This RoadScholars video compares two legendary Porsche 959 variants: the Komfort and the far rarer Sport. Set in North Carolina, the host reflects on the 959’s origins, tracing its development back to the early 1980s when Porsche used Group B rally racing as a testbed for groundbreaking technology. Though costly to build, the 959 became a rolling laboratory whose innovations still influence Porsche today.
Only 292 production cars were made, including just 29 Sport models. Both versions share an advanced aluminum, Kevlar, and Nomex chassis, all-wheel drive, adjustable suspension technology, magnesium wheels with early tire-pressure monitoring, and a 2.8-liter sequential twin-turbo flat-six paired with a six-speed manual featuring a special rally “G” gear.
The Komfort emphasizes usability, with adjustable hydraulic suspension, leather interior, air conditioning, and rear seats, weighing about 3,200 pounds. The Sport strips out comforts for performance, using fixed coil-over suspension, lightweight trim, racing seats, harnesses, and a factory roll cage. It’s roughly 200 pounds lighter and gains about 50 horsepower, making it sharper, rarer, and more focused—two nearly identical icons with distinctly different missions.
Source: RoadScholars
