Saturday, October 21, 2023

Automotif CDXXII...


Way back in 1986, Porsche released the all-wheel-drive 959, a limited-production hypercar that was a rolling showcase of what was then the most cutting-edge automotive technology Zuffenhausen could produce.

Powered by an intercooled twin-turbo 2.8L flat six with water-cooled heads that put out 444 SAE net horsepower (at a time when the 911 Turbo had an air-cooled 282bhp 3.3L motor), the 959 stickered for $225,000 in 1986 dollars and Porsche lost money on every one of the 330-something that they built.

Meanwhile, in the above photo, is a fairly recent 911 Turbo S. It's also all-wheel-drive, and has an intercooled twin-turbo 3.8L water-cooled flat six that's putting out 552 SAE net HP.

And unlike the 959, it's street legal in the US without going through a bunch of gray market nonsense.

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