The 1988 Porsche 959 is a supercar developed and manufactured by Porsche.
Intended for Group B racing, it was revelled at the 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show as the 'Gruppe B' study. Development took longer than expected resulting in modified 911 Carrera models - referred to as the 953 - being used in the 1984 Paris-Dakar with the 959 entering for 1985 and 1986, as well as a 961 variant entering the 1986 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Developed with a focus on Group B regulation, its body is made of Kevlar composite - with the exception of the aluminium doors and bonnet, a steel unibody, and a Nomex floor - and designed for minimal drag. Underneath, the water-cooled 2.8-litre flat-six is fitted with both a smaller and larger turbocharger in a staged configuration to allow each turbo to activate at different rev ranges.
Power is delivered through a six-speed manual gearbox with a special "Gelände" first gear, marked "G" on the gear stick" for off-road terrain, to a set of magnesium wheels through the newly developed Porsche-Steuer Kupplung (PSK) all-wheel drive system - a system able to deliver split and distribute torque between both axles for improved grip.
Although it entered production 1986, Group B was banned on May 2, 1986 following the deaths of Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresto when their Lancia Delta S4 crashed along the Tour de Corse round of the 1986 World Rally Championship.
Following on from its initial reveal the first production model shown at the 1985 Frankfurt Motor Show, and production of the street-legal model by Karosserie Baur ran from 1986 to October 4, 1988 with only two hundred ninety-two road examples being produced. Each sold for nearly $250,000; a price half of the production cost and forcing Porsche to take a loss for each unit sold.
With it being developed within Europe to European safety standards and Porsche taking a substantial loss for each example sold, it could not be federalised for sale in the United States of America as Porsche could not afford to crash test four examples and it also did not comply with regulations for road cars within the United States resulting in them being impounded upon their arrival from Germany.
As a result, Porsche set out a plan with Porsche Motorsport North America for twenty-five Porsche 959 "Race Versions" - examples specifically designed for the track and intended to be not street-legal to sidestep the U.S. regulations - of which became the "Sport".
Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen both ordered one each and, in 1987, both of their purchased examples were impounded. Both were stored by customs at the Port of San Francisco before until the Show or Display amendment came into effect thirteen years later following lobbying by Gates' legal team.
Games[]
Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed[]
The 959 is featured in Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed as a Class 1 Golden Era car. In the PC release, it appears as an add-on vehicle.
It is as quick and powerful as the Porsche 911 Turbo (993) and more stable than rear-engined cars without all-wheel drive.
As with all other add-on cars, the 959 cannot be purchased, upgraded or tuned under normal circumstances, which makes the "supercar" somehow uncompetitive in-game.
Need for Speed: Top Speed[]
The 959 appears in Need for Speed: Top Speed.
Need for Speed: World[]
The 959 was made available in Need for Speed: World on July 26, 2011 as a tier 3 car. Since August 22, 2012, it has been featured as an A class car.
It was released following a "Create-A-Porsche 959 Contest" held from April 9, 2010 to April 25, 2010 for 3D modellers to create and submit a model of the 959 for use in-game.[2][3]
The winning model was created by Svyatoslav Gampel although it was not made available until the 1st anniversary update on July 26, 2011. Its delay was explained by Marc DeVellis in Ask Marc - Episode 14 as resulting from a lengthy licensing process.[4]
It is an above average A class vehicle due to its low weight and highly responsive handling, which comes at the expense of oversteer in turns. Its acceleration is sub-par, when compared to similarly ranging Porsches and overall somewhat lacking for a A class car. Top speed is 186 mph (300 km/h).
0
E
250
251
D
400
401
C
500
501
B
600
601
A
750
751
S
1000
671769
| |
| Stock: 671 (A class) | Maximum: 769 (S class) |
White
The White style is an Amerikon Speedsystems performance tuned speedboost car that costs 
4700. It was made available on August 22, 2012.
 |
                  |
 713 682 771 688 Standard
4700 |
Red
The White style is a rotationally available stock cash car that costs 
1,350,000, and was initially released on July 26, 2011 as part of the 1st Anniversary event.
