Porsche 959 Explained

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Published on March 6, 2020 1:37:24 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgNzclYVArg

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The twin-turbocharged Porsche 959 was the world's fastest street-legal production car when introduced, achieving a top speed of 197 mph, with some variants even capable of achieving 211 mph. It could reach 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and 1⁄4 mile in 11.8 seconds at 126 mph. During its production run, the 959 was considered as the most technologically advanced road-going sports car ever built, and forerunner of all forthcoming sports cars. It was one of the first high-performance sports cars with all-wheel drive, providing the basis for Porsche's first all-wheel drive 911 Carrera 4 model. Its performance convinced Porsche executives to make all-wheel drive standard on all turbocharged versions of the 911 starting with the 993.

The powerplant is a sequential twin-turbocharged DOHC flat-six engine equipped with 4 valves per cylinder which where air-cooled and water-cooled heads, with a total displacement of 2,849 cc and was coupled to a manual transmission. The engine was largely based on the 4-camshaft 24-valve powerplant used in the Porsche 956 and 962 race cars. These components allowed Porsche to extract 444 hp and 369 lb⋅ft of torque from the compact and efficient power unit. The use of sequential twin turbochargers rather than the more usual identical turbochargers for each of the two cylinder banks allowed for smooth delivery of power across the engine speed band, in contrast to the abrupt on-off power characteristic that distinguished Porsche's other turbocharged engines of the period.

The 959 also featured PSK all-wheel-drive system. Capable of dynamically changing the torque distribution between the rear and front wheels in both normal and slippery conditions, the PSK system gave the 959 the adaptability it needed both as a race car and as a "super" street car. Under hard acceleration, PSK could send as much as 80% of the available power to the rear wheels, helping make the most of the rear-traction bias that occurs at such times.

The road version of the 959 debuted at the 1985 Frankfurt Motor Show as a 1986 model, but numerous issues delayed production by more than a year. The car was manufactured in two levels of trim, "Sport" and "Komfort", corresponding to the trim with more creature comforts and a more track focused trim. First customer deliveries of the 959 street variant began in 1987, and the car debuted at a cost of $225,000 each.

Production ended in 1988 with 292 cars completed. In total, 337 cars were built, including 37 prototypes and pre-production models.

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