GREED IS GOOD, Gordon Gekko said in the 1980s. Maybe he was talking about horsepower. It was in that decade when Porsche engineers, readying a new 911 Turbo, began questioning how much power they could funnel through two wheels. Porsche president and CEO Peter Schutz responded, "Why not four?" and painstakingly created a test-bed prototype called the 959.
Schutz knew he could hasten the engineering if a competition program depended on it. Thus did Porsche venture on tippy-toes into Group B rallying the "killer Bs," a series then injuring drivers and spectators alike.
Whereupon former Formula 1 driver Jacques Bernard Edmon Martin Henri "Jacky" Ickx suggested, "Forget Group B. With the 959, we can contest the Paris-Dakar," a rally Mr. Many Names had recently won in a Mercedes 280GE. More than 959 pricey pieces of the pricey 959 were doubtless sacrificed in preparation. But it all turned to gravy in 1986, when French driver René Metge won the off-road spectacle. Nowadays, no one remembers Metge, who chain-smoked Gauloises in a Rothmans-sponsored car. Yet we all remember Ickx, who never won in a 959.
Fast-forward almost 40 years. How many sports-car buyers today venerate the Paris Dakar as Porsche’s all-wheel-drive puberty? Six or seven, easy. Porsche swears it’s more, thus the 959 doppelgänger before us. You will notice that our test car—number 329 of 2500—bears neither the optional 62-pound roof rack nor auxiliary lights. Porsche wanted clean aero for truer acceleration results.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July - August 2024 من Car and Driver.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July - August 2024 من Car and Driver.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Fleeting Thoughts
Updates and hot takes on the vehicles fortunate enough to spend 40,000 miles with C/D's editors.
Swedish Bliss
The new Volvo EX90 channels the brand's characteristic approach to wellness and serenity into an electric SUV sized for the whole family.
Tick, Tick, Boom
Tesla Model 3 Performance HIGHS: Nauseatingly quick, airy cabin with great visibility, genuine value. LOWS: Off-putting user interface, inescapable clinical feeling, austere interior design.
Black Ops
The new Precision package for the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing hones one of our favorite sports sedans.
Pay to Play
Porsche Panamera HIGHS: Ample motivation, fun in every corner, surprising fuel economy. LOWS: Grip levels drop slightly, big price tag, dumb touchscreen vent controls. VERDICT: The bottom rung, but you'd never know it.
Man-o'-War
Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Manthey Racing HIGHS: A clinic on proper steering response, 9000 rpm of sonic glory, more grip is good. LOWS: A mirror full of wing, upgrades useful only on track, quiet only when it's off.
Low-Pro Hero
Honda Civic Hybrid HIGHS: Fuel efficiency of a hybrid, Si-beating acceleration, as comfortable to ride in as it is engaging to drive. LOWS: No adjustable lumbar support, low-limit tires, quicker at the track than in the real world.
Back in Tune
CarBahn CB3 M4 HIGHS: A monster inline-six with an available warranty, massive grip and lateral stability, a better-looking face. LOWS: The exhaust needs an off switch, suspension links clatter, steering is still mute.
Hurricane Force
Ram 1500 HIGHS: Quicker than the old V-8 Ram, powerful and smooth turbo six, class-leading luxury. LOWS: Detectable turbo lag, slow-to-react touchscreen, hands-free mode zaps confidence.
Good Vibrations
No one has to guess what's under the hood of the Ferrari 12Cilindri.