DESERT STORM

The year was 1981. Porsche’s chief engineer, Helmuth Bott, proposed an injection of new life into the 911 concept following the proposal of Group B competition regulations for factory built experimental cars. Stressing his desire to develop a 911 with a rock solid four-wheel drive transmission, Bott managed to convince his superior, the late Porsche CEO, Peter Schutz, to give the go-ahead for an exciting 911 project that would use Group B as a proving ground to help accelerate the development of technology that could be used to great effect in Porsche production cars. Codenamed Gruppe B, Bott’s plan of action would result in the 959, one of the greatest sports cars ever built.

Mentioning the 959 will bring to mind the curvaceous appearance of the technological trailblazer that went head-to-head with the Ferrari F40 for the hearts and minds of enthusiastic petrolheads the world over in the mid-1980s, yet the most accomplished 959s are the dust kickers which competed in the Paris-Dakar Rally, first campaigned by the 959 less than a year after the similar-looking 953 (driven by Le Mans hero, Jacky Ickx, and 1987 Carrera Cup France champion, René Metge) secured