Porsche's 959 opens the door for AWD performance...

The 959 opens the door for all-wheel-drive performance

Porsche’s first true supercar allows the automaker to test brand new AWD platforms

The 911-based race car that would become the 959 actually started as a development project from Porsche during the 1981 production year, around the same time that Porsche’s then-new managing director, Peter Schutz, assumed his office. At the time, Helmut Bott was Porsche’s chief engineer; understanding the need to develop an FIA car for the Group B category, Bott had approached Schutz with a set of ideas for an all-new, 911 car.

What Bott had initially proposed to Schutz was the development of a new, AWD platform specifically for the endurance circuit; he was perfectly aware that an up-and-coming racing program was exactly what the automaker needed in order to perpetuate sports car sales. Again, Schutz had given Bott the “OK” to pursue the development of a Group B racing unit. Instead of developing a new engine from scratch, Porsche reworked an existing motor with several, high-end features that distinguished it from a 911 powerplant. For example, the 959 motor’s displacement came out to a total of 2.85 liters, which was about half a liter less than the 911 motor of that time. Like the 911, the 959 engine was a boxster, or “flat” motor, except that the 959 utilized twin, sequential turbos, as opposed to the more traditional identical turbos typically associated with a 911. The sequential turbos allowed for a smoother transition and power band across the RPM range, as most turbo Porsches of that time naturally tended to have an “all-or-nothing” running dynamic. Not only unique in its twin-turbo configuration, but the forced induction system of the 959 was also helpful in creating smoother, more efficient power production by devoting each turbocharger to its own cylinder bank, further reducing the abrupt quality of the turbo 911. The motor itself, originally developed for the “Moby Dick” race car and the short-lived Porsche indy car, also featured an air-cooled block with 4-valve, water-cooled heads.

Aside from the FIA, race-inspired construction of its engine, the 959 was also unique in its relatively light weight of around 3190 pounds, a curb weight that was achieved through an extensive use of aluminum and kevlar in the body’s construction, as well as through the abandonment of a steel floor for one made from Nomex.

The transmission and suspension were also things of wonder on the 959 car in particular. The 961, which would become the race-only version of the 959, only had fixed suspension, but the street version of the 959 would feature a ride-height adjustment that reinforced Porsche’s “zero-lift” aerodynamics and road-race stability, which were the two milestones that became the primary focus of the 959 project. The transmission, a 5-speed transaxle, would reinforce the “rally car” identity of the 959 by featuring what was called a “G” gear specifically made for off-road racing.

More than 20 years later, the twin-turbo 959 still stands as a testament to what Porsche can do in terms of endurance motorsports. First, because the project itself was initiated as a professional-only endeavor, second, because that “professional-only endeavor” would eventually be released to the public as one of Porsche’s most rare and sought-after works of architecture.

- Sal Alaimo Jr., B. A. (7/1/11)

S. J. A.