1986 Porsche 959

In 1986, as the Porsche 911 remained one of the world's favorite sport cars, Porsche unveiled another variation on the winning theme: the Porsche 959. Development had begun as early as 1981, and the idea was to build a showcase of everything Porsche could achieve. The 959 became the model that would lead the development of every Porsche sports car of the following 20 years.

The Porsche 959 employed height-adjustable suspension, an all-wheel-drive system that kept it tractable just about everywhere, antilock brakes, and a lightweight aluminium and carbon body. Power came through an air- and water-cooled 2.85-litre version of Porsche's trusty flat-6 engine, fed by sequential twin turbochargers that spooled smoothly over the rev range.

With 444hp, 369ft-lb of torque, and a 6-speed manual transmission, the 959 managed 0-60mph in less than four seconds and had a top speed of over 200mph. Production numbers vary, but Porsche built somewhere between 200 and 337 with two trim levels available: Komfort and Sport. Komfort offered air conditioning, electric windows and rear seats, the aforementioned height-adjustable suspension, a right door mirror and sound insulation. The Sport model lacked all of those items, and as a result was 50kg lighter.

The 959 was also a successful, if relatively short-lived, competition car, scoring a 1-2 victory in the Paris-Dakar rally in 1986. Also, the 961 – a 959 adaptation for endurance racing – finished first in class and seventh overall at Le Mans 24 Hours in the same year.

The Porsche 959 was priced at around £145,000 when new, roughly half of what it cost Porsche to build each car, but demand immediately outstripped supply and prices soared thanks to speculators. .

Today, the 959 holds a special position in Porsche lore. It solidified the company’s role as a leading innovator in the car-building business and arguably gave the brand its first real supercar.