The Porsche 959 is one of the greatest sports cars ever to be assembled and touch the black asphalt which covers the roads on which the 959 is an undisputed champion. The 959 is one of if not the greatest Porsche ever assembled and is just as rare as its title as a world class sports car. In 1983 Porsche wanted to enter the Group B racing category of the FIA since the Group C Porsches were doing quite well. To enter the Group B category, only 200 exact cars of the racing model had to be put into production. Porsche liked the idea of such few cars to have to be produced since Group C required 5,000 cars be produced to race. Porsche wanted a formidable car to race in the Group B and wanted a car produced with unrivaled capabilities. There were two realistic options for the new car, create a whole new car or base it on the tried and true 911. Nothing ever beats experience and the 911 was chosen as the basis for the 959.

In October of '83, it was announced that 200 models of the 959 would be produced and sold to selected persons for a price tag of around 300,000-DM (German Deutsche Marks). For three years Porsche engineers studied and worked on the 959's prototypes and designs. When they were ready with prototype in '85, they gave it to the engineers who would make it able to become a street-machine. Even though the 959 is based structurally and aesthetically on the 911, it really is a very different car in looks and how it is made. The chassis consists of reinforced horizontal side members and an integrated roll-bar cage.

The 959's body panels are similar to the 911's, but are made out of completely different materials. The 911's body is made out of unit steel while the 959's front bonnet and doors are the only part of the body constructed out of metal, which is a special aluminum alloy that is 57% lighter than the steel used on the 911. The rest of the 959's body is constructed out of Kevlar reinforced plastic. Kevlar is used despite its high cost because it is the strongest material to weight ratio of any other material available. On the floor of the Porsche are sheets of Nomex to also increase strength without the weight. The 959 uses some of the most expensive and sophisticated materials available even by today's standards.

The building of the body of the Porsche 959 is quite a grueling and precision requiring event. Once the Kevlar body panels have hardened, they cannot be sanded, so mistakes are not an option while dealing with the panels of this sports car. After all of the Kevlar body pieces have been successfully glued onto the body, then the aluminum alloy pieces are added and then the polyurethane bumpers are attached to front and rear end of the car. The windshield is also made out of a special glass called Sekuriflex, which has a plastic sheet covering the inside of the glass so that if an impact occurs to the windshield, no glass fragments will be showered onto the car occupants. The building of the 959 body is quite an art and with the special materials that are used to make it allow the car to be as light and strong as materials can possibly allow.

The Porsches 959's suspension system is also state-of-the-art and is very sophisticated in its workings. The 959 sits 120 mm above the ground, but can be adjusted by the driver with a switch to be raised to either 150 mm or 180 mm depending on the road conditions. The car travels up to 80 kmph at 180 mm when thecomputer in the car automatically lowers it 150 mm and when the car reaches 160 kmph, the car automatically lowers itself to 120 mm for the lowest amount of drag at the high speeds. Also controllable by the driver is the hardness of the shock absorbers. They can be set for either a soft, medium, or hard stiffness depending on what the driver feels necessary for his travels and the car also changes the stiffness automatically when it lowers the car in order for the best amount of control of the car at certain speeds.

The brakes and wheels are quite remarkable on this ultimate car. The wheels are 17 inch alloys with hollow spokes that connect into the tire forming a tire-rim cooperation. Inside the central hub of the wheel is a pressure monitor that monitors the pressure inside the tire-wheel chamber. This information relays to a computer and if any of the tires get below a certain pressure, an alarm will go off to notify the driver that a wheel is low in pressure giving the driver time to react to the problem. The brakes used to stop these amazing wheels are also very special in order to stop this machine at such great speeds. The Porsche has four vented and drilled disks that are 322 mm in diameter for the front and 304 mm in diameter for the rear.

The brakes have four-piston calipers along with a top-notch ABS system to protect against locking up the wheels when stopping at great speeds. The Porsche 959 has a 2.85 liter horizontally opposed six cylinder Porsche engine to power the car triple digit speeds.

The cylinder heads are cooled by water instead of air like the 911 because air was not sufficient enough in cooling the heads from this amazing machine. The exhaust gases are taken from the engine through the T-manifolds into the two turbochargers which unlike other twin turbocharged cars, the turbines spin sequentially to get rid of the lag experienced when two turbochargers work parallel. The gas pressure of the exhaust are pushed through one valve to the first turbocharger and spins that one only for optimum performance. When more pressure is added to the turbocharger, a second valve opens up and starts spinning the second turbine. This allows the car to get good performance from two turbines by combining them when enough pressure is present to spin both turbines with enough power to allow the car to experience little lag from the lack of power of two turbines running at low RPM speed.

