Many automotive historians consider the Porsche 959 to be the first of the modern supercars, it featured a long list of previously rare features including: adjustable ride height, run-flat tires, a 444hp flat-6, a monocoque body made from aluminium, carbon fibre, and Kevlar, an advanced all-wheel drive system and a top speed just a whisker below 200 mph. The modified 959 you see here has been altered to make it road legal in the United States and it included replacing the original suspension with “S”-spec gas struts and titanium springs (saving 100s of pounds in weight), and bringing the engine to 959S standards – with new parallel 993-type turbochargers and wastegates that provide full boost at 1500 rpm. The Motronic engine management system was also upgraded to meet stringent California emissions standards. The mechanical upgrades produced breathtaking performance – the engine now delivers 576hp and 501 ft lbs of torque, with a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds and a new top speed of ~215 mph.
Porsche 959 brochure, 1985. Initially built for competition in Group B, the 959 was built by German coachbuilders Baur on a special assembly line overseen by Porsche inspectors. It remained in production until 1993 during which time 345 were produced including prototypes and pre-production models