Finally so we have something to thank Bill Gates for . Now I just have to find a cool $400k and I can have my dreamcar.

so who's gonna be first in line to pick up a "new" 959?

Porsche article

Awesome! Love the "vintage" instrument panel and steering wheel. All that plumbing for an aircooled engine

__________________
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

If there was any car in the world that I wish I could have it would be this one. I was awestruck the first time I saw a picture of it and when I read the reviews it immediately became my dream car. Now I wish I had the half million to buy one!

Well I guess Clinton did do something right during his presidency.

__________________
Afshin

Current:
02 C32 AMG

Previous:
92 500E
84 190E 2.3 5 Spd

Great story thanks for the link!

"All that plumbing for an aircooled engine"

I think the 959 actually had water cooled heads but the rest was air cooled.

The Feds micromanage our lives so much.

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Regards

Warren

Currently 1965 220Sb, 2002 FORD Crown Vic Police Interceptor

Had 1965 220SEb, 1967 230S, 280SE 4.5, 300SE (W126), 420SEL

ENTER > = (HP RPN)

Not part of the in-crowd since 1952.

VERY cool. But a ton of cash.

I'd take an SLR and an '89 Speedster instead

That's about $600,000CDN.

(1) SL55 AMG -- my "summer" driver. $160,000

(1) E55-K -- my "family touring" sedan. $113,000

(2) E320 4-matic wagons -- winter "beaters." Total $150,000

(1) Factory Five Racing Cobra Replica -- "no top." $70,000

(1) Suzuki Hayabusa GT motorcycle -- $16,000

(1) Jesse James custom chopper -- $75,000

(1) European vacation to see my MB's being made -- $16,000

Total -- $600,000CDN.

Total HP for my option -- about 2200, not including the Jet flight to Europe.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

John,

You have more spaces in your garage than me

The 959 was good practice for the 500E500....same assembly line, same workers!!

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Dean Albrecht
"Lead, follow, or better yet, get out of the way!"E500 owners motto

I totally forgot, or didn't catch, that the head were liquid cooled! Just didn't click... 1988, Porsche, liquid cooled.

What color coolant did it use?

__________________
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

I spend a fair amount of time in Bill's 'hood. I'll look for the car. I wonder if he takes it out. Wow.

Kuan, as for the interior, it's almost exactly the same as the interior on the mini-beast in my signature. Quaint, ergonomically mis-engineered and thoroughly loveable. My ladyfriend, trained as an industrial engineer, has been around 3 911s, having had a couple of her own in a former life (a 90 like mine and a 97). She finds the interiors amusing. Frankly, other than when I'm at a stop light, I don't look at the dash much...

__________________
David

His:
2003 Dodge Durango SLT
2002 BMW E39 530i Sport
1988 Mercedes 300TE
Hers:
2003 Chevrolet Suburban
1999 E430

Intersting enough, the drivers position of the Leopard II Tank is pretty much the same layout as the one in the Porsche 911.

Guess who did that engineering?

Can someone please tell me why the 959 was banned in the first place? It had one of the most sophisticated exhaust system and catalytic converted of that time...

Kind regards
Eberhard
(who has seen 959 at the Zuffenhausen plant in almost the hundreds and who had a neighbor working for Porsche who regularly brought test mules home)

The banning of the 959 was based more on political and emotional reasons than scientific/technical reasons. When Porsche first brought the 27 959's into the country they did not get permission from the DOT (they just figured that it was a variant of the 911 and therefore didn't need to undergo crash tests).

Unfortunately the DOT did not see things in the same light and refused to let the cars out of the port. The DOT told Porsche that they needed 6 cars for crash-testing but they were already all spoken for and they weren't going to make any more. So Porsche stated that the 959 was a race car and therefore exempt from crash tests.

To prove it's point, Porsche took several DOT execs out to let them look over the car and take them on test rides. The Porsche drivers drove the cars carefully just as if they were road cars. Several exec's now believe that if the drivers had shown the DOT the true abilities of the 959 it would have been legalized as a race car.

For years most of the 27 959's sat out in the elements at the docks while Porsche pushed for them to be let in.

btw - I also got a chance to see a 959 at the Nurburgring track several years ago... now THAT is a monster.

peter
1988 300e
1988 420sel

"I totally forgot, or didn't catch, that the head were liquid cooled! Just didn't click... 1988, Porsche, liquid cooled."

Porsche had made many cars that were water cooled before the 959 was launched in 1986. Let's not forget about the 928, 944, & 924.

Here is some more information on the 959:

http://erntheburn.tripod.com/autos/959/9597.htm