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This Porsche 959 Prototype Is One of Very Few Surviving Examples In Existence
Most of the 959 prototypes were destroyed, and then there’s this one with an interesting and unique story
by Robert Moore, on LISTEN 02:46Developing a car from scratch starts with some drawing and calculations, then the building of test prototypes, then pre-production cars, and eventually the pilot production vehicles. Most of the time, test prototypes are usually destroyed when their use has been exceeded, yet here we are looking at a test prototype of the Porsche 959 – a car that is believed to be one of the few surviving examples of the F-Series prototypes from 1985. It’s currently listed for sale on Mechatronik for an undisclosed price, but is It truly authentic?
This Might Look Like A Production Porsche 959 At A Glance, But It Definitely Is Not
I wouldn’t criticize you if you tried to say this was a normal Porsche 959, as the body does look pretty similar to the production car. However, this isn’t the case. In fact, as if being one the few surviving examples of just 12 prototypes built didn’t make this car rare enough, it’s also one of the few that were finished in Ruby Red. The car was apparently designed specifically for electric system testing and hot weather testing on the U.S. West Coast and in Europe.
Still need proof that this is an authentic prototype, well that proof comes on the inside. Throughout the testing phase, several different interior layouts were installed, including one with different seats. You can find extra and disconnected electric wiring under the passenger seat along with hard mounts for the electronic testing equipment next to the rear seats. The car is also lacking power steering, ride-height control, a passenger-side mirror, alarm, windshield washer, and the fuel filler cap among other things.
| Engine | 2849 cc Bi-turbocharged flat-6 |
|---|---|
| Bore x stroke | 95.0 x 67.0 mm |
| Compression ratio | 8.3:1 |
| Horsepower (DIN) | 444 HP @ 6,500 RPM |
| Torque | 370 LB-FT @ 5,500 RPM |
| Fuel delivery | elect. port injection |
| Transmission | 6-speed manual |
| 0-60 mph | 3.7 seconds |
| Top Speed | 197 mph |
This 959 Prototype’s History Is Interesting
After the Porsche 969 hit the production lines, Porsche destroyed most of the other prototypes that were built alongside this one. This car, however, was imported into the U.S. in the latter half of the 1980s and was displayed like a trophy at the HQ of Vasek Polak – a Porsche importer and dealer. Sometime after that, it was shipped off to Japan for demonstrational activities before being sold to Belgium and later the United Kingdom. The car eventually made it back to its homeland of Germany, where it’s currently on sale. According to the listing, it has just 26,520 km (16,478 miles) on the odometer, but the asking price is a mystery. If you’re interested in owning a very rare care, you’ll have to contract the owner through Mechatronik to find out how much you’ll have to shell out.
Source: Mechatronik
