959

In today’s speed-of-light fast world, we can easily lose track of time and the invaluable perspective it gives us on so much of life. That goes for automobiles as well. These days we have hypercars like the 217-mph Mercedes-AMG Project One, which has a hybrid powertrain that produces over 1,000 horsepower, and the aerodynamically wild, fully carbon-fiber Aston Martin Valkyrie with its remarkably low 1:1 power-toweight ratio.

Compared to these two, the 30-yearold Porsche 959 seems somewhat prosaic. What’s so enticing about a sensible, understated supercar with a comfortable ride and a top speed under 200 mph?

But when the Porsche 959 debuted in 1985, it pushed the boundaries of automotive performance. After its first drive in the $230,000 supercar, said, “The Porsche 959 can accomplish almost any automotive mission so well that to call it perfect is the magazine called the Porsche 959 the “car of the century,” said it rewrote the rules for supercars, and added that Porsche’s competitors would struggle to build something that surpassed the 959’s “astonishing abilities.” Development of the 959 ushered in a new era of Porsche sports cars, introduced then-exotic technologies now commonly used by Porsche, and set the industry standard for high-performance cars.