Video proves (again) why the Porsche 959 is a masterpiece

1987 Porsche 959

Years ahead of its time

Supercars are the industry's mad men: rare, often misunderstood and groundbreaking. Thanks to these contraptions, new technologies eventually find their ways inside "regular" cars. And one such supercar is the Porsche 959.

Helmuth Bott is often referred to as Porsche's quiet engineer, but his creations spoke loudly.

From his position as head engineer at Porsche, he approached Peter Schutz (freshly installed as Managing Director) in 1981 regarding new ideas about the Porsche 911. What followed would become the world's fastest production car and one of its rarest, being limited to just 292 units.

Every Porsche 959 relied on sequential turbocharging and intercooling, a six-speed gearbox, electronically controlled trans-axle all-wheel drive (PSK, or Porsche-Steuer Kupplung) and a 2.85-liter, six-cylinder, bi-turbo boxer engine making 450 hp. It is, if you please, the forerunner of Porsche's Carrera GT and 918 Spyder.

The 959 used a body made of a combo of aluminum and aramid instead of the traditional steel sheets, allowing it to tip the scales at just 1,450 kilos (3,200 lb). Aerodynamics also played a crucial part and marketed as delivering "zero lift".

On that note, we'll leave you in the company of Petrolicious' video below, which tells the super sports car's beautiful story.

We recently included the Porsche 959 in our TOP 5 coolest German cars ever made.