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In the mid-1980s, Porsche created a stunning supercar called 959. Not only rewrote all the world records for top speed and acceleration, the car also featured many advanced technologies, such as computer-controlled 4-wheel drive, 4-valve engine, sequential turbochargers, self-leveling suspensions, carbon-fiber body and advanced aerodynamics. No supercar in before had ever got so much technology breakthrough as the 959, nor any subsequent supercar did that.
Philosophy and Development
Unlike Ferrari and Lamborghini, Porsche did not build 959 for clinching the title "World's Fastest Car". Since Ferry Porsche created the first 356, Porsche always makes practical sports cars. Porsche's cars will never sacrifice handling for top speed, never pursuit acceleration over braking, never place lightness above reliability. Therefore supercar had never been Porsche's subject.
From the beginning the 959 project was intended to be a technology study rather than just another supercar. As the company was earning more and more profit from the success of 924 / 944 series, Porsche generously poured in excess of $100 million US dollars into the project, most went to the development of advanced 4-wheel drive, engine, aerodynamics and advanced materials. Porsche believed most of these technologies would benefit production models in the future, or at least keep their engineers state-of-the-art. Now we know only the 4WD system was simplified and applied to the 911 Carrera 4 of 1989.
Anyway, because time and cost were not constraints during the development of 959, no wonder it could be so sophisticated and so well developed.
Development
Basically, the 959 was based on 911's monocoque chassis but with tracks widened and covered with advanced materials such as Kelvar. The flat six engine was derived from 962's racing engine. 4WD was a completely new development and was then tested in a 911 Carrera 4x4 in the 1984 Paris-Dakar rally.
The first prototype, named "Group B" rather than "959", was unveiled in the '83 Frankfurt motor show. It stunned the whole world by its radical specifications but actually it was more a show car than a running prototype. It was called Group B because Porsche designed it to comply with the requirements of FIA Group B racing category. This was, however, never applied.
In the 1985 Frankfurt show, Porsche unveiled a final prototype whose appearance would be carried over to the production car. Most mechanical development was completed, except the complex PSK 4-wheel drive system which met some difficulties. After one year of delay, the first production-ready car was unveiled to journalists in 1986. In April 1987, the first 959 was delivered to Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, the youngest son of Ferry Porsche.
In order to satisfy the minimum requirements of Group B homologation, a limited run of 200 cars was originally planned, but eventually 230 went out of the factory due to strong demand.
Cost
Porsche sold every 959 for DM 420,000 ($225,000 USD), which could buy a Lamborghini Countach plus a Ferrari Testarossa. Nevertheless, that was still a bargain considering the long list of technology involved - sources estimated the cost of every 959 was $530,000. This means Porsche might made a loss of some $70 million in the production run of 230 cars.
Chassis and body
Chassis
Strangely, Porsche 959 was built on a steel monocoque essentially the same as the 911's. Since all its less expensive rivals like Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari Testarossa were using the inherently lighter tubular space frame chassis, one can inevitably doubt the effort Porsche had spent on weight reduction. Perhaps Porsche thought any new chassis advancer than steel monocoque could hardly be applied economically to its future production models, so why should it spend money in this subject ?
Instead of developing a radical chassis, Porsche pursued lightness by using lightweight materials for body panels -
Most magazines, books and websites over-emphasised the sophistication of 959's body materials. In fact, with just a little bit knowledge about other supercars, you will be amazed how little carbon-fiber composite used in the Porsche supercar. For instance, the Ferrari F40 applied Kelvar even in doors, bonnet and interior, although it had already got a tubular space frame chassis.
Porsche claimed steel accounted for just 49 % of the dry weight, compared with an average of 72% of European passenger cars in 1985. But when compare with supercars, its 1350 kg kerb weight could hardly impress us. A Lamborghini Countach with a big V12 weighed just 100 kg more, while Ferrari F40 undercut it for some 200 kg !!
Styling and aerodynamic
In fact, 959 was never purposely-styled. Because the chassis came from 911, all the important dimensions and hard points were fixed - the wheelbase was exactly the same as 911, the width exceeded 911 Turbo by 2.5 inches, mostly for accommodating wider tyres. The exterior shape of the cockpit section was nearly identical to its cousin, in which the doors, windows, windscreen and roof even had exactly the same dimensions. No wonder many car tuners could easily modify a 911 into a fake 959 !
Initially, it was quite difficult for me to accept its styling - perhaps we were too used to 911's classical shape so that anything looks half-911 and half-others would be perceived as strange. Honestly speaking, even if we ignored the "911 effect", it still failed to deliver the pure beauty and emotion like any Ferraris. In terms of design philosophy, 959 has none, because it was styled by functional requirements rahter than artistic sense.
One of the functional requirements was aerodynamics. The big front air dam, huge rear spoiler and wide skirts were created step by step in wind tunnel. They contributed to the superb drag coefficient of 0.31 - the best among all supercars (only to be equalled by McLaren F1 and Lamborghini Diablo). This was very crucial to its record-breaking top speed.
Engineers could have reduced the drag further, but they did not want to sacrifice the zero aerodynamic lift they had already acheived. For a supercar running in excess of 300 km/h, any aerodynamic lift could cause serious problems in stability. Obviously 959's air dam and the fiberglass-Kelvar flat undertray contributed a lot to that.
However, 959 did not create any downforce either, unlike Ferrari F40 and today's 911 GT1. This explain why it was later discovered as lack of track-racing potential.
Engine
The 2849 c.c. flat-six shared virtually nothing with the 911, because it was derived from the racing unit that powered the 956 and 962 Group C racers. Unlike the famous air-cooled engine using by the contemporary 911, it was water-cooled because the excessive heat generated was impossible to be cooled by air. The basic structure was anything predictable: aluminium alloy head and block, aluminium forged pistons finished with polishing, titanium con-rods, 2 camshafts in each bank driving 4 valves per cylinder, dry sump lubrication .... all operation managed by Bosch's latest version of Motronic management system.
As in 956 / 962's engines, it got a pair of small KKK turbochargers. However, they were arranged to operate sequentially for the benefit of responsiveness - below 4,000 rpm, since exhaust gas was not enough for driving both turbines efficiently, all the exhaust gas was fed to a single turbo. This made the turbo operated earlier than conventional turbochargers. Between 4,000 and 4,200 rpm, the second turbo "pre-spin", that is, prepared for engaging very soon. Above 4,200 rpm, two turbos operated simultaneously to provide full boost up to 0.9 bar (12.8 psi). At this moment, or 6,500 rpm, the engine developed the maximum power of 450 hp, which was the highest record for a road car if you do not believe the figure quoted by Lamborghini Countach QV (455 hp).
In contrast, torque seemed to be a little bit disappointed. At 5,500 rpm you got only 369 lbft, well below the 425 lbft of Ferrari F40. Luckily, at least the delivery of torque was quite linear. Since the first turbo started operating hard at 2,500 rpm, no less than 296 lbft was available. It gradually increased until the second phase of boost started at 4,200 rpm, then jumped to the maximum in 5,500 rpm. In short, it had a very good manner for a turbocharged engine of this level of performance.
In order to compensate the lack of torque, as well as to cope with the near-200 mph top speed, Porsche developed a 6-speed gearbox with Borg-Warner.
PSK 4-wheel drive
This is the highlight of 959's technology breakthrough.
While other supercar makers insisted to remain rear-wheel drive (mainly for cost and weight concern), Porsche demonstrated the superiority of 4WD with the 959. Those who have ever driven the 959, Bugatti EB110, Ferrari F40, F50, Jaguar XJ220 and McLaren F1 agreed that the first 2 provided much better "real world performance", that is, running on wet or slippery surfaces, or rough twisty roads. Undoubtedly, this is the inherent advantage of 4-wheel drive.
Porsche 959's PSK (Porsche-Steuer Kupplung) system was like no others. Even in today, it is still regarded as the most sophisticated 4WD system ever made. What made it so unique and so superior? Among all 4WD designs, PSK is the only one which could vary the front / rear torque split ratio under normal running condition, while other designs can only vary when tire slip occurs.
In most of the time, torque split between front and rear was 40 : 60, that is, the same as the car's weight distribution. This made the best use of traction.
In hard acceleration, PSK transferred up to 80% torque to the rear wheels. Why? Because hard acceleration leads to rearward weight transfer, which reduces traction at front wheels and increases traction at rear wheels. By transferring more torque to the rear wheels, the traction can be optimally used.
On slippery road, 50 : 50 torque slit was used. In any time, computer determined the most suitable torque split ratio by analysing parameters such as throttle position, steering angle, g force and even turbo boost. Therefore PSK system provided near perfect traction that was not comparable by other 4WD systems.
Mechanism
The PSK 4WD system used a multi-plate clutch instead of center differential to carry out the torque split. The clutch had 6 pairs of frictional plate, each pair was independently controlled by computer and actuated by hydraulic pressure. This was simply equal to 6 independent clutches.
To make this system work, the front and rear drive-shafts must run at different speed in normal condition. (so 959 adopted a pair of front tires with 1% larger diameter than the rear's) Because of the speed difference between front and rear drive-shafts, the 2 frictional plates of each independent clutch were rotating relative to each other. When applied hydraulic pressure to the first clutch, a small amount of torque will transfer to the front axle. But note that the two drive-shafts cannot be fully locked up unless all the 6 clutches are locked simultaneously.
