The Porsche that helped build Godzilla
Legendary Nissan GT-R might not have been as good without this Porsche 959
Porsche’s 1980s 959 supercar is often hailed as a marvel of automotive engineering, but its influence extends in some unexpected directions.
A unique 959 that played a pivotal role in the development of Nissan’s acclaimed R32 Skyline GT-R is has just been auctioned.
The story of this Porsche 959 is fascinating. In the late-1980s, Nissan purchased this very car to reverse engineer and study its advanced all-wheel drive system.
This wasn’t a straightforward transaction, as Porsche reportedly tried to block the sale.
Nevertheless,
Nissan’s persistence paid off, and what they learned from the
959 significantly influenced the allwheel drive system of the legendary R32 Skyline GT-R.
After Nissan had finished reassembling the 959 and was effectively finished with the car, an in-house Nissan engineer who was associated with the development of the 350Z purchased it in the late1990s. He stored it in his home garage for at least five years, driving a humble Nissan Cedric as his work commuter.
The 959’s journey from Japan to California in 2019 is undocumented but it’s known that in 2019, Canepa, a renowned US automotive restoration and modification company specialising in 959s, acquired the car.
Over four years, it dedicated more than 4000 hours and US$950,000 (NZ$1.5 million) to painstakingly restore and upgrade the vehicle.
The original Polar Silver exterior was replaced with an Oak Green, and the interior was refurbished with a tobacco brown colour scheme.
Under the bonnet, Canepa performed significant upgrades to the 2.8-litre twin- turbo six-cylinder engine. Modifications include titanium connecting rods, an upgraded valvetrain assembly, enhanced camshafts, and tungsten ceramic- coated headers. enhancements skyrocketed the car’s power, pushing it to over 600kW/881Nm. This reimagined 959SC build number 12 with just 1197 miles, now boasts a blistering 0-100km/h time of 2.5 seconds and can exceed 370km/h.
This one-of-a-kind Porsche 959SC, a fusion of German engineering and Japanese ingenuity, went under the hammer at the Amelia Island Auction in Florida from 29 February to 2 March. Experts estimated its value at US$3.25$3.75 million (NZ$5.25m-$6m), given its unique history and extensive upgrades.