This Porsche 959 Prototype Is One of Very Few Surviving Examples In Existence

This Might Look Like A Production Porsche 959 At A Glance, But It Definitely Is Not

This Porsche 959 Prototype Is One of Very Few Surviving Examples In Existence Exterior
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This Porsche 959 Prototype Is One of Very Few Surviving Examples In Existence Exterior
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I wouldn’t criticize you if you tried to say this was a normal Porsche 959, as the body does look pretty similar to the production car. However, this isn’t the case. In fact, as if being one the few surviving examples of just 12 prototypes built didn’t make this car rare enough, it’s also one of the few that were finished in Ruby Red. The car was apparently designed specifically for electric system testing and hot weather testing on the U.S. West Coast and in Europe.

This Porsche 959 Prototype Is One of Very Few Surviving Examples In Existence Interior
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This Porsche 959 Prototype Is One of Very Few Surviving Examples In Existence Interior
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Still need proof that this is an authentic prototype, well that proof comes on the inside. Throughout the testing phase, several different interior layouts were installed, including one with different seats. You can find extra and disconnected electric wiring under the passenger seat along with hard mounts for the electronic testing equipment next to the rear seats. The car is also lacking power steering, ride-height control, a passenger-side mirror, alarm, windshield washer, and the fuel filler cap among other things.

Porsche 959 specifications
Engine 2849 cc Bi-turbocharged flat-6
Bore x stroke 95.0 x 67.0 mm
Compression ratio 8.3:1
Horsepower (DIN) 444 HP @ 6,500 RPM
Torque 370 LB-FT @ 5,500 RPM
Fuel delivery elect. port injection
Transmission 6-speed manual
0-60 mph 3.7 seconds
Top Speed 197 mph

This 959 Prototype’s History Is Interesting

This Porsche 959 Prototype Is One of Very Few Surviving Examples In Existence Exterior
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This Porsche 959 Prototype Is One of Very Few Surviving Examples In Existence Exterior
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How much do you think the asking price is?

Swipe up to learn more about it, see the full gallery, and find a link to the sale listing!

After the Porsche 969 hit the production lines, Porsche destroyed most of the other prototypes that were built alongside this one. This car, however, was imported into the U.S. in the latter half of the 1980s and was displayed like a trophy at the HQ of Vasek Polak – a Porsche importer and dealer. Sometime after that, it was shipped off to Japan for demonstrational activities before being sold to Belgium and later the United Kingdom. The car eventually made it back to its homeland of Germany, where it’s currently on sale. According to the listing, it has just 26,520 km (16,478 miles) on the odometer, but the asking price is a mystery. If you’re interested in owning a very rare care, you’ll have to contract the owner through Mechatronik to find out how much you’ll have to shell out.

Source: Mechatronik

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How The Porsche 959 Rally Legend Redefined The Nature of Supercars

How The Porsche 959 Rally Legend Redefined The Nature of Supercars
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How The Porsche 959 Rally Legend Redefined The Nature of Supercars
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The five-minute video is both a history lesson on the race-spec 959 and a highlight footage of the car’s Paris-Dakar adventure. It documents how the 959 was designed and developed and it talks about its then-revolutionary all-wheel-drive system. It also gives us a closer look at the twin-turbocharged inline-six engine, rated at 400 horsepower, and the adjustments Porsche had to make to turn the 959 into a rally race winner.

Finally, it talks a bit about how the three Porsche 959s fielded in the 1986 Paris-Dakar Rally finished the race in first, second, and sixth positions, scoring a historic win for the German brand.

How The Porsche 959 Rally Legend Redefined The Nature of Supercars
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How The Porsche 959 Rally Legend Redefined The Nature of Supercars
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The 959 did more than just race at Paris-Dakar, though. While the video doesn’t mention it, simply because it documents this historic event only, the 959 was also raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Called the 961, it won its class and finished seventh overall in 1986.

How The Porsche 959 Rally Legend Redefined The Nature of Supercars
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How The Porsche 959 Rally Legend Redefined The Nature of Supercars
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Of course, the 959 is actually more famous as a road-going car.

Introduced in 1986, it was the world’s fastest streel-legal production car with top speeds of up to 211 mph.

It was also considered the most technologically advanced sports car of its time and set the standard for the competition. It also provided the basis for Porsche’s first all-wheel drive 911, the Carrera 4. Fitted with a twin-turbo, 2.8-liter flat-six engine rated at up to 523 horsepower, the 959 remained in production until 1993. Porsche built 337 units in seven years.