In 1986, it was the fastest street-legal car in the world with a top speed of 199 mph (320 km/h). Initially designed to compete in the Group B World Rally Championship, the road version was of the most technologically advanced car anyone had ever seen at the time. It remained in production for just three years, and only 337 units rolled out of Porsche’s factory.
It is of course the 450HP 959, Porsche’s 911-based, high-tech all-wheel drive answer to the raw Ferrari F40 in the late 1980s, and it changed the way supercars were built from that point on.
Now, if you were lucky one to own one of automotive history’s most vaunted icons, what would you do?
We’re willing to be that most of you would wake up every morning and enjoy your breakfast while, at the same time, admire its classic shape. Then you could enjoy the magnificent sounds of the 2.8-liter twin-turbocharged flat six and the sublime handling for a few miles, or perhaps more as Porsches tend to be the only supercars you can drive on a day-to-day basis.
On the other hand, if you saw it as an investment and intended to sell, you wouldn’t want to put a lot of mileage on the odometer. Surely though, you wouldn’t let it sit in a garage without firing it up even once for 23 years.
Yet, believe it or not, that’s exactly what a man from Mexico who bought a Guards Red 959 did. Mind you, this isn’t a “regular” 959: it is a 1988 959 Sport, chassis number 001, which was 100 kg (220 lb) lighter by removing the variable ride height system, central locking, electric windows and the passenger-side mirror.
The odometer reads only 207 miles (332 km) and the car is in perfect condition. Sadly, even if you have the cash, you can no longer buy it: Specialist Cars of Malton, which uncovered and brought it back in working order, has already sold it…
Story References: Specialistcars via Jalopnik
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