Created to demonstrate the outer limits of automotive technology, the Porsche 959 may have resembled the familiar 911 silhouette, but beneath the bodywork it introduced a level of engineering few road cars of the era could approach.
Adjustable suspension, an advanced all-wheel-drive system, tire-pressure monitoring, and hollow-spoke magnesium wheels positioned the 959 at the forefront of performance innovation. Despite commanding a price exceeding $300,000 when new, the immense research, development, and production costs reportedly meant Porsche lost money on every example built.
Produced between 1986 and 1988, just 292 production 959s left the factory, the majority configured in Komfort specification. Only 29 examples were completed in lighter, track-focused Sport trim, including the car offered here.
Distinguished by its leather-wrapped roll cage, Autoflug four-point harnesses, and cloth-trimmed interior, the 959 Sport also shed weight through the removal of the adaptive suspension, air conditioning, stereo system, and rear seats. The result was a car approximately 220 pounds lighter than the Komfort model.
Now offered for sale on Bring a Trailer, this 1988 959 Sport was delivered new in April 1989 to a collector in Frankfurt and remained with its original owner for 18 years. During that time, it returned to the factory in Stuttgart for a Stage II engine upgrade incorporating revised sequential turbochargers, intercoolers, 961-style camshafts, and recalibrated engine management. The car later passed through Swiss ownership before joining a US-based collection, where it was acquired by its current owner in 2015.
Finished in Grand Prix White over a gray cloth interior with tri-tone accents, the cabin retains the Sport model’s lightweight specification, including the integrated roll cage, power-adjustable sport seats, gray carpeting, power windows, and a passenger-side fire extinguisher. Absent are the rear seats, air conditioning, and radio, all deleted in pursuit of reduced weight and sharper performance.
Power comes from the 2.8-liter M959/50 twin-turbocharged flat-six derived from the engines used in the Porsche 956 and Porsche 962 race cars. The engine features water-cooled four-valve cylinder heads, air-cooled Nikasil-lined cylinders, titanium connecting rods, forged pistons, and dry-sump lubrication.
Factory output was rated at 508 horsepower in Sport specification, though the Stage II upgrades reportedly increased output to nearly 540 horsepower. Power is delivered to all four wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox and Porsche’s PSK all-wheel-drive system, capable of directing up to 80 percent of available torque to the rear axle.
Source: Bring a Trailer
