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The idea for 959 was born as early as 1983 when this so-called Guppe B prototype was displayed at Frankfurt Motor Show. While there were glimpses of the contemporary 911 in the Gruppe B – the wheelbase, the roofline, the windows and doors, much of the interior – in truth the new model had little in common with Porsche’s perennial sports car. The production 959 ended up being launched in 1987.
The first prototype receiving those modifications was code named “F3”, and was destroyed in the first crash test. A total of 37 prototypes and pre-production cars were used for testing and press activities. Most of these prototypes were dismantled and discarded, but several managed to survive. In 1985, Porsche’s head of development Helmut Bott earmarked 29 930 Turbo chassis to be turned into 959 prototypes for testing.
The 959 took both first and second place in the 1986 Paris-Dakar rally. For 1986, the Dakar Porsches finally got all the upgrades from the 959 project, including the active four-wheel drive system offering four driving modes adjusted by the computers. This gave Porsche a 1-2 finish, with supporting 959 Dakar engineer Unger Kussmaul crossing the line at sixth. Once the champagne had dried up, Porsche deemed its Dakar program accomplished.
Porsche 959 Komfort
The most advanced Porsche of the 1980s and part of a new breed of supercars. It had an all-wheel-drive system with driver-selectable torque split, adjustable ride height, hollow-spoke magnesium wheels, tire-pressure monitoring, and a six-speed gearbox. Even though the engine was air-cooled, it used water-cooled cylinder heads and twin turbos operating in sequence. This level of technical achievement on the 959 was huge for Porsche.
For some context, the iconic 959 remained Porsche’s fastest production car for a cool 26 years (in its very rare S guise) before the company topped it with the 918 Spyder in 2013. Details on the 959 S are scarce; Porsche made just 29 examples of it, with the 2.8-liter flat-six engine featuring larger turbochargers and the company claiming an “official” output of 508hp and 413lb-ft of torque, over the standard 959’s 444hp. Top speed was 210mph.