The 2.85 flat six of the 959 produces an astounding 450 horsepower which is more than the 3.3 liter Porsche 911 Turbo (Type 930). The Porsche power plant produces roughly 185 hp per liter which happens to be a technological marvel in itself. The 2.85 liter engine is definitely unique in its size and power. To accommodate for the large number of ratios required for driving the car, a six-speed gearbox was designed and fitted to a single-plated hydraulic clutch. The 959's transmission is an all wheel drive system to give the Porsche four-wheel drive for ultimate traction on all ground, even rough or uneven ground. The PSK (Porsche SteuerKupplung) or Porsche command clutch, controls the distribution of power between the front and two axles. A computer and circuits measure the amount of pressure between the plates in the PSK and adjust power displacement from the front and back accordingly. The 959 could go from 0/100 front/rear power displacement to 50/50 in a split second, but the car is in 20/80 unless the computer transfers the power to slipping axle. The distribution of the power to the wheels can be selected by the driver on the steering wheel and a new computer chip can be inserted to change the distribution ratios to what the driver needs.

Despite being based on the 911 body, only the taillights are a recognizable remaining trait from the familiar car. A great deal of study and tests allowed the Porsche engineers to develop the body styling of the 959. The rear wing and decklid are all one whole piece so that the wing can be a wraparound style, which prevents lift at high speeds. The air intakes on the rear fender feed directly to the two intercoolers that cool the twin turbochargers. The many air intakes pass air to cool the many hot and working parts of the 959 so as not be damaged and obviously they work quite well.

Inside the 959, the space is close to the 911's which was what was desired by the engineers. On the instrument panel in front of the driver are the five main dials like a 911, but they differ slightly from the 911. The first dial on the left is for the 21 gallon fuel tank and the oil pressure. The next one over shows the temperature of the cooling system and the oil. Then in the middle is the large RPM gauge that goes to 9000. Next over is the speedometer which goes to 340 kph and the odometer. On the far right of the panel instead of the normal clock, is the dial that indicates which driving program the car is in (dry tarmac, wet, snow, and difficult terrain. A light corresponds to which of the driving programs is selected for the car to adjust its front/rear AWD system. On the dash near the steering wheel are the switches and buttons to choose the driving program, the height of the car, and the stiffness of the suspension. The interior is high-quality Porsche hand stitched leather seats or material if the driver wishes. The 959 keeps the tradition of luxury and comfort even in their sports car the 959 with a/c, power windows and locks, rear de-froster and the whole kit-and-caboodle.

The Porsche 959 was produced in a US Sport version in 1987 in a number of 30 cars. However the Porsche 959 is not a legal car in the United States and never will be. There is not one single legal 959 in the States despite the fact that a few people still own them illegally. When the first 8 of the 959's were shipped to America, the EPA sent 7 of them back to Europe and the only one left in the US was allowed to stay since it would be kept in a car museum in California and never to be driven on the road or race track. The 22 959's still left in Europe were kept there for the owners, who had already purchased them, to come and drive them in Europe, but most of them sold the cars instead. Bill Gates purchased four 959's but all are impounded. The three "legal" 959's that were let into the United States were all hunted down and the owners fined while the cars were impounded. The prices for a 959 sell for about $950,000 and about 600,000-DM in Germany.

The reason they are illegal in the US is that Porsche wasn't willing to give up 4 959's for crash testing to the EPA since the 959's were made in such limited numbers. As long as the EPA decides not to let the 959's in, they are all illegal. In 1996 however, two new 959's were made. Porsche pressed the body pieces and everything, but the two 959's were assembled by a different company. Weird if you ask me. It is quite a shame that the 959's are not allowed in the United States legally and we only missing out on these magnificent machines.

Four of the eight 959's first shipped to the US

The US Sport models of the 959

An illegal US 959

In 1986 Porsche entered the Le Mans race with the racing model of the 959, the 961. The 961 was slightly modified from the 959 with better brakes and an adjustable rear stabilizer bar. Also the engine was greatly increased with 640 horsepower to give the incredible car even more power at its disposal. The 961 placed first in its class and seventh overall in the competition.

The Porsche 959 is one of the greatest engineered cars ever to be built and is undisputedly one of the greatest sports cars ever. The Porsche 959 has no equals and will tear apart the competition with its amazing power and versatility as a sports car. The 959 will forever be an ultimate sports car!

Specifications for the Porsche 959

Engine: Horizontally opposed 6 cylinder, 24-valve DOHC aluminum block and water-cooled heads
Bore and stroke: 3.74" x 2.64"
Displacement: 174 cu.in. or 2849cc
Max boost pressure: 14.0 psi
Horsepower: 450@6,500 rpm
Power to weight ratio: 6.6 lbs per horsepower
Compression ratio: 8.3:1 Cd: .31
Fuel system: Bosch Motronic
Induction: Twin sequential turbocharging
Drivetrain: 6 speed electronically controlled 4wd with 4 settings
Suspension: Electronically adjustable independent f/r with upper and lower A arms, hydraulic shocks, anti-roll bar/coil.
Body: Kevlar and aluminum
Dimensions: Curb weight: 2,917 lbs
Wheelbase: 89.4"
Length: 167.7"
Width: 72.4"
Height: 47.2"
Brakes and Wheels: ABS, power assisted, vented, cross drilled disks 17x8.0" front,17x9.0" rear cast magnesium wheels with pressure sensors to detect hairline cracks
Fuel Economy: 13 mpg
Performance: 0-60mph: 3.6 seconds (US version: 3.5s) 0-100: 8.3 0-125: 12.7 0-140: 19.0 0-1/4 mile: 11.8s @119 mph
Top Speed: 198 mph