1986 Porsche "Vorserie"

1986 Porsche "Vorserie"
Sold for $687,500 Including Commission
RM Auction, Amelia Island, Florida 2014
Chassis no. WPOZZZ93ZFS010063
Engine no. 65F00044
450 bhp, 2,849 cc DOHC air/water-cooled horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine with twin turbochargers and electronic fuel injection, six-speed manual transmission, all-wheel drive, front and rear independent suspension with upper and lower A-arms, coil springs, dual shocks, adjustable ride height and damping, and front and rear disc brakes. Wheelbase: 89.5 in.

•One of 21 pre-production examples
•Factory demonstrator until 1989
•Complete factory rebuild to production Komfort specification
•Documented and always serviced by Porsche
•Only two private owners from new
•The fastest and most technologically advanced road car of its time


It has been said that Porsche's revolutionary Type 959 Coupe was and remains one of that company's most groundbreaking achievements. The 959 was the culmination of a dream harbored by Porsche's then chief engineer, Helmut Bott, who was trying to find a way to keep the 911 series in production years into the future. Bott convinced new Managing Director Peter Schutz that developing a state-of-the-art 911-based chassis for Group B rallying would ensure a steady flow of improvements, such as all-wheel drive, which became the company's most important product. The radical Gruppe B supercar prototype was unveiled at the 1983 Frankfurt Auto Show to great acclaim.

The cabin of the stunning new coupe was clearly identifiable as a 911, but both the nose and tail were drastically modified for aerodynamic efficiency. The Gruppe B Porsche featured a computer-controlled AWD system, along with suspension that could be adjusted for varying road clearance, which was an imperative for off-road competition. The 2.8-liter, flat-six engine was still mounted in the tail, but it was a true racing unit, with double overhead cams on each bank, a pair of sequentially operated turbochargers, and electronic fuel injection.

The cylinders were air cooled, but the cylinder heads themselves were water cooled. This was a practice that was first developed for the company's 935 Le Mans racing engines. Later, it was advanced further for the company's ill-starred Indianapolis project, and then it was plugged into the Type 961, the 959's racing sister. In street form, this engine produced a conservative 450 horsepower at 6,500 rpm, with 370 foot-pounds of torque at 5,500 rpm. The sequential turbochargers allowed for a relatively seamless delivery of power from low rpms, virtually eliminating the "turbo lag" that was common to single-turbo engines of the period.

The rest of the drivetrain was of an equally brilliant design. The transaxle contained five forward speeds, plus a special, extremely low G gear for off-road use and the usual single reverse cog. The chassis featured automatic ride height options, adjustable shock absorbers, and a traction-control system that allowed torque to be varied between the front and rear axles. The 959s were fitted with 17-inch diameter, Denloc magnesium-alloy wheels, which were eight inches wide in the front and nine inches in the rear. These special wheels featured hollow spokes and a pressure-monitoring system, making the 959 one of the first models to use this technology.

The bodywork was also highly advanced for its day, as plastic body panels that were reinforced with glass-fiber and Kevlar were used, as well as aluminum framing and doors. The floorpan was a composite material that was lined with fire-resistant Nomex. All of this made for a very robust and rigid body shell, and it helped the 959 achieve an amazingly low curb weight of less than 3,200 pounds in street trim. Under hard acceleration, the 959's torque-biasing system shifted up to 80% of the available torque to the rear-drive wheels, allowing this fabulous machine to hit 60 mph in less than four seconds, a stunning number for the day, and a top speed of nearly 200 mph. Dazzled reviewers gave this extremely radical and sophisticated package top marks for on-the-road behavior. The UK magazine Car espoused, "Push the throttle to the carpet and the engine note would deepen as the two turbos delivered more boost, and the car would jump. The danger threshold, we thought, was passed at about 185mph, 12mph short of the car's true maximum."

The sudden and unexpected demise of the FIA's Group B Rally Championship left Porsche in a precarious bind, as it had already committed to building the minimum of 200 examples required for homologation, and it had invested a great deal of resources and stature to the project. Production had to go forward. The production 959 would therefore be offered in two versions, the Komfort, which included air conditioning, leather sports seats, and numerous power accessories, and the lighter-weight Sport, whithout those.

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Robert Myrick Photography