Porsche's finest: the 959 up close and personal ...

[Wouter Melissen]

Dear Ultimatecarpage.com visitor,

German manufacturer Porsche celebrates its sixtieth anniversary in 2008. Earlier this year we highlighted the very first and now it is time to take a closer look at the very best; the 959. Originally developed to compete in the popular Group B category, the 959 grew out to be one of the fastest and certainly the most advanced road cars of the 1980s. Porsche's talented engineers pulled everything out of their big hats and equipped the road racer with exotic technology throughout. They had to learn as they went along to create an active four-wheel drive system and anti-lock brakes. Power comes from a 450 bhp flat six engine that was closely related to the Le Mans winning 956 Group C cars. It propelled three modified examples to a first, second and sixth in the 1986 edition of the grueling Paris-Dakar rally. Unlike most other supercars the 959 is fitted with a luxurious interior with electronic controls throughout and even air conditioning.
Recently our photographer Rob Clements caught up with almost a dozen examples. He provided a 12-shot gallery and we have backed it up with an in-depth, 2200 word article on quite possibly the finest car to roll out of the Stuttgart factory.

1986 - 1988 Porsche 959 - Images, Specifications and Information

Regards,
Wouter Melissen

[Tall_G]

Damn ugly though, especially compared to the crude but effective F40 or 288GTO. Would still cut off my left testy for one though.
My favourite Porsche? The 962. Doubt I'd even fit in it without cutting my legs off, but something about it makes me want to suspend time and gaze at it until my eyes collapse. Especially like the Schuppan raod-going version, except for the front indicator lights which look like they came off a Morris 1000.

[NSXType-R]

How many 959s were there at the meet?

And what is Quail?

Where is this event held? Thanks.

[clutch-monkey]

nice pics wouter, always liked this car although the loks are a bit yes/no

Damn ugly though, especially compared to the crude but effective F40 or 288GTO. Would still cut off my left testy for one though.
My favourite Porsche? The 962. Doubt I'd even fit in it without cutting my legs off, but something about it makes me want to suspend time and gaze at it until my eyes collapse. Especially like the Schuppan raod-going version, except for the front indicator lights which look like they came off a Morris 1000.

speaking of schuppan, i only just raced against the 956 he used to pilot (perhaps raced isn't the right word; blasted past me like i had my handbrake on)

[cmcpokey]

How many 959s were there at the meet?

And what is Quail?

Where is this event held? Thanks.

The Quail is a gathering outside of Monterey during the Car Week surrounding Pebble Beach Concourse.

[Kitdy]

Good article, I figure it was just an update, not a new article.

Bit of a mistake in the second last paragraph:

A final version of the 959 was developed late in 1987. Dubbed the 'Sport,' it was an extensively lightened version of the standard, or 'Comfort' 959. By stripping luxury items like electric windows, leather power seats and air-conditioning, as well as removing the adjustable ride height control, a total of 100 kg was shaved off the kerb weight of the original 959.AIn ingenious attempt to make the 959 available for some of its American customers a second version of the 'Sport' was developed. Fitted with a full roll cage and stripped of its adjustable dampers, it was marketed as a racing car. This meant that the strict emission and safety standards did not apply. The American thought otherwise and sent the first batch of seven cars back to Germany.

You know Wouter, your write ups are the best I've seen on the web and a good summary for those hardcore enough to be interested, but not hardcore enough to read a book about the cars. My only complaint is that there are some cars missing sadly, and a lot of the modern cars don't have your write ups. Both are understandable however. Keep up the good work as usual.

[Tall_G]

I wonder if the lightened "Sport" version was in response to the F40? Mind you with Porsche's competition pedigree, they wouldn't have to justify a stripped-out version to anyone.

[NSXType-R]

The Quail is a gathering outside of Monterey during the Car Week surrounding Pebble Beach Concourse.

Had a feeling that it wasn't organized by our quail.

[cmcpokey]

Had a feeling that it wasn't organized by our quail.

for more info, see: http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/event...Gathering.html

[Wouter Melissen]

Good article, I figure it was just an update, not a new article.

Bit of a mistake in the second last paragraph:

Thanks for the head's up. The article is brand new.

You know Wouter, your write ups are the best I've seen on the web and a good summary for those hardcore enough to be interested, but not hardcore enough to read a book about the cars. My only complaint is that there are some cars missing sadly, and a lot of the modern cars don't have your write ups. Both are understandable however. Keep up the good work as usual.

Believe it or not, my days also only consist of 24 hours. Furthermore, if we would feature all cars ever made, then I would be out of a job.

[Kitdy]

Believe it or not, my days also only consist of 24 hours. Furthermore, if we would feature all cars ever made, then I would be out of a job.

Yes I know, which is why I said: "Both are understandable however."

Though it is my complaint that there aren't more proper write ups, I realise that that there isn't really a solution short of others doing the write ups and don't think that this is practical for you.