Car of the Week: This Porsche 959 Was One of the Last Built. Now It Could Fetch $2 Million at Auction.

An annual tradition that’s now in its 27th year, the Bonhams Cars Quail Auction comes to the Quail Lodge & Golf Resort on August 16 with some notable automobiles, including one of the most collectible Porsches of them all, the Type 959 . It seems that interest in so-called “analog supercars” is as red-hot in 2024 as when the cars themselves were busy nudging—or breaking—the 200 mph barrier prior to the new millennium. Italian, British, and German overachievers like the Ferrari F40 , McLaren F1 , and Porsche 959 were the stuff of dreams when debuted, inspiring next-generation designers.

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“We are delighted to be offering this special 959, the second from last built as a ‘Series II’ example,” says Eric Minoff, Bonhams Cars’ head of department for the United States. “A legendary machine that presaged the direction of future sports cars, it remains a thoroughly modern technological tour de force, even now, more than three decades later.”

Indeed, the familiar Porsche 911 shape hit the scene in 1963, and since that time has spawned innumerable variants based on the same compact “party in the front, business in the back” configuration that puts the engine behind the rear wheels. The Type 959, though, is no 911. The 959 was Porsche’s first true supercar, initially developed in the early 1980s to compete in the Group B rally series. The 959 is powered by a 2,850 cc DOHC flat-six engine born from the 962 race car, whose water-cooled (instead of air cooled) heads could handle the heat from the original 959’s output of 444 hp.

Turbocharging, first implemented in Porsche’s 917/10 Can-Am racer from 1972, was adapted to the road-going 1975 911 Turbo, and subsequently in a sequential-turbo configuration for the 959. Importantly, it features all-wheel drive (via computer control), ABS brakes, and a self-leveling suspension. Its 3,200-pound weight is impressive, considering all the high-tech components stuffed under the body panels—a composite of aluminum, carbon fiber, and Kevlar—and the basket-handle rear spoiler. The latter may be the coolest styling signature of the 959.

Despite the FIA’s cancellation of Group B racing due to a spate of fatal crashes, Porsche soldiered on with the 959 program in order to recoup development costs, and in response to customer demand. Porsche is reputed to have lost $300,000 on each car, which sold for about $225,000 when new, and so, the 959 would never become a viable product for the marque. Yet the model has gone on to be a first-tier trophy in any Porsche collection.

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After its introduction at the 1985 Frankfurt Auto Show, the 959 had its production delayed by nearly two years, and customers only began receiving cars in late 1987. A total of 292 examples of the Komfort version and 29 examples of the lighter Sport variant were eventually built through 1988, not including prototypes and pre-production models. But the 959 did come back onstage for an encore of sorts. A few years after the last car came out of the factory, Porsche received a request from a special client for a new 959, and despite the model being long out of production, sufficient parts and body shells remained to construct a few more vehicles. Between six and eight 959 Komfort “Series II” examples were built from 1992 through 1993, at a price double that of the original production run.

The penultimate 959 produced, serial No. 291 was delivered new to East Asia, and by 1998 was in Europe. There, it was passed to a number of notable owners, including Anthony Maclean, Peter Livanos, and Juan Barazi. The consignor, a UK-based enthusiast with an extensive Porsche collection, commissioned extensive service work from Porsche Classic Factory Restoration in 2021.

This swan song to the 959 benefits from a Stage II turbo upgrade, which uses non-sequential turbochargers from the 959 Sport, increasing power to 542 bhp at 6,100 rpm. Accompanied by a stamped factory service booklet, an owner’s manual, and tools, the car shows 71,941 kilometers (44,702 miles) on it and carries a high-end estimate of $2 million.

Click below for more photos of this 1993 Porsche 959 Komfort “Series II” example.

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