From the company’s beginning, performance was hardwired into Porsche’s character. Be it rallying, endurance racing, and Formula 1, the German-based automaker that came up with the quintessential sports car in the guise of the 911 did them all. But higher up the spectrum, the 911 is eclipsed by Porsche’s limited-edition supercars.
The Prancing Horse of Stuttgart started production of the 959 in 1986 as a homologation special for Group B. In addition to finishing the 1986 Paris-Dakar Rally on first and second, the 959 was the fastest production car of its day. In addition to the 317-km/h top speed, it also proved that all-wheel-drive could be implemented to the 911 as an option. And Porsche did it, starting with the 993 964.
It would be some time until the Carrera GT take over from the 959, starting to roll off the assembly line in Leipzig in 2003. Around 1,300 examples of the breed were manufactured until 2007, with the last nail in the coffin coming in the guise of U.S. airbag regulations. To the point, the V10-powered supercar couldn’t be equipped with those “smart airbags” that are aware of the occupant’s weight and location.
Last, but certainly not least, the 918 Spyder took performance to a different level for Porsche in 2013. Production came to a grinding halt in 2015, after 918 units left the Zuffenhausen plant. In addition to being one of the greatest hypercar of the decade, the 918 Spyder was recalled time and time again over suspension issues.
Porsche is looking forward to the successor of the 918 Spyder, though it won’t come as soon as you would expect because battery technology is still in its infancy. Nevertheless, the current lineup of models is chock-full of performance-oriented cars, including the 911 GT2 RS and Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid. What’s more, the Mission E serves as the automaker’s first venture down Electric Avenue.
Having said these, when was the last time you saw the 959, Carrera GT, and 918 Spyder sharing the same strip of road? That doesn’t happen too often, which is why JP Performance decided to take the Holy Trinity on a trip. Although the clip featuring the motorcade is in German, the sight of those three marvels of engineering more than makes up for the language barrier.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News