Now, you can see how it worked: locked up 2 clutches, 3 clutches... and the torque to front wheels would be increased, subsequently, torque split could be 50:50 if all the clutches are fully locked up. Of course, all these action was controlled by computer.
This is only for "normal" condition. Like many other 4WD systems, when tire slip occurred, most of the torque could be sent to either axle.
What about energy loss and wear due to the slipping clutches? As the speed difference was very small, Porsche claimed energy loss was no greater than 0.4% of the power developed by the engine. As for wear, the clutch was dimensioned that it was negligible and caused no problem during the whole life span.
Advantages
1- Variable torque split even in normal condition. Best use of traction.
2- Since computer monitored and controlled everything, theoretically it could cope with any normal or abnormal conditions without limited by the design of mechanical parts. The result was fast response and adaptive.
Disadvantages
1- Heavy: with the complex multi-plate clutch, PSK was heavier than ordinary 4WD.
2- Expensive: it was so expensive that no other cars employed this design. In 1989, Porsche's 911 Carrera 4 tried a simplified version of this system, but without the most important variable torque split function. The second generation of Carrera 4 even dropped this and in favor of a much more conventional design.
Suspensions
The basic suspensions were nothing other than predictable: double wishbones in the front as well as the back. What amazed us were the adjustable ride height as well as the adjustable damping.
The adjustable ride height function was designed to achieve high speed stability without hurting low speed ride. The driver could select a ride height of 12 cm, 15 cm or 18 cm according to need. For example, if the car was traveling off-road, he might need the largest ride height to prevent the car from bottom out or damaging by rocks. If he was just traveling at ease, he might also expect a comfortable ride which was only achievable by the longest suspension travel. However, if he was going to have a 300 km/h excitement in Autobahn highway, he must want the lowest ride height which lowered the center of gravity and stiffened the suspensions (by the shorter suspension travel as well as the adjustable damping) thus enhanced cornering stability.
The 3 ride height settings could be selected manually in the dashboard, or it could be done automatically by the computer. According to Porsche, FOR SAFETY REASON, no matter in what setting the computer would lower the ride height to at most 15 cm when speed exceeded 50 mph and further lowered to 12 cm when exceeding 100 mph. Well, it seemed that Porsche was either regarding its customers as ordinary drivers or it wanted to add another gimmick for advertising purpose. "Computer-controlled self-leveling suspension", isn't it sounds great ?
The adjustable damping also had 3 settings. Of course they varied the damping rate thus result in different stiffness.
To implement the adjustable damping and adjustable ride height, each wheel employed 2 dampers. One of which had an electric motor to vary the damper's valve system so to implement adjustable damping. Another damper, whose fluid was supplied by hydraulic pump from the engine, took care of the ride height adjustment.
Brakes
Porsche will never increase power without upgrading brakes, especially 959 was the heaviest member of the 911 family and was also by far the fastest. The ventilated discs (in Sport version, also cross-drilled) had diameters of 322 mm and 308 mm front and rear respectively, accompanied with a four-piston aluminum caliper which was yet to be matched then. The four-channel ABS, with sensors on all four wheels, was also the first ABS applied to supercars.
Tires
Strange, very strange .... a German sports car used Japanese tires as standard. Originally, Dunlop promised to development high performance tires specially for 959, but technical difficulties delayed that until the 959 was already launched. Bridgestone, on the other hand, was eager to take part in this project and created the standard rubber earlier than Dunlop.
Strange, very strange .... the rear tires were just 255 mm wide. Ferrari Testarossa was 280 mm, F40 was 335 mm, Lamborghini Countach was even 345 mm !!
One of the reasons was: the PSK 4-wheel drive could optimally use the traction from narrow tires. Another reason was: well, Porsche was actually too conservative. Remember the Bugatti EB110 which was also 4-wheel drive and was praised even more in terms of grip? This car had a pair of 325 mm rear rubber.
959 Sports and Comfortable versions
959 had two versions: 959 Comfortable and 959 Sports. The Sport version had the same power, but weighed 100 kg less than the Comfortable version so as to provide even higher performance, especially were handling and acceleration. What diet did it go? Firstly, the variable ride height and damping was discarded. Then, all the luxury items were deleted - air-conditioning, power windows, central lock, the useless rear seats and even passenger side mirror. The electric leather seats were replaced by manually-adjusted sports seats.
As the ride height adjustment had gone, the Sports version used stiffer springs and dampers.
I cannot find any 959 website explain why Porsche had to create these two derivatives, but in Paul Frere's book "Porsche 911 Story" I found the true answer:
"Whatever care is taken to save weight, a car carrying such an amount of advanced technology cannot be a lightweight. Originally, Porsche predicted a weight of 1,450 kg with full tanks, but this eventually turned out to be optimistic by anything between 150 and 200 kg ...." No wonder Porsche had to make a lighter version.
However, even the lighter Sports version tipped the scales at 1,566 kg with a full tank of fuel when it was tested by German magazine Auto, Motor und Sport. This corresponds to about 1,530 kg curb weight (half tank of fuel), very different from the factory figure of 1,350 kg. Obviously 959 was overweight by any standard.
Few customers felt inclined to sacrifice those luxurious items to even higher performance, so only 6 Sports version were ordered.
Performance - by Auto, Motor und Sport
Auto, Motor und Sport (AMS), a giant German car magazine, tested both versions of 959 in 1987. They took the 959s to Volkswagen's Ehra Lessien test track, which has a pair of long straights for 300 km/h-plus run. Eventually they recorded 197 mph for the Sports version and 195 mph for the Comfortable version - both were new world records for non-modified road car !!
The acceleration was also record-breaking. Here below is the data they recorded :
959 Sports Tested by Auto, Motor und Sport
Top Speed 197 mph
0-100 km/h (62 mph) 3.7 sec
0-160 km/h (99.5 mph) 8.3 sec
0-200 km/h (124 mph) 13.0 sec
Standing 1/4 mile 11.9 sec
Standing 1000 m 21.6 sec
They also recorded the acceleration for the Comfortable version, but that seemed to be rather slow (0-160 km/h in 9.5 sec, standing kilometer in 22.2 sec) Anyway, when it went back to the factory, a fault was found in the sequential turbo system, so please don't be too serious about that. In contrast, the Sports version's figures are 100% trustable. Strangely, Road & Track's super contest in 1987 which featured both 959s recorded the same data - 197 mph for Sports and 195 mph for Comfortable. The Sports took 3.6 sec for 0-60 mph (96.5 km/h), that is, approximately 3.7 sec if corrected to 0-100 km/h. They also performed the test in the VW test track.... I believe R&T's data must be obtained from AMS. It might act as a supporting role in the test.
Performance - by Fast Lane
British magazine Fast Lane did a test for the Comfortable version and found the following result:
959 Comfortable Tested by Fast Lane
0-60 mph (96.5 km/h) 4.2 sec
0-100 mph (161 km/h) 9.7 sec
0-140 mph (225 km/h) 19.2 sec
It seems that the 100 kilogram penalty harmed very much the acceleration.
Road test Impression - from Car & Driver and Autocar
When automotive journalists drove the pre-production 959 in 1986, they were amazed by its performance and good manner. Supercars in the mid-80s, most notably Lamborghini Countach QV, always gave people mixed impression. They were fast, had wonderful 12-cyliner engines, but they also required drivers to put up with heavy controls, awful drivability in wet, lack of stopping power, cramped cabin and poor visibility.
959 represented a new generation of supercars, which was even faster, turbocharged, limited production and sold at double or triple price. It made other supercars looked old immediately. Having understood the background, we can go to see how the journalists commented 959.
Car and Driver
Translated back to English from the Chinese version C&D, Sept 1986
"Engine noise still come from behind, but it is no longer the familiar noise (Note: to 911). The noise from cooling fan and valves disappeared, replaced by the fuel injectors and the flat six's exhaust noise. (Note: C&D obviously ignored the fact that the 911 was also fuel injected)
"In idling, 959 is as civilized as a cat. Press the throttle pedal slightly and the rev meter will turn softly. However, explore deeper and the car will release its soul like a wild animal. Between 4,000 rpm and 5,000 rpm, this engine sings clearly and deeply, showing its real ability. It cannot melt the road underneath, neither can it roar like an old Corvette nor press your neck to the headrest under acceleration, but it allows you to press the throttle as long as you wish and corners as fast as you like.
"Under dry road program, enter a 90 degrees bend quickly, the rear end will slide slightly. Since the front wheels grip hardly to the road, applies a bit opposite lock and you can get the tail back to its normal path. If the driver can keep the engine running at above 5,000 rpm, 959 can exit the corner like a rocket.
"The operation of throttle and brakes rarely influence the path the car runs. Press or loose the throttle cannot lead to or stop the slide. Similarly, it can corner beautifully while you are braking hard, just like the throttle and brake pedals isolated from the car. One more thing has to be mentioned: the power steering is not too light and provides very good road feel.
