Porsche 959 Sport

The stakes couldn’t have been higher. The technological advancements in the 1980s through the developed use of turbocharging saw motorsport and road cars catapult forward in terms of pace. With the race to 200mph in full swing, road and race cars alike saw power jump into the high 300s, 400s and beyond. After the launch and success of Ferrari’s 288 GTO in 1984 with innovative, lightweight composite body panelling and a turbocharged powerplant offering both high power and torque, every year brought faster and faster variants.

When Ferrari started production of the 288 GTO in 1984, Porsche had been in Africa with its 953. A naturally aspirated 911 with a manually adjustable four-wheel-drive system, designed specifically for the task but as a testbed for various systems, the car took victory at the Paris-Dakar rally. In terms of the technological race, Ferrari’s GTO was virtually stationary compared to Porsche’s efforts.

This victory at Dakar marked a significant achievement for Porsche. The future of the 911 was in doubt already with the creation of the 924, 944 and 928 suggesting Porsche would ditch its roots in favour of a more traditional front-engined, rear-wheel-drive layout. Despite an internal battle over the future of front-engined over rear-engined layout, the win enabled chief engineer Helmuth Bott, to continue the development of a secret, ‘Super 911’. If it were to be the last ‘911’ instalment, it needed to conquer all; on the road, on the race track and even the rally scene too.

In the wake of the 1973 OPEC oil embargo and ensuing crisis, which lead to slowing down of technical development; motorsport regulations were changed to form Group B. This ‘no-limits’ motorsport was created to once more inspire technological innovation in all aspects of automotive research and development. Porsche were keen to get in the action, developing the 953 into the 959 with the addition of twin turbochargers; the FIA regulation stipulated 200 production cars would be needed to comply. The ‘Gruppe B’ concept was first shown in 1983, the 959 prototypes were built in 1985 and the first customer cars weren’t shipped until 1987. This meant that after Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresta’s fatal crash at the 1986 Tour de Corse, by the time the cars were in customers hands, the era of Group B was over.

Whilst the 959 has long stood as Porsche's response to Ferrari's 288 GTO, the original supercar and arriving two years before Ferrari’s iconic F40, it was a very German approach to speed. Unlike the 288, it introduced technological features that were unheard of in the automotive market and provided an excellent platform for Porsche to prove their engineering mettle. In addition to its world-beating performance, the 959 was not only very in keeping with the marque’s design language, but most importantly it was usable on a day-to-day basis.

Bott had earmarked 29 911 Turbo 3.3s to form the basis of the 959 prototype and pre-production cars. The engine shared very little with the 930’s turbocharged 3.3-litre flat-six. Instead it was more closely related to that of the 956 & 962 race cars – water cooled cylinder heads and dual, sequential turbochargers. An extensive array of motorsport-grade parts saw the 959 benefit from titanium con rods, forged alloy pistons and Nikasil-lined cylinders.

Powered by an all-alloy 2.85-litre flat-six, the 959 generated a peak power output of 450hp.In ‘Komfort’ specification, this was already 55bhp more than the 288’s 394bhp. In ‘Sport’ trim, the 959 produced 510hp, or over 100 bhp more than the Ferrari. Whilst the Komfort was good for 197mph, Porsche claimed the Sport would eclipse that speed by just 1 mph. True to form, that claim was rather conservative and in reality, the Sport would reach 211mph.

The intricate four-wheel-drive system featured a complex computer-controlled torque split, helping deploy its power and resulting in a 0-60 sprint of just 3.9 seconds. The 959 was a technological tour-de-force; ABS brakes, tyre pressure sensors, adjustable ride height, hollow-spoke magnesium wheels and a six-speed (5+1) gearbox. This was all offered with the expected Porsche luxuries-not least a totally usable Porsche interior. These innovations would later become mainstays in the automotive industry, later showing that Porsche’s engineers were years ahead of their time when developing the 959.

The 959 was built using the standard 911's galvanized steel body shell but with composite Kevlar reinforced plastic wings, rocker covers, roof panel, and an aluminium bonnet and door skins. Compared to Porsche's other ventures in the 1980s, particular attention was paid to aerodynamic efficiency in the 959, including a flat bottom, resulting in a 0.31 coefficient of drag (compared to the same year 911 Turbo, which scored a 0.40 Cd).

The transmission had six forward gears, although at the time Porsche did not have a homologated ‘6-speed’. Instead the gearbox in the 959 was a more traditional 5-speed, with an additional low range 1st gear. Each wheel received ventilated disc brakes with hydraulic assist and ABS. The transaxle tube included Porsche's PSK variable-centre differential, which managed the torque divisions between the front and rear axle. A second PSK was fitted in the rear axle to work as a form of limited-slip differential. This setup allowed the driver to adapt to road conditions by selecting between 'traction,' 'ice and snow,' 'wet' and 'dry' settings. The 959 even featured the world’s first run flat tyres, Bridgestone’ RE71 Denloc.

Please note, this vehicle is no longer for sale.