Porsche collectors in search of something unique may want to book a flight to Italy.
A custom 959 “Speedster” is set to go up for bid at RM Sotheby’s upcoming Milan. The high-tech speed machine, which was modified by Karl-Heinz Feustel, is the only example of its kind.
The 959 needs no introduction for Porsche enthusiasts, but for everyone else, it was the marque’s attempt to build a street-legal race car for the 1980s. The vehicle started out as the company’s new Group B rally car, the aptly named Gruppe B. FIA homologation rules required automakers to build 200 road-going examples of each of their race cars, which led to the development of the car we now know as the 959. Unlike the 911, the new model was a true supercar, pairing a powerful 2.8-liter twin-turbocharged flat-six (mated to a six-speed manual) with an all-wheel-drive system, a feature that was rare on high-performance models at the time. The finished 959 was the fastest street-legal production at the time of its release and has come to be recognized as one of the cars of the era.
This example left the factory in 1987 as a silver-over-beige and black 959 “Komfort.” It was delivered brand new to race car driver Jürgen Lässig, who had placed second in that year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans (and would eventually go on to win the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1995). Lässig would put thousands of miles on the car before it was involved in an accident on the autobahn the next year, after which he sold the car to Feustel. In addition to being a race car driver, the vehicle’s new owner also ran a Porsche shop outside of Cologne and decided to set convert it into a convertible.
It wouldn’t take Feustel long to accomplish his goal, and the one-of-a-kind 959 “Speedster” would be displayed at the 1989 editions of the Frankfurt International Motor Show and the Essen Motor Show. The modified convertible is finished in Grand Prix White and features a blue leather interior and matching electronically operated soft-top. The car, which looks like a factory creation, comes with a removable white hard top, a blue tonneau top, spare “Speedster” windscreen, and extra side-view mirrors. Having been driven only sparingly over the last three decades—the odometer shows around 5,150 miles—it remains in excellent shape and was serviced just last month.
Intrigued? The 959 “Speedster” is set to cross the block on Thursday, May 22, at the Fonderia Carlo Macchi. RM Sotheby’s has high hopes for the lot, with the estimate listed as between $1.25 million (RM5.3 million) and $1.7 million (RM7.2 million).
Previously published on Robb Report USA
Photos by Paolo Carlini/RM Sotheby’s