"Unluckily, we cannot test it outside Nurburgring race track.... 959 has well manner: wind and engine noise are suppressed very well; suspensions damp well even at their stiffest setting. In addition to the leather interior, first rate air conditioning and audio system, 959 is a luxurious car !! "
Autocar (8 June 1988)
When Autocar tested 959 a year later, the world had changed a lot. Ferrari raised the game by launching F40, which was claimed to be 959-beater. With a strong rival side by side, Autocar found the Porsche seemed to be slower and more civilized. But it was far more versatile than any supercars had ever tried to be.
"With the 959's all-weather traction prowess, creature comforts ( it's like a normal 911 inside, complete with small rear seats ), noise insulation, easy vision and cabin access, it holds an inherent advantage for everyday, year round use. Anyone who has driven a 959 on a variety of roads and especially in the wet knows how stunning good it is as a complete ultra-high performance road car."
Contrary to most people's expectation, Autocar found the sequential turbo engine was more like a typical blown engine than F40, "Up to 4300 rpm, only the first turbo puffs into the cylinders of the flat six with its water-cooled heads ; above that, the second blower comes in. This makes the Porsche feel rather leisurely below 4500 rpm. Then it suddenly explodes as it begin to dispense real power. Its maximum torque of 369 lbft comes at 5500 rpm which is why the 959's six-speed transmission wants to be operated quickly."
Testing in a dry test track, Autocar said the 959 cornered considerably slower than F40 because of its weight, its high center of gravity and its 4-wheel drive which made it difficult to power slide. So it was not the performance choice, but surely the everyday driver's choice, "The 959 is a civilized two-plus two with amazing driving performance.... Porsche wanted to build a car that contained the ultimate in drive-line technology and showed how easy and manageable very high power outputs could be made, in the hands of ANY driver in all conditions. Anyone who has driven a 959 in a range of weathers knows that it too, has succeeded."
A detailed report about the 959 - F40 contest is available in Part VI.
959 in Motor Racing
People used to over-praised 959's achievement in motor racing. Here I am going to tell you the true story in behind.
Paris-Dakar rally
959 was designed to comply with FIA Group B regulations. In theory, it could compete with other Group B rally cars like Audi Quattro Sport, Lancia Delta S4 and Peugeot 205 T16 in the World Rally Championship, which was the most exciting and most sophisticated rally category ever appeared. However, Porsche did not do that, it just entered 959 in the less competitive Paris-Dakar rally. Why ?
Compare with those fabulous Group B rally cars, 959 was obviously too heavy and too big. For example, the Delta S4 weighed just 890 kg, powered by a 1.7-litre turbocharged plus supercharged engine capable of 470 hp in racing trim. The 959, governed by the regulation which according to engine capacity, could not be lighter than 1,100 kg. In fact, it could be heavier. How could 959 compete with them ? Money was another problem. A whole season of WRC might cost dozens of million, which was not affordable by a car maker producing 50,000 cars annually.
Porsche chose the Paris-Dakar, very clever. It was the most famous event in the world, but competition was far less than WRC - Mercedes G-Wagen, Mitsubishi Pajero, Opel Manta .... these were what the 959 faced in 1985 and 86 !! Porsche had every reason to win: more money than most rivals, most expensive car in the field, most powerful and 4-wheel drive. On the contrary, its rivals had every reason not to win: none of them were Group B car !!
Therefore, Porsche cleverly used this event for advertising purpose, and simultaneously wanted to test the reliability of 959 in the worst conditions. In 1984, Porsche entered several 911 Carrera 4x4, which were development cars for 959's 4WD system, although without the variable torque split function. They finished 1st, 2nd and 26th. Easy job.
In 1985, they entered three 959s development cars, with 100% 959 appearance, but instead of the twin-turbo engine, they were powered by 911 Carrera's 3.2-litre normally aspirated engine with 230 hp only. The 4WD system and suspensions were the same as the eventual 959. However, all three cars retired by mechanical problems.
Next year, the cars were almost identical to the production model. Like 959 Sport, no ride height adjustment in the suspensions, so ground clearance was increased. The twin-turbo engine was detuned to "only" 400 hp to drink the inferior fuel available in Africa. This time they refreshed all the unhappy memory by winning 1st, 2nd and 5th place. If the third car did not act as a service car (it picked the spare tyres, and repairment kits for the other two), it could have finished 3rd !!
Le Mans - 961
At least the rally 959 won Paris-Dakar. The track version, now called 961, won only a category victory.
Since its introduction in 1982 until its cancellation in 1986, Group B category was never successfully expanded outside rallying. FIA had a "Group B evolution" regulation for endurance racing which allowed some degree of modifications to the 200-off production model by only making 30 such cars. However, Porsche did not do that because, actually, no other car makers were doing that. Instead, according to the loosely IMSA GTX regulation which had no production requirement, Porche created several 961 based on 959, and entered them in Le Mans 24 hours only.
961 would have been a successful racing car if it were given suitable regulation. Remember we said the 959 engine was developed from Porsche 956 / 962's Group C endurance racing cars ? With a little more work to restore the original nature, 961 can easily output 680 hp while running at 1.4 bar boost pressure (versus 959's 0.9 bar). The turbochargers returned to parellel arrangement like the Group C engine. Brakes came from 962. The 4-wheel drive was retained but was set to heavily rear-biased (20 / 80). No adjustable damping and ride height like the 959 Sport. The body was thoroughly lightened so that kerb weight was reduced to only 1,150 kg. Bigger rear wing and revised air dam reflected the needs of track racing.
In the first try in 1986 Le Mans 24 hours, the 959 ran smoothly and finished 7th overall, or 1st place in IMSA GTX category. All the cars in front of it were Group C cars, so the result was quite respectable. However, in those days Group C was the majority and the highlight of endurance racing. The IMSA GTX did not attract much attention from car makers as well as spectators, so 961 did not really proved its superiority.
It was only raced once more, in 1987 Le Mans it retired following an accident. More disappointingly, lap time and maximum speed were slightly inferior to those obtained at its first attempt.
Anyway, 959 did proved itself as a versatile car - no other car in modern history, except Porsche 911, won rally race as well as endurance race.
The arch-rival: Ferrari F40
Undoubtedly, the most obvious rival of Porsche 959 was Ferrari F40. Just one year after Porsche started delivery 959, Enzo Ferrari unveiled F40 in Maranello, aiming to re-clinch the "Fastest car" title from Porsche. If we say the Porsche was built on Group C technology, then Formula One must be the donor of the Ferrari.
In specifications, the Ferrari was even faster than 959. Its 2.95-litre twin-turbo V8 produced 28 more horsepower and 56 lbft more torque. In basic trim, it weighed just 1100 kg, thanks to the tubular space frame chassis and full carbon fiber body. Even adding winding windows and air-con like most customers did, it still weighed less than 1,200 kg, well below Porsche's real kerb weight of 1,530 kg.
Since F40's aerodynamic drag coefficient was higher than 959 (0.34 versus 0.31), it might be slightly slower in top speed, although Ferrari claimed 202.5 mph. In fact, I still failed to find any reliable tested top speed of F40. In terms of acceleration, 959 won in the earliest stage since its variable 4-wheel drive eliminated tyre slip during starting and made better use of traction. Therefore it could beat the Ferrari in 0-60 mph (3.6 sec versus 3.9 sec), but there after the Ferrari's true power started to display its superiority and it never look back until limited by drag. Here is their acceleration figures:
(aclaro las tablas las pase como pude, le puse numeros indicativos asi entienden de que auto es cada tiempo, espero...)
959 Sport(1) F40(2) 959 Comfort (3)
0-60 mph 3.6 sec(1) 3.9 sec(2) 4.2 sec(3)
0-99.5 mph 8.3 sec(1)
0-100 mph 7.8 sec(2) 9.7 sec(3)
Tested by Auto, Motor und Sport(1) Fast Lane(2) Fast Lane(3)
By 100 mph, F40 was at least half a second quicker than 959 Sport. After that, it seemed to be even faster. We can have this conclusion: in most circumstances, F40 was considerably quicker than 959. But how do they compare in real contest ? In June 1988, Autocar magazine featured the first comparison test for these two supercars. The following is the details about that contest.
SUPER MATCH : 959 vs. F40
Autocar ( 8 June 1988 )
Here below is the summary of the test report. The words in yellow are quoted from Autocar, others are intepreted or supplemented by myself.
Testers
Walter Brun : ex-racing driver and racing team boss who was running the successful EuroBrun Racing. He drove his Porsche 956 and 962 in Group C endurance world championship. The 959 featured in this test was his own everyday car.
Gerhard Berger : everybody knows he was one of the top Formula One drivers for many years. In 1988, he served the Ferrari F1 team and by the way participated in the testing of F40. He was invited by the company to demonstrate the F40 in this contest. He also bought a F40, but not yet delivered until September of that year.
Test Track
Ferrari's Fiorano test track, Maranello, Italy. This is a small track with many tight corners.
Test Car
The 959 under test was a Comfortable version. Since only 6 Sports version were made, compare with about 200 Comfortable version, it is very reasonable to use the 959 Comfortable as representative of the whole 959 range. The F40 was the original unmodified one, without winding windows and air conditioning.
