The RM listing says the original 959 Komfort suspension was replaced with the suspension from the 959S, which is a conventional coil-over system. In case anyone is wondering what the standard 959 Komfort suspension looks like, below is a photo of the rear wheel well of a stock 959 Komfort. Two shocks, bell cranks, relays, hoses, an "accumulator" (the canister at the top right of the photo; nitrogen filled, if I remember correctly, and $10,000 to replace for the four corners--in 2006!): can it get more complicated? Image Unavailable, Please Login
Regarding service and maintenance costs for a 959, Copley Motorcars just listed a 959 Komfort for sale (I have no association with the car) with 20,000 miles on the odo. The listing mentions invoices of $165,000 for recent service. Now, perhaps this car had a bunch of deferred maintenance that ran up the latest costs, but this is another data point indicating that, at some point, the 959 will suck up a lot of money to keep it running.
A complicated system - I know Canepa replaces this on all their cars with the 959S suspension as well (although, upgraded with modern shocks and springs). I think the 959S suspension conversion is a change that should be welcome amongst any buyers so long as original equipment is included, unless they plan to take their 959 down some Paris Dakar-style trails... I wonder whether Porsche's own Classic department sanctions & carries out such conversions - they should, in my opinion.
Can anyone post what the “problem areas” of the 959 are from a service perspective that run up the high service bills or is everything delicate and expensive to repair?
Australia's Motor magazine tests the 959, Carrera GT, & 918 Spyder together in July 2018. Some great impressions on the differences between the cars here, enjoy! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Automotive images do not come much more iconic than this - the winning Porsche 959 at the Pharoah Rally in 1985, an event covering a 1,900 mile course through the Egyptian desert. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Saw this one in Torrance about 2014. As a kid the 959 was a poster car for me. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I don't have personal experience, as I never owned a 959. But when I was considering doing so, a Porsche mechanic explained to me one of the biggest hurdles to service a 959. The advanced electronics employed in the 959 was based on the most powerful computer chip at the time, an Intel Pentium; so just to run diagnostics you needed a laptop that can run DOS software and a technician able to understand its output.
What are the shops in the US that service the 959 other than Callas and Canepa? I believe there was one in MA? Any others?
The one in MA is probably Jerry Pellegrino’s European Performance Engineering. I wouldn't see why Porsche in Atlanta or Los Angeles wouldn't service, or any Porsche dealer for that matter.
To me TODAY if I was going to spend a million on any car the world over it would be the 959. Less than 300 made compared to nearly 1200 F40. The 959s looks are striking and arresting. This is one supercar that is so extraordinarily exotic and rare it’s pretty much off the scale. Esthetically the 959 looks like no other production supercar yet instantly recognizable as a porsche. This speaks to the astounding and immensely complicated endeavor the 959 was and still is. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Late 80's throwback photo. That's me with my friend's wife in Mansour Ojjeh's under-house garage at his Paris home. If I remember correctly he had the first and last ones made, along with a third one as his driver. That's Mansour in the background. We had dinner that evening with his family and Eddie Cheever. I got to hear lots of interesting stories, including when Mansour drove an F1 car during a test session and Cheever blew by him on the straight while flipping the bird. Mansour had us meet with Ron Dennis in Monaco the following weekend to see the F1 race courtesy of McLaren. His wife's best friend wound up being my date for the weekend and we flew in to Monaco from Nice by helicopter. A month later she invited me to Mansour's house in Spain. I foolishly got engaged to my second wife instead... Image Unavailable, Please Login
I recently saw this 959 prototype (?), while I was looking for a 911 in a garage.... The owner told me that it has no air, no servo, no everything. With great history and patina. Must be the lightest 959 out there! What do you guys think? Image Unavailable, Please Login
What I heard between the lines, she is for sale. Very tempting.... (cannot afford it anyways) fun fact: she is road registered!
000 Magazine subscribers should be sure to check out the latest issue (017). Lots of 959 Paris-Dakar content. As an author, I'm biased but happy with the final result. The Dakar project and people involved are even more impressive after doing the research. Image Unavailable, Please Login
This black 959 was at the 1987 Motor Show in Essen, Germany when I took these pictures. The number plates are obviously fake, as it was on display at the Bridgestone stand. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login