959

Great idea! Long overdue.

 

In person the car is lot more aggressive than images covey.

Another benchmark supercar!

 

That's very true, though I've only been "up close & personal" with 4 of them over the years.

In the flesh? I'd say the design remains quite current & not a bit "dated" looking, though some might argue that point when it comes to the interior.

 

I remember when it came out - it was THE car. but today - it just looks very dated and 80's to me. still is nice but not as iconic as it once was. I remember John Bisigano driving one to Hockeheim ... said he did 200MPH ... it was like a flying saucer when he pulled in to the paddock in it.

 

that's funny, because of the 80's supercars, the 959 is the most technologically relevant...F40/Countach/TR/et al are outdated mechanically with timeless designs. 959 set the tone for how Porsche designs cars to this day (turbos, AWD, active/adjustable suspension, etc).

 

Agree. todays F-1 cars don't look anywhere near as mean and vicious as the cars from the early 90's but they will drive rings around them... F-40 is a simple beast compared to the 959... but if you gave me the choice - it would be the F-40 every day all day. Its the must have Ferrari after 250 GTO, 330P4 and 288GTO....

 

Conversely, I think it has aged particularly well, along with a number of 80s cars we all love, the 288 GTO & F40 amongst them

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Indeed it was meant to be very different from say the F40, an innovative look into the future

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AUTOCAR June 1988, the 959 visited Ferrari's test track @ Fiorano and was tested by a very impressed Ferrari F1 pilot Gerhard Berger

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July 1988

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Another World indeed

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If you go back into period archives you'll find the 959 was extensively tested

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Some may remember EVO magazine's epic 959 vs GTO comparo of Lord John Mexborough's pair

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Image Unavailable, Please Login Fall 1987....I took these pic's at Holberts Porsche in Warrington PA. Truck load of 959's about to be prepped for delivery to US customers.

 

Wow that's crazy. What happened to them since Bill Gates didn't get that Show or Display law passed for some time after that delivery...

 

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A few years back I was with a friend of mine who is a well known car designer. It was a Sunday and I was helping him tune the carbs on his Dino. While we were doing this his friend called and told him that he had a new car to show him. A few minutes later this friend pulls up in a PERFECT 959S with something like 6K miles on it. As car guys we begin to admire and pour over this guys new toy and I tell them that what I will always remember about the 959 is going to the Toronto auto show in 1986 as a kid and seeing one cut in half on display; something that would make a lasting impression on any young car nut like myself.

Upon saying that my friend turns to me and says 'I'm the one who cut it in half'

As it turned out my friend was fresh out of design school and had just landed a dream job at Porsche. He had done a little design work on some interior bits of the 959 and was asked to design a display that would go around the world to showcase the 959. He duly set about noting all the cut lines and designed a display stand that would tour the world. For years he actually kept all of the left over pieces and told me that knowing what he knows now he would have cut the car differently so that he could keep the part with the serial number!

That was really an amazing experience and a story I love to tell.

 

Six (6) 959s in one period image, that's pretty special, thank you for sharing these images.

Not quite six in this image

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Heritage car, the one from which the Porsche Supercars descend.

Image by my friend John Lamm

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Still relevant today?

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Speaking of colors, do we have a record or registry of them, and are these cars in original livery?

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The Metallic Red car was originally destined for the Sultan of Brunei or was a car never delivered to the Sultan. Original PTS,Paint to Sample color. I was actually pursuing it with a client while it was in London. This was 3-4 years ago prior to Canepa purchasing it.