Start testing now...
"I have driven so many Porsches, and all the racers including the 956 and 962, " Brun said as we headed south for Modena. " I had to have a 959 for the road. " There was a sparkle in his eyes at the prospect of what lay in store : we were going to be the first to find out what happens when you pit the technical might of the Porsche 959 against the comparatively simple but even move potent Ferrari F40.
Having arrived Maranello, Brun and Autocar's Malte Jurgens parked the white 959 in front of Cavallino restaurant and went inside to have a tea. People became curious. One finally asked what we were doing. " Waiting for Gerhard Berger and a Ferrari F40, " Brun replied.
A few minutes later, the white 959 rolled through the gates of Ferrari's holy of holies. Enzo Ferrari's son Piero Lardi seemed interested and came up on a cross-country Honda. Some of the race team stayed to watch too. (Note : the F1 team had already finished testing in the track) Then Berger strolled up and climbed into the F40 that was awaiting his pleasure. I dropped into the seat beside him.
" It runs fantastically well. It bites from around 3000 rpm and upwards of 3500 it really takes off as if the turbos are constantly supplying with full boost, " said Berger.
Beyond 3500 rpm, there is such an abundance of power and torque that Berger had power oversteer any time he felt like it.... while all this was going on, the F40 stayed as flat and felt as taut as a racing car. There was no impression of the wheels rising and falling to absorb irregularities in the surface ; more as if it was doing it with its whole body. This suited Berger. " I like hard-tuned suspensions, " he said, " and the F40 has the best road chassis I have ever driven. "
The Ferrari seemed to suck in the tarmac ribbon of the test track so fast that at the end of the short straight at Fiorano, the Jaeger speedo was showing almost 160 mph. The 959's speedo would show 138 mph at the same point.
When we were out on the track again, with Berger now pitting the 959 against the curves that the Ferrari had just attacked, it was clear that in its engine characteristics the 959 is the more radical of the two. Its two-stage turbo-charging system gives it performance that is more typical of a blown engine.
Up to 4300 rpm, only the first turbo puffs into the cylinders of the flat six with its water-cooled heads ; above that, the second blower ( which has already started spinning, thank to the elaborate bypass plumbing ) comes in. This makes the Porsche feel rather leisurely below 4500 rpm. Then it suddenly explodes as it begins to dispense real power. Its maximum torque of 369 lb-ft comes at 5500 rpm ( against F40's 425 lb-ft at 4000 rpm ) which is why the 959's six-speed transmission wants to be operated quickly. The Ferrari makes do with five gears.
A few laps of Fiorano soon showed what the Porsche, despite its open-road prowess, couldn't do : sweep around corners quite as swiftly and adroitly as the F40. On this track, especially in the tighter bends, the Ferrari's ability to be driven more aggressively on the throttle helped make it superior. Apart from its power-to-weight edge, the F40's better weight distribution of almost 50 : 50 front to rear (compared with the 959's 42 : 58) makes it a perfectly-balanced car which, despite its longer wheelbase (96.5 in to the 959's 89.4), could snake around the tighter bends. By comparison, the 959 struggled through the cuit's curvier sections. This calls for an explanation. The 959 is designed to run with its drive biased towards the rear. Then, as soon as the rear wheel sensors detect a tendency to spin, the front-wheel drive is progressively activated until a power distribution of 50 : 50 front and rear has been reached. Walter Brun remembers being told by Porsche that the 959 can easily be pushed into over-steer on dry tarmac by turning in sharply and stepping on the throttle. This was not the case at Fiorano. The 959's engine characteristics, its weight and its four-wheel drive arrangement made it the inferior car on the smooth dry tarmac of the circuit.
The Porsche is based on the galvanized sheet steel construction of the 911. With comfort aspects like electrically adjustable seats and its heavy four-wheel drive, some models tip the scales at just under 3500 lb instead of the the 2970 lb specified by Porsche and the 2425 lb of the F40. These masses need to be accelerated and braked which, together with the four-wheel drive - not set to respond in the sportiest way - results in a handicap the 959 cannot overcome on a dry track.
"At Fiorano, the 959 is at least 10 sec behind the F40," Gerhard Berger said - and even 959 owner Walter Brun would admit to six.
By the time Walter Brun took over the F40 he had consistently run the Porsche to its limits. In the F40, he easily matched the speed Berger had posted in the 959. (Note: remember Berger's superior driving skill) "The F40 is very easy to drive," Berger explained. "If you are experienced with racing cars, you will find it very easy to handle the Ferrari." Brun's judgment, too, is based on his racing car experience : "The F40 runs nearly as well as my Porsche 962. With racing tires and some fine tuning it would easily run at the front of category C2 (Note: FIA endurance racing Group C category 2, slightly lower than Porsche 962.) Berger chipped in again : "It is nearly an act of provocation to offer a car with so much power and so little weight to an ordinary driver."
But there is another side to all this. The F40's advantage is clear when the sky is blue and the tarmac fairly smooth. The 959, however, is a car which permits massive acceleration and deceleration even on wet surfaces, slush or gravel. The Porsche, with its interior noise levels reduced allows just a rumble of the staccato of its firing order into its cabin, whereas the F40 smacks at you with each rev. The hoarse howl of the Ferrari V8 is so dominant that very wisely there is no space for a radio in the dashboard.
"The 959 is a civilized two-plus-two with amazing driving performance," Berger and Brun agreed. "The F40 is a racing car for the road."
Any successor?
Porsche 911 Turbo S
In specifications, 993 turbo S (the last real 911) seemed to be the application of 959's technology into mass production car. No way it actually was.
Its flat-six was purely evolved from 911, having no relationship with 959's engine. Still air-cooled, 2 valves per cylinder, it needed 3600 c.c. to output the same 450 hp. Twin-turbo operated in parellel rather than sequential. The 4-wheel drive was just a simple viscous-coupling design like any Japanese 4WD cars, by no means comparable to 959's PSK system.
Although having similar power, far more torque (431 lbft) and less weight (1456kg), 911 Turbo S still failed to match 959's acceleration as well as top speed. Starting from standstill, it took 3.9 sec to 60mph, 8.9 sec to 100mph and could only top 180 mph, thanks to the lack of PSK and inferior drag.
Porsche 911 GT1
Contrary to 959, the 911 GT1 was purely designed for GT racing. Mechanically it was build on Porsche 962's chassis and engine. Of course faster than 959 in all conditions except top speed (because its aerodynamic was biased towards maximum down-force)
However, it was also the rawest supercar ever built. Very noisy, very stiff ride, very tout control, more turbo lag .... driving fun wouldn't appear outside racing tracks. Of course it was not 959's successor.
McLaren F1
There were a few common between 959 and McLaren F1: both of them set new top speed record, both of them were seriously developed to be the finest, but everything else were different.
F1 followed the Formula One philosophy to make it as light, as low (center of gravity) and as powerful as possible. It chose a normally aspirated V12 instead of turbo. No ABS and 4WD for optimum weight saving. Carbon fiber monocoque was just transverred from racing. It did not show any technology breakthrough, unlike 959.
Jaguar X220
This was the first car breaking 959's performance record. 213 mph was achieved by even more powerful engine - 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 capable of 542 hp. The chassis and engine actually came from the XJR-11 Group C race car for ease of development. Therefore everything else was simple, lack of quality and lack of technical innovatio
Bugatti EB110
After 959, no other came closer to achieve all-round ability than Bugatti EB110. Undoubtedly, its 4WD combined with mid-engined and wider tyres enable even higher cornering grip and balance than 959. Like the Porsche, wet road security was no problem.
It tried to be sophisticated in engine - V12, 5 valves per cylinder, quad-turbo, only resulted in more turbo lag, though strong power in high speed could push the car to 212 mph. Its cabin, though not as comfortable as 959, had enough space and more grace - have you seen wood and leather in a supercar? You can find them in EB110 GT.
Like 959, EB110GT was not light. Therefore a Super Sport version was also available, with carbon fiber monocoque and other weight saving to achieve 1418 kg, lighter than 959 Sport.
Although Bugatti bankrupted very soon, EB110 was very well developed. It was very refined, unlike most supercars that pursued sheer performance in the price of refinement. Despite of less technology breakthrough for its time, EB110 was the closest car to 959's philosophy.
Still stunning !
Having read the True Story of 959, I believe you have already got a clear view of this supercar, no matter the bright side or dark side. To me, 14 years after reading the first article about 959, I must say it is still stunning to me. Before it, after it, no other cars ever tried to be as radical and as versatile as it. Of course, after 14 years it would be nonsense to say 959 still leading in technology. However, if I have to nominate the most radical or versatile supercar of all time, Porsche 959 is always my first choice.
General Information
Price: $247,000
Miles Per Gallon: 13 mpg
Curb Weight: 3199 lbs
Layout: Rear-Engine/AWD
Transmission: 6-Speed Manual
Engine
Type: Twin-Turbo Flat-6
Displacement: 2851 cc
Horsepower: 450 bhp @ 6500 rpm
Torque: 370 lb-ft @ 5500 rpm
Redline: ---- rpm
Performance
0-60 mph: 3.7 sec
0-100 mph: 8.3 sec
Quarter Mile: 11.8 sec @ 123 mph
Skidpad: .96g
Top Speed: 190 mph
Braking, 60-0 mph: 117 ft
Slalom Speed: 69.3 mph
:eek:
Philosophy and Development
Unlike Ferrari and Lamborghini, Porsche did not build 959 for clinching the title "World's Fastest Car". Since Ferry Porsche created the first 356, Porsche always makes practical sports cars. Porsche's cars will never sacrifice handling for top speed, never pursuit acceleration over braking, never place lightness above reliability. Therefore supercar had never been Porsche's subject.
From the beginning the 959 project was intended to be a technology study rather than just another supercar. As the company was earning more and more profit from the success of 924 / 944 series, Porsche generously poured in excess of $100 million US dollars into the project, most went to the development of advanced 4-wheel drive, engine, aerodynamics and advanced materials. Porsche believed most of these technologies would benefit production models in the future, or at least keep their engineers state-of-the-art. Now we know only the 4WD system was simplified and applied to the 911 Carrera 4 of 1989.
Anyway, because time and cost were not constraints during the development of 959, no wonder it could be so sophisticated and so well developed.
Development
Basically, the 959 was based on 911's monocoque chassis but with tracks widened and covered with advanced materials such as Kelvar. The flat six engine was derived from 962's racing engine. 4WD was a completely new development and was then tested in a 911 Carrera 4x4 in the 1984 Paris-Dakar rally.
The first prototype, named "Group B" rather than "959", was unveiled in the '83 Frankfurt motor show. It stunned the whole world by its radical specifications but actually it was more a show car than a running prototype. It was called Group B because Porsche designed it to comply with the requirements of FIA Group B racing category. This was, however, never applied.
In the 1985 Frankfurt show, Porsche unveiled a final prototype whose appearance would be carried over to the production car. Most mechanical development was completed, except the complex PSK 4-wheel drive system which met some difficulties. After one year of delay, the first production-ready car was unveiled to journalists in 1986. In April 1987, the first 959 was delivered to Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, the youngest son of Ferry Porsche.
In order to satisfy the minimum requirements of Group B homologation, a limited run of 200 cars was originally planned, but eventually 230 went out of the factory due to strong demand.
Cost
Porsche sold every 959 for DM 420,000 ($225,000 USD), which could buy a Lamborghini Countach plus a Ferrari Testarossa. Nevertheless, that was still a bargain considering the long list of technology involved - sources estimated the cost of every 959 was $530,000. This means Porsche might made a loss of some $70 million in the production run of 230 cars.
Chassis and body
Chassis
Strangely, Porsche 959 was built on a steel monocoque essentially the same as the 911's. Since all its less expensive rivals like Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari Testarossa were using the inherently lighter tubular space frame chassis, one can inevitably doubt the effort Porsche had spent on weight reduction. Perhaps Porsche thought any new chassis advancer than steel monocoque could hardly be applied economically to its future production models, so why should it spend money in this subject ?
Instead of developing a radical chassis, Porsche pursued lightness by using lightweight materials for body panels -
Most magazines, books and websites over-emphasised the sophistication of 959's body materials. In fact, with just a little bit knowledge about other supercars, you will be amazed how little carbon-fiber composite used in the Porsche supercar. For instance, the Ferrari F40 applied Kelvar even in doors, bonnet and interior, although it had already got a tubular space frame chassis.
Porsche claimed steel accounted for just 49 % of the dry weight, compared with an average of 72% of European passenger cars in 1985. But when compare with supercars, its 1350 kg kerb weight could hardly impress us. A Lamborghini Countach with a big V12 weighed just 100 kg more, while Ferrari F40 undercut it for some 200 kg !!
Styling and aerodynamic
In fact, 959 was never purposely-styled. Because the chassis came from 911, all the important dimensions and hard points were fixed - the wheelbase was exactly the same as 911, the width exceeded 911 Turbo by 2.5 inches, mostly for accommodating wider tyres. The exterior shape of the cockpit section was nearly identical to its cousin, in which the doors, windows, windscreen and roof even had exactly the same dimensions. No wonder many car tuners could easily modify a 911 into a fake 959 !
Initially, it was quite difficult for me to accept its styling - perhaps we were too used to 911's classical shape so that anything looks half-911 and half-others would be perceived as strange. Honestly speaking, even if we ignored the "911 effect", it still failed to deliver the pure beauty and emotion like any Ferraris. In terms of design philosophy, 959 has none, because it was styled by functional requirements rahter than artistic sense.
One of the functional requirements was aerodynamics. The big front air dam, huge rear spoiler and wide skirts were created step by step in wind tunnel. They contributed to the superb drag coefficient of 0.31 - the best among all supercars (only to be equalled by McLaren F1 and Lamborghini Diablo). This was very crucial to its record-breaking top speed.
Engineers could have reduced the drag further, but they did not want to sacrifice the zero aerodynamic lift they had already acheived. For a supercar running in excess of 300 km/h, any aerodynamic lift could cause serious problems in stability. Obviously 959's air dam and the fiberglass-Kelvar flat undertray contributed a lot to that.
However, 959 did not create any downforce either, unlike Ferrari F40 and today's 911 GT1. This explain why it was later discovered as lack of track-racing potential.
Engine
The 2849 c.c. flat-six shared virtually nothing with the 911, because it was derived from the racing unit that powered the 956 and 962 Group C racers. Unlike the famous air-cooled engine using by the contemporary 911, it was water-cooled because the excessive heat generated was impossible to be cooled by air. The basic structure was anything predictable: aluminium alloy head and block, aluminium forged pistons finished with polishing, titanium con-rods, 2 camshafts in each bank driving 4 valves per cylinder, dry sump lubrication .... all operation managed by Bosch's latest version of Motronic management system.
As in 956 / 962's engines, it got a pair of small KKK turbochargers. However, they were arranged to operate sequentially for the benefit of responsiveness - below 4,000 rpm, since exhaust gas was not enough for driving both turbines efficiently, all the exhaust gas was fed to a single turbo. This made the turbo operated earlier than conventional turbochargers. Between 4,000 and 4,200 rpm, the second turbo "pre-spin", that is, prepared for engaging very soon. Above 4,200 rpm, two turbos operated simultaneously to provide full boost up to 0.9 bar (12.8 psi). At this moment, or 6,500 rpm, the engine developed the maximum power of 450 hp, which was the highest record for a road car if you do not believe the figure quoted by Lamborghini Countach QV (455 hp).
In contrast, torque seemed to be a little bit disappointed. At 5,500 rpm you got only 369 lbft, well below the 425 lbft of Ferrari F40. Luckily, at least the delivery of torque was quite linear. Since the first turbo started operating hard at 2,500 rpm, no less than 296 lbft was available. It gradually increased until the second phase of boost started at 4,200 rpm, then jumped to the maximum in 5,500 rpm. In short, it had a very good manner for a turbocharged engine of this level of performance.
In order to compensate the lack of torque, as well as to cope with the near-200 mph top speed, Porsche developed a 6-speed gearbox with Borg-Warner.
PSK 4-wheel drive
This is the highlight of 959's technology breakthrough.
While other supercar makers insisted to remain rear-wheel drive (mainly for cost and weight concern), Porsche demonstrated the superiority of 4WD with the 959. Those who have ever driven the 959, Bugatti EB110, Ferrari F40, F50, Jaguar XJ220 and McLaren F1 agreed that the first 2 provided much better "real world performance", that is, running on wet or slippery surfaces, or rough twisty roads. Undoubtedly, this is the inherent advantage of 4-wheel drive.
Porsche 959's PSK (Porsche-Steuer Kupplung) system was like no others. Even in today, it is still regarded as the most sophisticated 4WD system ever made. What made it so unique and so superior? Among all 4WD designs, PSK is the only one which could vary the front / rear torque split ratio under normal running condition, while other designs can only vary when tire slip occurs.
In most of the time, torque split between front and rear was 40 : 60, that is, the same as the car's weight distribution. This made the best use of traction.
In hard acceleration, PSK transferred up to 80% torque to the rear wheels. Why? Because hard acceleration leads to rearward weight transfer, which reduces traction at front wheels and increases traction at rear wheels. By transferring more torque to the rear wheels, the traction can be optimally used.
On slippery road, 50 : 50 torque slit was used. In any time, computer determined the most suitable torque split ratio by analysing parameters such as throttle position, steering angle, g force and even turbo boost. Therefore PSK system provided near perfect traction that was not comparable by other 4WD systems.
Mechanism
The PSK 4WD system used a multi-plate clutch instead of center differential to carry out the torque split. The clutch had 6 pairs of frictional plate, each pair was independently controlled by computer and actuated by hydraulic pressure. This was simply equal to 6 independent clutches.
To make this system work, the front and rear drive-shafts must run at different speed in normal condition. (so 959 adopted a pair of front tires with 1% larger diameter than the rear's) Because of the speed difference between front and rear drive-shafts, the 2 frictional plates of each independent clutch were rotating relative to each other. When applied hydraulic pressure to the first clutch, a small amount of torque will transfer to the front axle. But note that the two drive-shafts cannot be fully locked up unless all the 6 clutches are locked simultaneously.
