gizzilians.
The celebrity-owned car was a right-off.
I'd love a 959.
Rowan, of "Rowan and Martin Laugh-in" fame, owned a 959 way back in the eighties, so am unsure of your comment on imports.
It was passed to his son, Dan Rowan, who totalled it (a lawyer would you guess) making an illegal turn at a junction causing a motorcyclist to T-Bone him amid ships. The biker had been lane running, doing fifty mph between the parked cars at the junction, didn't stop or slow down at the junction blind-siding Rowan. The lawyer was turned on an orange-red. The biker broke his neck and sued for gizzilians.
The celebrity-owned car was a right-off.
I'd love a 959.
This from Wikipedia is not exactly correct, but it's the general idea:
The 959 was not street legal in the United States prior to 1999 when the "Show and Display" law was finally passed, although an unknown number were imported via the "grey market" during the late 1980s as show pieces. During the model's development, Porsche refused to provide the United States Department of Transportation with the four 959's they required for crash testing, and the car was never certified by the NHTSA for street use in the U.S. With the passage of "Show and Display" the crash test requirements were removed and importation of the 959 was allowed, assuming the car could meet with the local emissions standards that would have existed as of 1987. The 959 can be fitted with a catalytic converter and a rechipped computer which will allow it to meet those emissions requirements. However most owners refuse to modify their 959s, and the cars remain as collection pieces. While the initial selling price was $230,000, today one of these cars would be worth upwards of a million dollars. Most 959s are currently in the hands of collectors, but the ones that are available do occasionally come to market.
So far as I know, there was actually only one car imported to the States, by Otis Chandler of your namesake, which was amongst the US Sport versions that were refused entry in '88.
Chandler was allowed to import the one on the condition that it never be driven on public roads, and the car sat idle in his museum in LA for many years. The other "US Sport" cars that were denied entry, after having been inspected and denied by Dick Merritt of DOT, were sent back to Germany. Porsche had taken deposits on, and made, 29 of these all together, and the other 28 deposits were returned to the disappointed Americans who aimed to bring them in.
The effort for importation was organised by the late Al Holbert, great Porsche racing driver.
I wouldn't know if Reginald Van Rowan was running around in an illegal car, or if he took illegal drugs, or if paid his bills in counterfeit money, or anything else about the bloke. What I can tell you is that, in period, these cars were positively not legal for use in the States.
Interesting seat modification to allow a harness to fit 
http://www.fa-automobile.com/detail-vente.php?car-...
http://www.fa-automobile.com/detail-vente.php?car-...
Edited by steil on Friday 1st June 11:46
I don't know what you guys are getting all het'up about!
I was one of those 'kids' with the Athena poster on my bedroom wall...I still covet the 959 and hope to buy one some day! However, I'm not against anyone wanting the 'look' on an old 964 C4 chassis...4wd, high transmission tunnel, etc.
...the 959 was the C4's dad afterall!
I was one of those 'kids' with the Athena poster on my bedroom wall...I still covet the 959 and hope to buy one some day! However, I'm not against anyone wanting the 'look' on an old 964 C4 chassis...4wd, high transmission tunnel, etc.
...the 959 was the C4's dad afterall!
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff