Porsche 959 Sport

Information

When Porsche's 959 supercar was revealed to the world in 1985, collectors around the globe began foaming at the mouth to get their hands on one. Among these Porsche enthusiasts were a handful of American collectors, all anxious to place deposits for the latest and greatest from Porsche. But there was a problem: Due to inadequate bumper design and safety standards, the top-of-the-line p-car was never approved for use in the States.

While this proved to be a frustrating loss to most US collectors, one man with quite a significant pull on the suits in Stuttgart wasn't ready to give up. Al Holbert, a renowned five-time IMSA champion and endurance racing Triple Crown driver, was sitting head of Porsche Motorsport North America and ran his own racing team. Both were based in Warrington, Pennsylvania, a small town in the suburbs of Philadelphia that would soon become the birthplace of the 959's journey in the USA.

After gathering enough interest from US buyers, Holbert convinced Porsche to develop the 959S, a car made for the US market where it would be registered as a race car. 30 units were planned, and in August of 1988, the first eight arrived on a transporter to PMNA's workshop in Warrington.

The goal was to convince the feds that the 959 was a true-to-form race car and therefore was eligible for import to the United States. But when they arrived to Holbert's workshop to review the 959 for themselves, it was obvious that the sports cars with full leather interiors and a multitude of creature comforts weren't exactly designated for track use only. And with that, the request was denied, and all eight vehicles were forced to return.

Unfortunately, Holbert would lose his life only a month later in an airplane accident, never realizing his dream of federalizing the 959 for US use. In the subsequent decades, many others would try (without much success) to import 959s to the US.

It is reported that one collector converted a 959 to complete race specification, and despite never actually competing with the car, managed to bring it Stateside. Another collector brought his 959 in as a museum piece but was still unable to drive the car on the roads.

But in 2003, Porsche specialist Bruce Canepa managed to make Holbert's 959 dream a reality. Alongside powerful names including Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and Ralph Lauren (all aspiring 959 collectors), Canepa worked with attorneys to pass a new law that would allow significant and low-volume vehicles to obtain a special registration status in the US, despite not meeting all federal safety requirements.

This law would eventually become known as 'Show or Display' registration. Today, it has enabled many unique vehicles to properly enter the United States such as the Pagani Zonda and McLaren F1.

This car is one of the eight 959S originally delivered to Holbert in '88. Uniquely, this car was fitted with race slicks and a livery made of electrical tape as one final (unsuccessful) attempt to convince the feds that it was a race car.

This car has a branded title due to multiple mileage inconsistencies.