Now, you can see how it worked: locked up 2 clutches, 3 clutches... and the torque to front wheels would be increased, subsequently, torque split could be 50:50 if all the clutches are fully locked up. Of course, all these action was controlled by computer.
This is only for "normal" condition. Like many other 4WD systems, when tire slip occurred, most of the torque could be sent to either axle.
What about energy loss and wear due to the slipping clutches? As the speed difference was very small, Porsche claimed energy loss was no greater than 0.4% of the power developed by the engine. As for wear, the clutch was dimensioned that it was negligible and caused no problem during the whole life span.
Advantages
1- Variable torque split even in normal condition. Best use of traction.
2- Since computer monitored and controlled everything, theoretically it could cope with any normal or abnormal conditions without limited by the design of mechanical parts. The result was fast response and adaptive.
Disadvantages
1- Heavy: with the complex multi-plate clutch, PSK was heavier than ordinary 4WD.
2- Expensive: it was so expensive that no other cars employed this design. In 1989, Porsche's 911 Carrera 4 tried a simplified version of this system, but without the most important variable torque split function. The second generation of Carrera 4 even dropped this and in favor of a much more conventional design.
Suspensions
The basic suspensions were nothing other than predictable: double wishbones in the front as well as the back. What amazed us were the adjustable ride height as well as the adjustable damping.
The adjustable ride height function was designed to achieve high speed stability without hurting low speed ride. The driver could select a ride height of 12 cm, 15 cm or 18 cm according to need. For example, if the car was traveling off-road, he might need the largest ride height to prevent the car from bottom out or damaging by rocks. If he was just traveling at ease, he might also expect a comfortable ride which was only achievable by the longest suspension travel. However, if he was going to have a 300 km/h excitement in Autobahn highway, he must want the lowest ride height which lowered the center of gravity and stiffened the suspensions (by the shorter suspension travel as well as the adjustable damping) thus enhanced cornering stability.
The 3 ride height settings could be selected manually in the dashboard, or it could be done automatically by the computer. According to Porsche, FOR SAFETY REASON, no matter in what setting the computer would lower the ride height to at most 15 cm when speed exceeded 50 mph and further lowered to 12 cm when exceeding 100 mph. Well, it seemed that Porsche was either regarding its customers as ordinary drivers or it wanted to add another gimmick for advertising purpose. "Computer-controlled self-leveling suspension", isn't it sounds great ?
The adjustable damping also had 3 settings. Of course they varied the damping rate thus result in different stiffness.
To implement the adjustable damping and adjustable ride height, each wheel employed 2 dampers. One of which had an electric motor to vary the damper's valve system so to implement adjustable damping. Another damper, whose fluid was supplied by hydraulic pump from the engine, took care of the ride height adjustment.
Brakes
Porsche will never increase power without upgrading brakes, especially 959 was the heaviest member of the 911 family and was also by far the fastest. The ventilated discs (in Sport version, also cross-drilled) had diameters of 322 mm and 308 mm front and rear respectively, accompanied with a four-piston aluminum caliper which was yet to be matched then. The four-channel ABS, with sensors on all four wheels, was also the first ABS applied to supercars.
Tires
Strange, very strange .... a German sports car used Japanese tires as standard. Originally, Dunlop promised to development high performance tires specially for 959, but technical difficulties delayed that until the 959 was already launched. Bridgestone, on the other hand, was eager to take part in this project and created the standard rubber earlier than Dunlop.
Strange, very strange .... the rear tires were just 255 mm wide. Ferrari Testarossa was 280 mm, F40 was 335 mm, Lamborghini Countach was even 345 mm !!
One of the reasons was: the PSK 4-wheel drive could optimally use the traction from narrow tires. Another reason was: well, Porsche was actually too conservative. Remember the Bugatti EB110 which was also 4-wheel drive and was praised even more in terms of grip? This car had a pair of 325 mm rear rubber.
959 Sports and Comfortable versions
959 had two versions: 959 Comfortable and 959 Sports. The Sport version had the same power, but weighed 100 kg less than the Comfortable version so as to provide even higher performance, especially were handling and acceleration. What diet did it go? Firstly, the variable ride height and damping was discarded. Then, all the luxury items were deleted - air-conditioning, power windows, central lock, the useless rear seats and even passenger side mirror. The electric leather seats were replaced by manually-adjusted sports seats.
As the ride height adjustment had gone, the Sports version used stiffer springs and dampers.
I cannot find any 959 website explain why Porsche had to create these two derivatives, but in Paul Frere's book "Porsche 911 Story" I found the true answer:
"Whatever care is taken to save weight, a car carrying such an amount of advanced technology cannot be a lightweight. Originally, Porsche predicted a weight of 1,450 kg with full tanks, but this eventually turned out to be optimistic by anything between 150 and 200 kg ...." No wonder Porsche had to make a lighter version.
However, even the lighter Sports version tipped the scales at 1,566 kg with a full tank of fuel when it was tested by German magazine Auto, Motor und Sport. This corresponds to about 1,530 kg curb weight (half tank of fuel), very different from the factory figure of 1,350 kg. Obviously 959 was overweight by any standard.
Few customers felt inclined to sacrifice those luxurious items to even higher performance, so only 6 Sports version were ordered.
Performance - by Auto, Motor und Sport
Auto, Motor und Sport (AMS), a giant German car magazine, tested both versions of 959 in 1987. They took the 959s to Volkswagen's Ehra Lessien test track, which has a pair of long straights for 300 km/h-plus run. Eventually they recorded 197 mph for the Sports version and 195 mph for the Comfortable version - both were new world records for non-modified road car !!
The acceleration was also record-breaking. Here below is the data they recorded :
959 Sports Tested by Auto, Motor und Sport
Top Speed 197 mph
0-100 km/h (62 mph) 3.7 sec
0-160 km/h (99.5 mph) 8.3 sec
0-200 km/h (124 mph) 13.0 sec
Standing 1/4 mile 11.9 sec
Standing 1000 m 21.6 sec
They also recorded the acceleration for the Comfortable version, but that seemed to be rather slow (0-160 km/h in 9.5 sec, standing kilometer in 22.2 sec) Anyway, when it went back to the factory, a fault was found in the sequential turbo system, so please don't be too serious about that. In contrast, the Sports version's figures are 100% trustable. Strangely, Road & Track's super contest in 1987 which featured both 959s recorded the same data - 197 mph for Sports and 195 mph for Comfortable. The Sports took 3.6 sec for 0-60 mph (96.5 km/h), that is, approximately 3.7 sec if corrected to 0-100 km/h. They also performed the test in the VW test track.... I believe R&T's data must be obtained from AMS. It might act as a supporting role in the test.
Performance - by Fast Lane
British magazine Fast Lane did a test for the Comfortable version and found the following result:
959 Comfortable Tested by Fast Lane
0-60 mph (96.5 km/h) 4.2 sec
0-100 mph (161 km/h) 9.7 sec
0-140 mph (225 km/h) 19.2 sec
It seems that the 100 kilogram penalty harmed very much the acceleration.
Road test Impression - from Car & Driver and Autocar
When automotive journalists drove the pre-production 959 in 1986, they were amazed by its performance and good manner. Supercars in the mid-80s, most notably Lamborghini Countach QV, always gave people mixed impression. They were fast, had wonderful 12-cyliner engines, but they also required drivers to put up with heavy controls, awful drivability in wet, lack of stopping power, cramped cabin and poor visibility.
959 represented a new generation of supercars, which was even faster, turbocharged, limited production and sold at double or triple price. It made other supercars looked old immediately. Having understood the background, we can go to see how the journalists commented 959.
Car and Driver
Translated back to English from the Chinese version C&D, Sept 1986
"Engine noise still come from behind, but it is no longer the familiar noise (Note: to 911). The noise from cooling fan and valves disappeared, replaced by the fuel injectors and the flat six's exhaust noise. (Note: C&D obviously ignored the fact that the 911 was also fuel injected)
"In idling, 959 is as civilized as a cat. Press the throttle pedal slightly and the rev meter will turn softly. However, explore deeper and the car will release its soul like a wild animal. Between 4,000 rpm and 5,000 rpm, this engine sings clearly and deeply, showing its real ability. It cannot melt the road underneath, neither can it roar like an old Corvette nor press your neck to the headrest under acceleration, but it allows you to press the throttle as long as you wish and corners as fast as you like.
"Under dry road program, enter a 90 degrees bend quickly, the rear end will slide slightly. Since the front wheels grip hardly to the road, applies a bit opposite lock and you can get the tail back to its normal path. If the driver can keep the engine running at above 5,000 rpm, 959 can exit the corner like a rocket.
"The operation of throttle and brakes rarely influence the path the car runs. Press or loose the throttle cannot lead to or stop the slide. Similarly, it can corner beautifully while you are braking hard, just like the throttle and brake pedals isolated from the car. One more thing has to be mentioned: the power steering is not too light and provides very good road feel.