On May 28, 2015, its price was lowered from 1,800,000 as part of the End of the World event.
 |
      |
671 590 748 676 Standard
1,350,000 |
"Year One"
The "Year One" style is a art director car that costs 5000. It was released on July 26, 2011 and could be purchased for the duration of the 1st Anniversary event.
It is fitted with tuned quality Gromlen performance parts, 2-star Skill Mods, and a selection of aftermarket parts.
 |
             |
733 725 782 694 Art Director
5000 |
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010)[]
The 959 appears in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010) as a Super Series racer vehicle, and as an SCPD Rapid Deployment unit as part of the Porsche Unleashed pack for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 releases.
Description
“Technologically Advanced 80’s Super Car”
The Porsche 959 with its electronically controlled all-wheel drive was originally conceived as a Group B car - the road going version created to satisfy homologation regulations that required a minimum of 200 street legal units to be built. The road car became the world's fastest street-legal production car with a top speed of 197 mph and was hailed as the most technologically advanced road-going sports car ever built.
Instead of creating an engine from scratch, Porsche developed an existing engine, ending up with a twin-turbocharged six-cylinder Boxer engine with an air-cooled block, and water-cooled heads. The use of sequential twin turbochargers allowed for smooth seamless delivery of power across the engine RPM band, which contrast to the sudden delivery of power found in other turbocharged engines of this period.
Rather than using a tubular space frame which would have saved weight, Porsche chose to use a steel monocoque, which reduced cost, and would be easier to translate to future models. The pursuit of lightness and aerodynamics was however a big focus for the body, which was made from Kevlar and was a pioneering feature of the mid-80's. Its big front air dam and huge spoiler were created from time spent inside the wind tunnel and contributed to an impressive drag coefficient of 0.31.
Super Series
Rapid Deployment
Tier 3
|
197 mph (317 km/h)
CLASSIFIED
AWD
450 bhp @ 6,500 rpm
3.7 secs.
1998
|
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered[]
The 959 appears in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered as a car tier 3 vehicle available to cops and racers.
Cop[]
The 959 Interceptor is an SCPD Rapid Deployment unit unlocked by earning a pass in "Turn It Up".
|
Rapid Deployment Unit - Cop (Tier 3)
"Technology Advanced 80's Super Car" Earn a pass in "Turn It Up". Top Speed: 197 mph (317 kph) 0 to 62: 3.70s BHP: 450 @ 6,500 Drive: All-Wheel Price: CLASSIFIED Year: 1988 |
Racer[]
The 959 is a Super Series racer unlocked by earning a bronze medal in "Fast Lane".
|
Super Series - Racer (Tier 3)
"Technology Advanced 80's Super Car" Earn a bronze medal in "Fast Lane". Top Speed: 197 mph (317 kph) 0 to 62: 3.70s BHP: 450 @ 6,500 Drive: All-Wheel Price: CLASSIFIED Year: 1988 |
Trivia[]
- In Need for Speed: World, a free 959 rental code was made temporarily available for players on August 5, 2011. The code initially featured a free 959, although this was later fixed.
- In Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010) and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered, the 959 is listed as a 1998 model year, and can be selected with either a Graphite Metallic, Ruby Red Metallic, Silver Metallic, or White Pearlescent body paint colour.
Gallery[]
Stock (Intro)
(missing platform)
Stock
(PC)
Stock
(PlayStation)
Stock
White
Red
"Year One"
Stock
SCPD Interceptor
References[]
- ↑ Website: ultimatespecs.com (2024) Porsche 959. Available at: https://www.ultimatespecs.com/car-specs/Porsche/14830/Porsche-959-.html
- ↑ Website: needforpseed.com (2010) Create-A-Porsche 959 Contest. Available at: http://www.needforspeed.com/web/world/news/-/nfsblogs/2075840
- ↑ Website: nfsplanet.com (2010) NFS World: Create-A-Porsche 959 Contest. Available at: https://www.nfsplanet.com/en/news/5441
- ↑ Website: YouTube.com (2011) Ask Marc - Episode 41. Available at: https://youtu.be/XIsRdcSTEpE?si=57DLDOOF5x2vvhxB&t=263