For Sale at Auction: 1988 Porsche 959 in Amelia Island, Florida

Chassis No. WP0ZZZ95ZJS905011
Engine No. 65H00342
Karl Baur Body No. 5390270

Porsche's internal type-numbering system has always been very effective, and its 1980s 959 supercar naturally followed suit. The standard Komfort model was designated "959 750," while the lightweight, competition-oriented variant carried the suffix "959 760." On paper, that designation suggests a natural evolution; in reality, the 959 Sport was never supposed to exist. Just 30 examples were produced at Porsche's R�ssle Bau facility in Zuffenhausen, created not as part of the original product plan but as an improvised response to regulatory obstacles, spiraling costs, and an increasingly fraught effort to bring Porsche's most advanced road car to the United States.

Today, the 959's rocky U.S. approval process, the fact it was a technology testbed, and a loss-leader are well known, but at the time the U.S. federalization of the car was intentionally shrouded in mystery. Porsche's U.S. distributor, Porsche Cars North America (PCNA), claimed that modifications required by DOT and EPA regulations would "destroy" the supercar, necessitating a total exterior redesign and crash-testing, with the federalization process ultimately doubling the cost of each 959 sent to America. In the end, Porsche elected not to send any 959 Komforts to the U.S., yet this was not because of the 50-state regulations but rather the fact that cost overruns and delays pushed the actual cost of each of the 292 959 Komforts to a rumored 1.000.000 DM per car! What better way to recoup those costs than by using the EPA and DOT as partial scapegoats, cancel those U.S. contracts, and offer that large group of newly available 959s elsewhere, closer to their actual cost. The infamous letter sent in March of 1986 by PCNA President John A. Cook to those interested in purchasing a 959, notifying them of the car's cancellation and the fact that the supercar technology would filter down into their road cars, likely went over like a lead balloon.

This abject disappointment led to extreme measures by those with elevated expectations. A gang of four-with the owner of Polo Fashions among them-each purchased a C00 German-market 959 Komfort, self-importing it into the United States. By 1993 each was forced to pay a $50,000 fine upon discovery, proving just how motivated U.S. buyers were to obtain one. As a result, Porsche chose to leverage their Motorsport Department to create a competition version of the 959, first dubbed "Rennen IMSA," and now known as the 959 Sport. The 959 Sports would be imported as racing cars under special exemption delivered to Al Holbert at Porsche Motorsport North America?(PMNA) based in Warrington, Pennsylvania in late 1988.

Instead of "destroying" the?959, the U.S.-specification 959 S?quickly became?one of the rarest and most?sought-after?variants of an already?highly desirable?supercar.?In order to?extoll its Porsche Motorsport credentials, the?new?959 S was fitted with?a?full roll cage, cloth?tri-color?Recaro sport seats, four-point?Autoflug?racing?harnesses,?and?coil-over suspension. Heavy, non-essential luxury items were omitted including the radio, speakers, ?and?adjustable height?suspension?reducing weight by?100 kilograms. To?no one's?surprise, the new lightweight 959 Sport was a performer, and according to many, the 959 should have originally?been?built?to compete with the Ferrari F40.?An?Auto Motor und Sport?test registered the 959 S at a scarcely?believable?210.6 miles?per hour.

Period?photos on file from Tom Seabolt, long-time Holbert Racing and PMNA employee, show the first batch of eight (five Guards Red and three Grand Prix White) 959 Sports delivered?to?PMNA?headquarters in?Warrington,?Pennsylvania depicting a scene only seen in Stuttgart?with a truckload of?the new?959 S neatly?lined up.?Unfortunately, this would be a?short-lived?victory, as U.S. authorities called PMNA's 959 S motorsport?program?for what it was-a thinly veiled attempt to finally deliver a 959 to those in the United States?who had waited at length to receive one through the proper channels. All eight of the initial 959 S batch would have to return to Stuttgart. Each of the 29?"C02" U.S.-market?959 Sports quickly found homes abroad as the quickest, most desirable 959 ever created. For those wishing to bring a 959 to the United States (with the exception of the aforementioned rare cases) doing so would remain forbidden fruit, firmly within the scope of the infamous "25?Year?Rule."?

Interestingly, Porsche sent purchase contracts to those in the United States allocated a 959 Sport, offering the car if they were willing to take delivery in Germany. One of those who could not resist finalizing their order for a 959 S was Vasek Polak Jr., with the son of the U.S. Porsche dealer, racer, race team owner, all-around Porsche icon Vasek Polak taking delivery at the factory of chassis number 011 on 15 September 1989. In a 2023 Magneto article Polak Jr. was asked the question-of-all-questions "What were your favorite cars?" To that query a slew of Porsches spills forth yet it is his former 959 Sport where he is the most emotive stating, "Spending many summers driving a 959 S in Europe is the all-time high mark..."

A report by J�rgen Barth indicates that Polak Jr. had a partner with the rare Sport model in Larry Vollum who brought the car to the United States with the assistance of Sun International in 1995. Vollum is a well-known detail-obsessed racer, engineer, and collector of interesting and obscure special vehicles and the 959 Sport suits that definition! Later, the car was acquired by noted collector Paige Stevens, also based in the Portland, Oregon area. In 2008 it became a foundational part of a world-famous international Porsche collection focused on important "one off" models. In 2014, the factory Porsche Museum borrowed chassis number 011 from this collector, forming a part of an impressive six-month exhibit of important Porsche cars celebrating 60 years of the company's Supersportwagen. Placed between the extraordinary ex-Herbert von Karajan Sonderwunsch, 1975 Martini-liveried 911 Turbo, and the factory's own 911 GT1 Strassenversion, the 959 S served as the technological and philosophical link between Porsche's early turbocharged road cars and its later Le Mans-derived homologation specials not to mention presenting an awe-inspiring sight.

In 2017, the car was offered for public sale and acquired by the consignor, whose eye for high-quality and important sports cars sits among the very best with a flair for design and artistry of particular import. As further confirmation of the brilliance 959 Sport chassis number 011, it retains its tools, jack, and air pump in proper interior leather bags, HEPP medical kit, its serialized owner's manual noting factory delivery and vestiges of its U.S. "Rennen IMSA" specification with a 959 Special Edition Certificate from Al Holbert.

It should go without saying that the 959 Sport represents the purest expression of Porsche's ambitions in the 1980s, and chassis number 011 reflects that intent with special clarity. As one of the original eight delivered to PMNA in the United States and later finding its first owner with Vasek Polak Jr., it was chosen by the factory for display at the Porsche Museum and today remains preserved in excellent original condition with just 11,593 miles at the time of cataloging. Offered with exceptional integrity and a number of original delivery items, chassis 011 stands today as one of the most authentic and historically important 959 Sports-an unmistakable reminder of Porsche engineering at its most defiant and uncompromising.