Porsche Top 5 Series: 959 Paris-Dakar Highlights
Legendary Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar racer is featured in this in-depth look at what went into making this car so successful.
Porsche has no shortage of legendary racecars. The 917, 550 Spyder, and 904 are just a few examples. These cars dominated racetracks around the world. However, there is one Porsche racecar that didn’t race on tarmac. The 959 Paris-Dakar was built to compete in the toughest off-road conditions in the world. How tough? Try nearly 9,000 miles over the course of 22 days. This unique and successful racer is not only one of the most important Porsche cars of all-time, but also one of the most valuable.
A couple years ago, Porsche began to produce a series of top five videos to highlight specific groups of cars. In typical Porsche fashion, even the videos are quick with a typical runtime in the 5-to-6-minute range. There are the top 5 loudest, fastest accelerating, best concepts and so on. They even did a series on the top rally cars. In the top rally car series, they failed to mention possibly their greatest rally car ever, the 959 Paris-Dakar. To rectify the situation Porsche recently posted a video on their YouTube channel that focused entirely on this model.
Following up on the successful 911 rally car was the 959. It was first entered into the Paris-Dakar race in 1985. Three cars entered, and unfortunately due to mechanical failures and accidents, none of them saw the finish line. If you know anything about Porsche racing history, you know that just won’t do.
They entered another three cars in 1986 but this time the cars were packing some serious upgrades. The upgrades paid off. Of the 488 cars entered that year, only 67 made it to the end. That included all three of the 959 Paris-Dakar cars. They not only finished, they took home first, second and sixth place. Mission accomplished.
The 1985 car used the simple 4-wheel-drive system from the 911. In 1986 a much more advanced electronic system was used. It had four driving modes: traction, ice, and two automatic modes that optimized traction based on road conditions.
The twin-turbo engine producing 400 horsepower was also upgraded for 1986. The twin-turbo arrangement was designed to reduce turbo lag. Nowadays twin-turbo engines can be found in everything from pickup trucks to family sedans.
However, 35 years ago that was leading edge technology. The car also used lighter weight components, a larger fuel tank and heavy-duty suspension to help it go faster and run longer. Porsche so dominated the race that they decided that they had nothing left to prove and they did not compete again. Only six 959 Paris-Dakar cars, three from 1985 and three from 1986, were ever made.
There have been rumors floating around lately that Porsche is working on a modern-day safari 911. Even some spy shots showing what appears to be a lifted 992 have been spotted. Could they possibly be thinking about a return to the off-road racing game?
Considering the current economic climate, a car like that would be a gamble. However, this is Porsche, and they exist to compete. They recently announced that they are going to be racing again at Le Mans, so anything is possible. We would love to see another rally car roll out of the Porsche factory doors. All we can do for now is wait and see.
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