In the year 1982 Porsche started developing the 959 Rally Project to compete in the FIA group B rally class. This was done under supervision of Porsche chief engineer Helmut Bott. For many years Porsche was very successful in many racing classes and now the company aimed for gold in the rally competition. The Porsche 959 group B prototype was presented on the 1983 Frankfurter IAA and the road version in 1985. Top obtain a FIA homologation for the 959 rally car Porsche had to build 200 959 road cars. Based on the shown prototype and the impressive specifications all 959 road cars were sold before production even started. Because of the enormous technical complexity of this super sports car, which should also be reliable in normal and slow daily traffic, the further development took an additional one and a half year to be completed. The first 959 road cars were delivered early 1987.
As the 959 road car was developed the 959 group B rally car brought in the first victory. The 959 won the demanding 1985 Pharao Rally in Egypt. In the year 1986 Porsche won the legendary Paris-Dakar rally, the 959's finished first and second! Also in 1986 the 959 won the French ‘Rally des 1000 pistes’. This would be the last group B outing, the FIA cancelled the group B rally competition because of deadly accidents. Porsche decided to modify the 959 for the GTX racing class. Now the car was named 961. The 961 was an instant success, the reliable racer won the 24 hours of Le Mans in the year 1986!
Late 1986 the first journalists and independent test drivers were invited to drive first Porsche 959 road cars. The specifications and the true performance of the car were so impressive and mind-blowing that the 959 became the first sports car to receive the title SUPER sports car. The Porsche 959 boasted a top speed of 315 km/h. and the car accelerated from 0-100 in just about 3,7 seconds! To achieve this the high tech Bi Turbo six cylinder boxer engine mobilized  450 DIN brake horsepower and a gigantesque torque of 500 Nm! Journalists and test drivers were deeply impressed by the ease the 959 unfolded its tremendous potential, this street race car was easy to control, safe and easy to drive fast, VERY fast and yet relaxed. This was something so special no one had experienced before.
The Porsche engineers created a hallmark, they explored, crossed and redefined borders of what was believed to be technically possible. In this view the Porsche 959 can be seen as the Bugatti Veyron of the twentieth century. The 959 was fastest production car ever and the high tech automobile introduced many staggering innovations. The 959 was the first car ever to be fitted with a six speed gearbox, two sequential Turbo chargers,  electronically controlled four wheel drive, speed dependable height adjustment of the suspension and a tire pressure monitoring system working through the hollow Magnesium alloy wheels. In the year 1987 the 959 cars were sold for 420.000 DM, rumors whisper that this sales price was about half the actual development and production costs.

The Porsche 959 engine was a further development of the engine which powered the famous Porsche 935 GT racing car. The 935 totally dominated the GT racing class in the late s1970'ies. In racing set up its Twin Turbo engine delivered a staggering 800 bhp! The further developed racing engine was fitted to the 959 group B rally car and to the 961 GTX race car. For the 959 road car the engine was de-tuned to a still very impressive 450 bhp. Many engineering hours were spend to achieve the perfect cooling capacity. The result was a very powerful, very cultivated, robust and reliable racing engine for road use. The boxer engine featured double overhead camshafts, four Natrium filled and cooled valves per cylinder, air cooled cylinders, water cooled cylinder head, dry sump lubrication, two water cooled KKK turbo chargers, electronic Bosch Motronic ignition (motor management) and DME petrol injection.  

The Porsche 959 was a piece of art in its own way. The base structure was very light and composite build using aluminium internally and ultra light Kevlar composite for the rooftop and wings. The flat floor was made of light and very strong Nomex fiber composite. The doors and the boot lid were made of aluminium and the front bumper was made of Polyurethane.

The Porsche 959 was available in two specifications, a light sport version (1350 kg empty) without luxury, and a 100 kg. heavier comfort version with full upholstered interior and power windows. In total only 292 Porsche 959 road cars were build. 113 in 1987 and 179 in 1988 of which only 29 were delivered in sport specification. Two 959 road cars were totally destroyed in accidents in which no one was injured. 290 cars survive today.  

In the year 1992 a limited edition of 8 additional Porsche 9595 cars was presented. These cars featured improved ride height adjustment and improved shock dampers. The car sold in ‘no time’ for 747.500 DM each. The scarce Porsche 959 super sports car is a technical hallmark and one of the biggest icons in the automobile history. 

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