"Unluckily, we cannot test it outside Nurburgring race track.... 959 has well manner: wind and engine noise are suppressed very well; suspensions damp well even at their stiffest setting. In addition to the leather interior, first rate air conditioning and audio system, 959 is a luxurious car !! "
Autocar (8 June 1988)
When Autocar tested 959 a year later, the world had changed a lot. Ferrari raised the game by launching F40, which was claimed to be 959-beater. With a strong rival side by side, Autocar found the Porsche seemed to be slower and more civilized. But it was far more versatile than any supercars had ever tried to be.
"With the 959's all-weather traction prowess, creature comforts ( it's like a normal 911 inside, complete with small rear seats ), noise insulation, easy vision and cabin access, it holds an inherent advantage for everyday, year round use. Anyone who has driven a 959 on a variety of roads and especially in the wet knows how stunning good it is as a complete ultra-high performance road car."
Contrary to most people's expectation, Autocar found the sequential turbo engine was more like a typical blown engine than F40, "Up to 4300 rpm, only the first turbo puffs into the cylinders of the flat six with its water-cooled heads ; above that, the second blower comes in. This makes the Porsche feel rather leisurely below 4500 rpm. Then it suddenly explodes as it begin to dispense real power. Its maximum torque of 369 lbft comes at 5500 rpm which is why the 959's six-speed transmission wants to be operated quickly."
Testing in a dry test track, Autocar said the 959 cornered considerably slower than F40 because of its weight, its high center of gravity and its 4-wheel drive which made it difficult to power slide. So it was not the performance choice, but surely the everyday driver's choice, "The 959 is a civilized two-plus two with amazing driving performance.... Porsche wanted to build a car that contained the ultimate in drive-line technology and showed how easy and manageable very high power outputs could be made, in the hands of ANY driver in all conditions. Anyone who has driven a 959 in a range of weathers knows that it too, has succeeded."
A detailed report about the 959 - F40 contest is available in Part VI.
959 in Motor Racing
People used to over-praised 959's achievement in motor racing. Here I am going to tell you the true story in behind.
Paris-Dakar rally
959 was designed to comply with FIA Group B regulations. In theory, it could compete with other Group B rally cars like Audi Quattro Sport, Lancia Delta S4 and Peugeot 205 T16 in the World Rally Championship, which was the most exciting and most sophisticated rally category ever appeared. However, Porsche did not do that, it just entered 959 in the less competitive Paris-Dakar rally. Why ?
Compare with those fabulous Group B rally cars, 959 was obviously too heavy and too big. For example, the Delta S4 weighed just 890 kg, powered by a 1.7-litre turbocharged plus supercharged engine capable of 470 hp in racing trim. The 959, governed by the regulation which according to engine capacity, could not be lighter than 1,100 kg. In fact, it could be heavier. How could 959 compete with them ? Money was another problem. A whole season of WRC might cost dozens of million, which was not affordable by a car maker producing 50,000 cars annually.
Porsche chose the Paris-Dakar, very clever. It was the most famous event in the world, but competition was far less than WRC - Mercedes G-Wagen, Mitsubishi Pajero, Opel Manta .... these were what the 959 faced in 1985 and 86 !! Porsche had every reason to win: more money than most rivals, most expensive car in the field, most powerful and 4-wheel drive. On the contrary, its rivals had every reason not to win: none of them were Group B car !!
Therefore, Porsche cleverly used this event for advertising purpose, and simultaneously wanted to test the reliability of 959 in the worst conditions. In 1984, Porsche entered several 911 Carrera 4x4, which were development cars for 959's 4WD system, although without the variable torque split function. They finished 1st, 2nd and 26th. Easy job.
In 1985, they entered three 959s development cars, with 100% 959 appearance, but instead of the twin-turbo engine, they were powered by 911 Carrera's 3.2-litre normally aspirated engine with 230 hp only. The 4WD system and suspensions were the same as the eventual 959. However, all three cars retired by mechanical problems.
Next year, the cars were almost identical to the production model. Like 959 Sport, no ride height adjustment in the suspensions, so ground clearance was increased. The twin-turbo engine was detuned to "only" 400 hp to drink the inferior fuel available in Africa. This time they refreshed all the unhappy memory by winning 1st, 2nd and 5th place. If the third car did not act as a service car (it picked the spare tyres, and repairment kits for the other two), it could have finished 3rd !!
Le Mans - 961
At least the rally 959 won Paris-Dakar. The track version, now called 961, won only a category victory.
Since its introduction in 1982 until its cancellation in 1986, Group B category was never successfully expanded outside rallying. FIA had a "Group B evolution" regulation for endurance racing which allowed some degree of modifications to the 200-off production model by only making 30 such cars. However, Porsche did not do that because, actually, no other car makers were doing that. Instead, according to the loosely IMSA GTX regulation which had no production requirement, Porche created several 961 based on 959, and entered them in Le Mans 24 hours only.
961 would have been a successful racing car if it were given suitable regulation. Remember we said the 959 engine was developed from Porsche 956 / 962's Group C endurance racing cars ? With a little more work to restore the original nature, 961 can easily output 680 hp while running at 1.4 bar boost pressure (versus 959's 0.9 bar). The turbochargers returned to parellel arrangement like the Group C engine. Brakes came from 962. The 4-wheel drive was retained but was set to heavily rear-biased (20 / 80). No adjustable damping and ride height like the 959 Sport. The body was thoroughly lightened so that kerb weight was reduced to only 1,150 kg. Bigger rear wing and revised air dam reflected the needs of track racing.
In the first try in 1986 Le Mans 24 hours, the 959 ran smoothly and finished 7th overall, or 1st place in IMSA GTX category. All the cars in front of it were Group C cars, so the result was quite respectable. However, in those days Group C was the majority and the highlight of endurance racing. The IMSA GTX did not attract much attention from car makers as well as spectators, so 961 did not really proved its superiority.
It was only raced once more, in 1987 Le Mans it retired following an accident. More disappointingly, lap time and maximum speed were slightly inferior to those obtained at its first attempt.
Anyway, 959 did proved itself as a versatile car - no other car in modern history, except Porsche 911, won rally race as well as endurance race.
The arch-rival: Ferrari F40
Undoubtedly, the most obvious rival of Porsche 959 was Ferrari F40. Just one year after Porsche started delivery 959, Enzo Ferrari unveiled F40 in Maranello, aiming to re-clinch the "Fastest car" title from Porsche. If we say the Porsche was built on Group C technology, then Formula One must be the donor of the Ferrari.
In specifications, the Ferrari was even faster than 959. Its 2.95-litre twin-turbo V8 produced 28 more horsepower and 56 lbft more torque. In basic trim, it weighed just 1100 kg, thanks to the tubular space frame chassis and full carbon fiber body. Even adding winding windows and air-con like most customers did, it still weighed less than 1,200 kg, well below Porsche's real kerb weight of 1,530 kg.
Since F40's aerodynamic drag coefficient was higher than 959 (0.34 versus 0.31), it might be slightly slower in top speed, although Ferrari claimed 202.5 mph. In fact, I still failed to find any reliable tested top speed of F40. In terms of acceleration, 959 won in the earliest stage since its variable 4-wheel drive eliminated tyre slip during starting and made better use of traction. Therefore it could beat the Ferrari in 0-60 mph (3.6 sec versus 3.9 sec), but there after the Ferrari's true power started to display its superiority and it never look back until limited by drag. Here is their acceleration figures:
(aclaro las tablas las pase como pude, le puse numeros indicativos asi entienden de que auto es cada tiempo, espero...)
959 Sport(1) F40(2) 959 Comfort (3)
0-60 mph 3.6 sec(1) 3.9 sec(2) 4.2 sec(3)
0-99.5 mph 8.3 sec(1)
0-100 mph 7.8 sec(2) 9.7 sec(3)
Tested by Auto, Motor und Sport(1) Fast Lane(2) Fast Lane(3)
By 100 mph, F40 was at least half a second quicker than 959 Sport. After that, it seemed to be even faster. We can have this conclusion: in most circumstances, F40 was considerably quicker than 959. But how do they compare in real contest ? In June 1988, Autocar magazine featured the first comparison test for these two supercars. The following is the details about that contest.
SUPER MATCH : 959 vs. F40
Autocar ( 8 June 1988 )
Here below is the summary of the test report. The words in yellow are quoted from Autocar, others are intepreted or supplemented by myself.
Testers
Walter Brun : ex-racing driver and racing team boss who was running the successful EuroBrun Racing. He drove his Porsche 956 and 962 in Group C endurance world championship. The 959 featured in this test was his own everyday car.
Gerhard Berger : everybody knows he was one of the top Formula One drivers for many years. In 1988, he served the Ferrari F1 team and by the way participated in the testing of F40. He was invited by the company to demonstrate the F40 in this contest. He also bought a F40, but not yet delivered until September of that year.
Test Track
Ferrari's Fiorano test track, Maranello, Italy. This is a small track with many tight corners.
Test Car
The 959 under test was a Comfortable version. Since only 6 Sports version were made, compare with about 200 Comfortable version, it is very reasonable to use the 959 Comfortable as representative of the whole 959 range. The F40 was the original unmodified one, without winding windows and air conditioning.
Start testing now...
"I have driven so many Porsches, and all the racers including the 956 and 962, " Brun said as we headed south for Modena. " I had to have a 959 for the road. " There was a sparkle in his eyes at the prospect of what lay in store : we were going to be the first to find out what happens when you pit the technical might of the Porsche 959 against the comparatively simple but even move potent Ferrari F40.
