Vehicle Facts
The Details
This 1988 Porsche 959 Komfort is one of 292 production examples manufactured between 1986 and 1988, delivered new in Germany in April 1988 and imported to the United States in 2004 under a Show or Display exemption — documentation for which is present with the car. The 959 represents one of the most significant engineering achievements in automotive history, and this example, finished in its original Silver Metallic (L980) over a burgundy leather interior, presents as a well-maintained and mechanically freshened survivor with a clean Carfax history showing Florida entries from 2005 onward.
Development of the 959 was initiated in 1981 following Porsche chief engineer Helmuth Bott's proposal to design a 911-based Group B World Rally Championship contender under the support of incoming Managing Director Peter Schutz. The road-going prototype debuted at the 1985 Frankfurt Motor Show, and while the 959 was never homologated for Group B competition due to the class's demise, the program produced one of the era's most consequential road cars — and demonstrated its rally credentials by taking first, second, and sixth place at the 1986 Paris-Dakar rally. Construction was carried out at Karosserie Baur in Stuttgart, incorporating a steel shell with fiberglass-reinforced Kevlar body panels, Nomex floors, a polyurethane nose section, and aluminum front trunk lid and doors. The body's aerodynamic brief — eliminating lift while minimizing drag — produced the 959's distinctive form: flared fenders, covered headlights, an integrated rear wing, and intake vents on each flank.
Power comes from Porsche's 2,849cc M959/50 quad-cam flat-six, developed from the powerplant used in the 956 and 962 endurance racing cars. The engine features air-cooled Nikasil-lined cylinders, water-cooled cylinder heads with four valves per cylinder, titanium connecting rods, forged alloy pistons, dry-sump lubrication, sequential twin turbochargers, twin intercoolers, and Bosch Motronic engine management — delivering a factory-rated output of 444 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque. Power is transmitted through a six-speed manual transaxle and Porsche's computer-controlled PSK all-wheel-drive system, capable of routing up to 80% of power rearward depending on conditions and driver-selected mode. A mechanical freshening completed in Germany in 2004 included replacement of the water pumps and fuel pumps, rear differential rebuild, and front damper replacement. The DME unit was rebuilt in 2012, and oil, brake fluid, and gearbox fluid were all serviced in January 2024. New Bridgestone Potenza RE71 Denloc tires measuring 235/45 front and 255/40 rear were mounted at the same time.
The Speedline 17-inch center-lock cast magnesium wheels feature hollow spokes developed exclusively for the 959 to minimize unsprung weight, and were repainted in 2004. Clear paint protection film is applied ahead of each rear wheel arch. The four-channel ABS system employs four-piston alloy calipers acting on cross-drilled and ventilated discs measuring 12.7 inches at the front and 12 inches at the rear, with fluid flushed in January 2024. The electronically adjustable double-wishbone suspension system offers selectable ride height and damping, placing active chassis management technology in a road car nearly a decade before such systems became broadly available.
The cabin is trimmed throughout in burgundy leather with tri-tone silver accents across the heated and power-adjustable front sport seats, fold-down rear seats, carpeting, and front trunk. A color-matched perforated headliner, power windows, air conditioning, and a Blaupunkt Bremen cassette stereo complete the period interior appointments. The burgundy leather-wrapped steering wheel frames VDO instrumentation including a central 8,600-rpm tachometer with inset boost gauge, a 350 km/h speedometer, and gauges monitoring fuel level, coolant temperature, oil temperature, oil pressure, and torque split — a dashboard that communicates as much about the 959's engineering ambition as any specification sheet.
Odometer readings are recorded in miles. This 959 Komfort arrives to its next owner freshly serviced, federalized under Show or Display exemption with documentation present, and carrying a clean accident history — a rare convergence of provenance, mechanical preparation, and documented originality in one of the most collectible and historically important automobiles of the twentieth century.
