Porsche 959

First shown as a concept car in 1983 called the Gruppe B, the Porsche 959 is a very special car that was used to develop new technologies implemented in production cars. The 959 is responsible for developing Porsche’s first all-wheel drive system that breathed new life into the 911. This all-wheel drive system became standard on all 911 Turbos starting with the 993 variant. The advancements Porsche made with the 959 are still utilized by the sports car manufacturers to this day. It’s possible that the 959 is one of the most significant Porsches ever produced. Only 337 cars were built from 1986 to 1989.

During the 1980s, Group B rally racing was one of the most popular motor sports,and it was particularly popular amongst manufactures to try new technologies and prove reliability in some of the most grueling conditions. Porsche saw this as the perfect environment to test their state-of-the-art, cost-no-object technological innovation project.

Performance.
The Porsche 959 could accelerate from 0-62 mph in just 3.7 mph. Top speed of the 959 was 197 mph making it the fastest production car in the world for 1986. The driver can select 3 ride heights; the lowest being suitable for sport driving and circuit track driving, the mid level ride height could be used for getting over bumps and street driving. The final ride height offers the most ground clearance and was designed for rally type driving. Porsche wanted to prove to the world that they could build a world class super car.

Motor sports.
Porsche intended the 959 to compete in group B racing as a way to test new technologies which would be implemented into production cars.The 959 competed in the 1986 Paris Dakar Rally and resulted in a 1-2 finish.