Having arrived Maranello, Brun and Autocar's Malte Jurgens parked the white 959 in front of Cavallino restaurant and went inside to have a tea. People became curious. One finally asked what we were doing. " Waiting for Gerhard Berger and a Ferrari F40, " Brun replied.
A few minutes later, the white 959 rolled through the gates of Ferrari's holy of holies. Enzo Ferrari's son Piero Lardi seemed interested and came up on a cross-country Honda. Some of the race team stayed to watch too. (Note : the F1 team had already finished testing in the track) Then Berger strolled up and climbed into the F40 that was awaiting his pleasure. I dropped into the seat beside him.
" It runs fantastically well. It bites from around 3000 rpm and upwards of 3500 it really takes off as if the turbos are constantly supplying with full boost, " said Berger.
Beyond 3500 rpm, there is such an abundance of power and torque that Berger had power oversteer any time he felt like it.... while all this was going on, the F40 stayed as flat and felt as taut as a racing car. There was no impression of the wheels rising and falling to absorb irregularities in the surface ; more as if it was doing it with its whole body. This suited Berger. " I like hard-tuned suspensions, " he said, " and the F40 has the best road chassis I have ever driven. "
The Ferrari seemed to suck in the tarmac ribbon of the test track so fast that at the end of the short straight at Fiorano, the Jaeger speedo was showing almost 160 mph. The 959's speedo would show 138 mph at the same point.
When we were out on the track again, with Berger now pitting the 959 against the curves that the Ferrari had just attacked, it was clear that in its engine characteristics the 959 is the more radical of the two. Its two-stage turbo-charging system gives it performance that is more typical of a blown engine.
Up to 4300 rpm, only the first turbo puffs into the cylinders of the flat six with its water-cooled heads ; above that, the second blower ( which has already started spinning, thank to the elaborate bypass plumbing ) comes in. This makes the Porsche feel rather leisurely below 4500 rpm. Then it suddenly explodes as it begins to dispense real power. Its maximum torque of 369 lb-ft comes at 5500 rpm ( against F40's 425 lb-ft at 4000 rpm ) which is why the 959's six-speed transmission wants to be operated quickly. The Ferrari makes do with five gears.
A few laps of Fiorano soon showed what the Porsche, despite its open-road prowess, couldn't do : sweep around corners quite as swiftly and adroitly as the F40. On this track, especially in the tighter bends, the Ferrari's ability to be driven more aggressively on the throttle helped make it superior. Apart from its power-to-weight edge, the F40's better weight distribution of almost 50 : 50 front to rear (compared with the 959's 42 : 58) makes it a perfectly-balanced car which, despite its longer wheelbase (96.5 in to the 959's 89.4), could snake around the tighter bends. By comparison, the 959 struggled through the cuit's curvier sections. This calls for an explanation. The 959 is designed to run with its drive biased towards the rear. Then, as soon as the rear wheel sensors detect a tendency to spin, the front-wheel drive is progressively activated until a power distribution of 50 : 50 front and rear has been reached. Walter Brun remembers being told by Porsche that the 959 can easily be pushed into over-steer on dry tarmac by turning in sharply and stepping on the throttle. This was not the case at Fiorano. The 959's engine characteristics, its weight and its four-wheel drive arrangement made it the inferior car on the smooth dry tarmac of the circuit.
The Porsche is based on the galvanized sheet steel construction of the 911. With comfort aspects like electrically adjustable seats and its heavy four-wheel drive, some models tip the scales at just under 3500 lb instead of the the 2970 lb specified by Porsche and the 2425 lb of the F40. These masses need to be accelerated and braked which, together with the four-wheel drive - not set to respond in the sportiest way - results in a handicap the 959 cannot overcome on a dry track.
"At Fiorano, the 959 is at least 10 sec behind the F40," Gerhard Berger said - and even 959 owner Walter Brun would admit to six.
By the time Walter Brun took over the F40 he had consistently run the Porsche to its limits. In the F40, he easily matched the speed Berger had posted in the 959. (Note: remember Berger's superior driving skill) "The F40 is very easy to drive," Berger explained. "If you are experienced with racing cars, you will find it very easy to handle the Ferrari." Brun's judgment, too, is based on his racing car experience : "The F40 runs nearly as well as my Porsche 962. With racing tires and some fine tuning it would easily run at the front of category C2 (Note: FIA endurance racing Group C category 2, slightly lower than Porsche 962.) Berger chipped in again : "It is nearly an act of provocation to offer a car with so much power and so little weight to an ordinary driver."
But there is another side to all this. The F40's advantage is clear when the sky is blue and the tarmac fairly smooth. The 959, however, is a car which permits massive acceleration and deceleration even on wet surfaces, slush or gravel. The Porsche, with its interior noise levels reduced allows just a rumble of the staccato of its firing order into its cabin, whereas the F40 smacks at you with each rev. The hoarse howl of the Ferrari V8 is so dominant that very wisely there is no space for a radio in the dashboard.
"The 959 is a civilized two-plus-two with amazing driving performance," Berger and Brun agreed. "The F40 is a racing car for the road."
Any successor?
Porsche 911 Turbo S
In specifications, 993 turbo S (the last real 911) seemed to be the application of 959's technology into mass production car. No way it actually was.
Its flat-six was purely evolved from 911, having no relationship with 959's engine. Still air-cooled, 2 valves per cylinder, it needed 3600 c.c. to output the same 450 hp. Twin-turbo operated in parellel rather than sequential. The 4-wheel drive was just a simple viscous-coupling design like any Japanese 4WD cars, by no means comparable to 959's PSK system.
Although having similar power, far more torque (431 lbft) and less weight (1456kg), 911 Turbo S still failed to match 959's acceleration as well as top speed. Starting from standstill, it took 3.9 sec to 60mph, 8.9 sec to 100mph and could only top 180 mph, thanks to the lack of PSK and inferior drag.
Porsche 911 GT1
Contrary to 959, the 911 GT1 was purely designed for GT racing. Mechanically it was build on Porsche 962's chassis and engine. Of course faster than 959 in all conditions except top speed (because its aerodynamic was biased towards maximum down-force)
However, it was also the rawest supercar ever built. Very noisy, very stiff ride, very tout control, more turbo lag .... driving fun wouldn't appear outside racing tracks. Of course it was not 959's successor.
McLaren F1
There were a few common between 959 and McLaren F1: both of them set new top speed record, both of them were seriously developed to be the finest, but everything else were different.
F1 followed the Formula One philosophy to make it as light, as low (center of gravity) and as powerful as possible. It chose a normally aspirated V12 instead of turbo. No ABS and 4WD for optimum weight saving. Carbon fiber monocoque was just transverred from racing. It did not show any technology breakthrough, unlike 959.
Jaguar X220
This was the first car breaking 959's performance record. 213 mph was achieved by even more powerful engine - 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 capable of 542 hp. The chassis and engine actually came from the XJR-11 Group C race car for ease of development. Therefore everything else was simple, lack of quality and lack of technical innovatio
Bugatti EB110
After 959, no other came closer to achieve all-round ability than Bugatti EB110. Undoubtedly, its 4WD combined with mid-engined and wider tyres enable even higher cornering grip and balance than 959. Like the Porsche, wet road security was no problem.
It tried to be sophisticated in engine - V12, 5 valves per cylinder, quad-turbo, only resulted in more turbo lag, though strong power in high speed could push the car to 212 mph. Its cabin, though not as comfortable as 959, had enough space and more grace - have you seen wood and leather in a supercar? You can find them in EB110 GT.
Like 959, EB110GT was not light. Therefore a Super Sport version was also available, with carbon fiber monocoque and other weight saving to achieve 1418 kg, lighter than 959 Sport.
Although Bugatti bankrupted very soon, EB110 was very well developed. It was very refined, unlike most supercars that pursued sheer performance in the price of refinement. Despite of less technology breakthrough for its time, EB110 was the closest car to 959's philosophy.
Still stunning !
Having read the True Story of 959, I believe you have already got a clear view of this supercar, no matter the bright side or dark side. To me, 14 years after reading the first article about 959, I must say it is still stunning to me. Before it, after it, no other cars ever tried to be as radical and as versatile as it. Of course, after 14 years it would be nonsense to say 959 still leading in technology. However, if I have to nominate the most radical or versatile supercar of all time, Porsche 959 is always my first choice.
General Information
Price: $247,000
Miles Per Gallon: 13 mpg
Curb Weight: 3199 lbs
Layout: Rear-Engine/AWD
Transmission: 6-Speed Manual
Engine
Type: Twin-Turbo Flat-6
Displacement: 2851 cc
Horsepower: 450 bhp @ 6500 rpm
Torque: 370 lb-ft @ 5500 rpm
Redline: ---- rpm
Performance
0-60 mph: 3.7 sec
0-100 mph: 8.3 sec
Quarter Mile: 11.8 sec @ 123 mph
Skidpad: .96g
Top Speed: 190 mph
Braking, 60-0 mph: 117 ft
Slalom Speed: 69.3 mph
:eek:
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