Gadgetory

today is one of those days one of those days that you're not quite sure is real or actually happening because that is a Porsche 959 one of in the grand scheme of things not that many made and done I've got the key the 959 story begins all the way back in 1982 when Helmuth Bott approached Porsches md about the 911 he had some ideas and thought they needed to go on it well on a new one at least but wanted to build a sports car Porsche could rely on in future so thought all-wheel drive would be the way to go knowing that motorsport helped developments along some what he approached top brass and suggested they entered that then very popular group be the right people said yes and he got to work making his full wheel drive mule into a racing car the car's engine wasn't to be all new but one lifted from the 9:35 racer it was a 2.8 5 litre twin-turbo flat 6 with 444 brake horsepower the turbos were in sequence rather than parallel meaning that turbo like was in theory a thing of the past its body was a mix of aluminium and Kevlar so the weight stayed as low as possible though it still tips the scales at nearly one and a half tonnes it's arrow was made to ensure there was no lift and the street car got a variable ride height to help keep the car as stable as possible racecar engine aside the 959 prototype had something pretty special four-wheel drive PSK or Porsche stoical plumb shuffled the power around the cars wheels as and when it was needed it could have up to 80 percent push to the rear now I know that may sound a bit old hat now you can get it on a small family car but back in its day it was quite something the group B concept appeared in 1983 wiring the crowds at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1985 of the full production car was unveiled with a release promised for 1986 at the time it was the fastest production car on the planet putting in a top speed of 195 miles an hour though sport models could hack 197 naught 262 was apparently dispatched in 3.7 seconds in all there were two versions on offer that comfort and the sport the comfort had things in it things like air Caanan anything electrical while the sport lost pretty much all of that and a hundred kilos it was supposed to be a featherweight killer just as Porsches early LeMond cars had been the performance is simply staggering still hook it up from second to third and it just goes it takes you down the road angrily shouting Lee making an incredible noise of course it's got that engine and oh my what an engine it is now I want to talk about the two-stage turbos because the idea behind it was the little turbo would get it all going nice and quickly then the victor bow would carry on so you get just one big wave of torque now what actually happens is you start off going very quickly then the big turbo happens and wool oh it's fast it just picks up speed instantly you're gone bang that's something I'm not really used to I don't think anyone's used to anymore because now turbo technology's moved on but this is one of the blueprints of how to get cars shifting mentally fast the clutch is incredibly heavy as is the gearbox is very very mechanical you do have to force it into its ratio you have to work for your supper and well some may view that is quite bad it's of its age and frankly it works staggeringly well it feels really good you feel incredibly involved and engaged with the car the brakes again very very heavy very little assistance as you'd expect from a car of this particular era but in the same breath you do get lots of lovely lovely feedback you know exactly what's going on a lot of feel through the pedal the steering is delightfully weighty something you don't get much anymore in the feedback you get through it is when it's awesome it really really is good you can feel everything through the fingertips properly and this car is pretty much mint everything on it has been lovingly restored and looked after by the guys at the Porsche museum this car is a museum piece when looking down at the Adamo tur well it's done a little over 4600 kilometers as not much and I put about a hundred of those on so I've left the mark on the car that's good well Group B was ideal to start with it shift towards rallying put Portia off it somewhat rather than complete Portia got on with making the best road car it could until 1984 that is when Jacky Ickx prodded for sure hard enough to enter three 911s modified two 959 spec in the Perry Dakar which eat one full rally spec nine five nines entered in 85 and in 86 959s finished first and second not bad a road racer variant the 961 appeared as well it even entered Lamar in 1986 scoring a class victory and seventh place overall this cars legacy as well as being a poster car for people all over the world that still is today as well as it's incredible performance and as well as its victories and stunning efforts on the world's race stages and rally stages is the fact that it proved that you could have a 911 with four-wheel drive in it admittedly the PSK system was simplified for the first Carrera 4 and then completely switched out for the one after that because while it was brilliant it was very expensive and very very complicated it showed that you could still have fun in a 911 with all four wheels driven it's a beautiful piece of engineering and a stunning piece of design and a testament to that is the fact that several times today people stopped just to have a chat to have a look at it it's just got people and they love it for it and I don't blame all our travels chap accosted us wanted to have a look cause he knew exactly what he was looking at and he told us that his dad used to work at the factory around the time 959 was being developed and apparently his father on the day he went to buy his wedding rings took her 959 and he doesn't remember that day because he went to buy the ring he was going to slip on to his everlasting love's finger no he remembers that day because he was driving a 959 Fairplay but don't tell your wife the power this car has over people it is the highlights of people's days the highlights of their years help for some people it would be the highlight of their lives I'm never gonna forget the time I spent with this car I'm so incredibly lucky to have done it for me the 959 was always a special car I loved it to bits when I was a kid I remember seeing it just as countless other people did and falling in love with it at the time I wasn't really a fan of the 911 but hell the 959 I just did it for me it just did it for me it got me in a way that very few other cars did this car is part of a set that summed up a tease XS it was the fastest the greatest the ultimate Porsche it used to go toe-to-toe with Ferrari f40 s Jaguar xj220 s in the light it set the paradigm for the supercar Renaissance it's one of the world's true greats and an innovative one at that the 959 vs ferrari f40 schoolyard battles were a precursor to those that happened once again in the naughties and are happening right now with the 918 Spyder McLaren p1 and Ferrari laferrari each time there is a big supercar Renaissance Porsche is always there throwing its high-powered hat in the ring the 959 was its first big go and what a way to do it it's been a genuine pleasure to be able to drive the 959 even for the briefest of moments because it's very much of its era it's very fast and consequences well who gives a damn about them nowadays yeah manufacturers are making very fast cars but they also have something else in mind efficiency and while that's all well and good I'm not knocking that every now and then don't you just wish manufacturers would throw out all the eco bits and make something as big as fast and as silly as possible and now I do