PORSCHE

An absolute rarity: 1987 Porsche 959 for sale with only 5,666 Km

One of the rare Porsche 959s legally imported to the United States is up for sale at Mecum Auctions, and it has only 5,666 km.

Only 292 examples of the road-going 959 Komfort were ever produced, and this one was imported to the United States in the early 2000s and modified to meet local emissions standards. It has a 2.8-liter six-cylinder engine and a 6-speed manual transmission.

The car has a sleek, dark gray finish and retains the original 17-inch wheels shod with Michelin tires. The interior is equally well-suited to a car from this era, with black leather on the seats, door panels, and dashboard.

Power and speed are the essence of the 959's excellence. With rocket-like acceleration and the highest top speed we've ever measured, the 959 stands out at the pinnacle of production car performance. If that sounds like an exaggeration, what about a 0-100 km/h acceleration in 3.6 seconds? Or 0-160 km/h in a mere 8.8 seconds, 193 km/h in 12.4 seconds, and 225 km/h in just under 20 seconds? The 959 devours the quarter mile in exactly 12 seconds, with a top speed of 187 km/h.

We recorded these numbers at the Hockenheim-Ring, venue for this year's German Grand Prix, using a starting procedure recommended by Manfred Bantle, director of the 959 project. The procedure consisted of locking the 959's programmable all-wheel drive system, engaging first gear, revving the engine to 7,000 rpm, and releasing the clutch. The result was a cloud of rubber dust kicked up by the four Bridgestone RE71 tires spinning, and a car that disappeared as if it had been shot out of a cannon.

As remarkable as these accelerations were, the 959 was equally impressive when accelerated more normally. In tests without wheel spin and with minimal clutch slippage, it accelerated from 0 to 96 km/h in just 4.9 seconds.

Unlike most ultra-high-performance cars, the 959 is surprisingly easy to drive. This is especially true if you start in the lowest gear of the transmission's six gears — although Porsche, inexplicably, discourages this practice on public roads, identifying the lowest gear with a "G," for Gellinde (terrain). When starting in "G," a minimum of clutch slippage is necessary to help the engine get into the ideal power range. The clutch actuation is a little heavy, but very progressive, and shifting gears is a pleasure. The lever has been moved about eight centimeters back from the usual 911 position, and the linkage doesn't have that rubbery feel we expect in rear-engined cars. Instead, the 959 shifts gears with a wonderfully smooth and fluid action. And with six gears at your disposal, the driver can drive the engine gently or wildly.

These two personalities are clearly defined by the transition from single-turbo operation to twin-turbo operation. The 959's engine — with its 24 valves, four overhead camshafts, two turbochargers and intercoolers, two water-cooled cylinder heads, and six titanium connecting rods — is essentially a domesticated version of the powerful 962 racing engine. These engines thrive at high revs but are generally weak at low revs. The solution in the 959 is a staged turbocharging system. At low revs, all the exhaust flow is directed through just one turbocharger, quickly bringing the engine to its optimal rev range. Pressure starts to build from 1500 rpm; by around 3000 rpm, the maximum pressure of 14.5 psi is available. The second turbocharger kicks in around 4300 rpm, freeing up the engine's breathing capacity at high revs. The 959, in turn, revs as if a second set of cylinders were activated.

With 444 hp at 6500 rpm, the 959's 2.8-liter six-cylinder boxer engine produces over 156 hp per liter. To give you an idea, the Callaway Corvette's twin-turbo V8 has twice the displacement of the 959's engine, but produces about 100 hp less, resulting in a specific power output of only 60 hp per liter.

Despite its impressive power, the 959's all-aluminum engine is always smooth and refined. It idles smoothly at 800 rpm, can be driven at 1000 rpm in sixth gear without vibration or jolts, and is quieter than a production 911 engine. When it goes into turbo mode, the power is felt as a strong surge, not a sudden punch. This smoothness at the extremes of the power curve allows the driver to use the 959's tremendous power with confidence.

The project director, Bantle, firmly believes that speed without safety and stability is meaningless, and we were eager to see if his car would offer both. The 959 was in our hands for only 24 hours, so we didn't have time to find a track where we could measure its top speed. We had to do it the German way: on the Autobahn. We opted to drive at night when traffic was minimal, but conditions were far from ideal: our test stretch had only two lanes and wasn't perfectly straight. Even so, we recorded an average of 306 km/h (190 mph) in both directions, without ever feeling like we were driving at the limit. According to the factory, the 959 reaches 314 km/h (195 mph) if you have enough space.

Driving at these speeds is completely comfortable in the 959. Porsche claims it doesn't generate aerodynamic lift at high speed, and we have no reason to doubt that. In our tests, the 959 never felt light and always maintained a straight and precise trajectory. Neither crosswinds nor the wake of low-speed trucks seemed capable of diverting it from its path.

In fact, every aspect of the 959 inspires confidence in its high-speed capabilities. The power steering has the remarkable automatic return to center, similar to the 928. The door and window seals are precise and limit wind noise. The brakes are powerful and do not lose efficiency, regardless of braking intensity or speed. At virtually any cruising speed, the engine seems to be working at a slow pace. And the independent suspension with control arms keeps body movements firm, yet still absorbs impacts smoothly. Moreover, the 959 offers a more comfortable ride than the 911.

Technology also serves to harness this considerable power. The Porsche "Control Coupling" four-wheel-drive system distributes power to the wheels according to the dynamic loading on the tires, providing extraordinary stability and handling consistency at all speeds. The damping of the three-position shock absorbers increases progressively with speed to provide proper ride control without excessive harshness. Automatic ride-height control allows the springs to be calibrated for handling without regard to the vagaries of payloads and vertical aerodynamic forces. And the 959's tire-pressure-monitoring system ought to discourage its drivers from trying to set speed records when their tires are underinflated.

Not only do these advanced technical features work well, but every detail of the 959 has been fine-tuned to the nth degree. In view of the car's very limited production, it's amazing how well developed it is. The 959's body and chassis are as solid as any on the road. The wind noise, mechanical vibration, and road rumble that intrude into its cabin are remarkably well attenuated. Its air conditioning, power windows and seats, sound system, and other luxury features work as well as any Cadillac's. Such special details as aerodynamically efficient, wide-angle exterior mirrors and telescoping headlight washers have been fully developed. There is even a fist-sized planetary-gearbox adapter to make it easier to apply the correct amount of torque to the magnesium wheels' central locking nuts.

We did detect a few flaws during our 24 hours with the 959. Its ancestry is all too apparent in its dashboard layout, which adds several controls to the 911 's already haphazard arrangement of switches. Its power brakes are a trifle sensitive to the first portion of pedal travel. Its power steering feels somewhat artificial, with limited feedback from the front tires in corners. And its stock 911 seats provide too little lumbar support.

The most disturbing flaw of all is that you can't buy a 959. Not even if you have enough money-nearly a quarter of a million dollars-stuffed under your mattress. Porsche has sold out the entire production run of 200 cars (none of which was built to American specifications), and it does not intend to build any more.

In price, in availability, in performance, the 959 defies comparison with lesser machinery. The ultimate automobile, it is to any ordinary car as the F-15 is to a hang glider. We cannot, in the final analysis, call it perfect. But if you want to call the Porsche 959 the best car in the world, you will get no argument from us.

Prices for 959s now routinely top $2 million, and one changed hands in Arizona earlier this year for $2.53 million. It's expected that this one will find a new owner for a similar amount.

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