Porsche 961 – Some History

The Porsche 959 project began in 1981, immediately after Peter Schutz, the new general manager, took over at Porsche. Helmut Bott, a senior engineer at the time, introduced the new manager to the concept of the future 959. Bott knew Porsche needed a sports car that would embody its sporting spirit and be competitive for the next few years. Rather than take the easy way out and use proven designs, Porsche decided to draw on its accumulated knowledge, experience, and technological advances to create the car of the future—a car that would be unrivaled on the road or racetrack. Seeing Group B rally racing as an attractive arena for testing a new car with its innovative all-wheel drive, Porsche began developing the Typ 959, with an eye toward its participation in the International Rally Championship. Initially, a “test lab”—the Type 953, designated the Porsche 911SC 4×4—was prepared to test the all-wheel drive system. The model made its racing debut at the 1984 Paris-Dakar Rally, where it won.