Porsche 959 '87

Porsche 959
Production Info
Porsche	Porsche 1987 Road Car Germany
Engine and Power
Engine Code	959.50
Aspiration	Twin-Turbocharged
Displacement	2.9 L
Engine Type	Flat-6
Power	443 BHP (330 kW)
Torque	368.9 lb-ft (500.2 Nm)
Gearbox	6-speed
Drivetrain and Weight
Layout	Rear-Engined
Drivetrain	All-Wheel Drive
Weight	3197 lbs (1450 kg)
PWR	7.22 lbs / HP
Balance	40% / 60%
Performance
Top Speed	202 mph (325.1 km/h)
PP in GT7	567.77 PP
Dimensions
Length	4260 mm (167.7 in)
Width	1840 mm (72.4 in)
Height	1280 mm (50.4 in)

"A four-wheel-drive road car that shines bright in automotive history."

―In-game catch text for the car, from GT7's car collection

The Porsche 959 '87 is a road car produced by Porsche. It first appears in Gran Turismo 7, added as part of Update 1.31.

Colors

Six colors are available:

• Grand Prix White
• Polar Silver
• Graphite Metallic
• Black
• Wine Red Metallic
• Guards Red

In-game Description

"The Porsche 959 was developed specifically to compete in WRC's top class - Group B - which was introduced in 1982. Because it was produced solely for homologation purposes, only 292 cars were built. At a glance, the 959 looked similar to contemporary 911s, but under the skin, it was entirely different car. The technical ambition of the project was exemplified by the 959's drivetrain. Because Group B rally cars needed to efficiently transfer 500 or so horsepower to the road, they were typically 4WD. For the 959, Porsche developed an advanced electronically controlled 4WD system. Unfortunately, the abrupt end of the Group B category meant the 959 was never able to compete in the series. So, Porsche looked for other venues for the 959, and one of them was what many considered the world toughest race. Porsche entered the off-road versions of the 959 into the 1986 Paris-Dakar Rally. To the surprise of many, the Porsche factory 959 team achieved an amazing one-two finish. The Porsche 959 is a crucial milestone in Porsche history that showed the potential of 4WD sports cars."

―In-game description of the car, from GT7's Legend Car Dealership

Car Index

At the 1983 Frankfurt Auto Show, Porsche introduced the "Gruppe B" concept model. This was a design study of an all-wheel-drive race car that was being developed for competition in the top "Group B" category of the WRC that started in 1982.

Two years later, in 1985, the road going version of this model was unveiled. Called the Porsche 959, it adopted the basic structure of the Porsche 911 and was packed with revolutionary technology. The engine was a 2850 cc twin-turbocharged horizontally-opposed 6 cylinder, with a maximum output of 450 horsepower. It came mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. The most noteworthy feature of this car was its electronically controlled all-wheel-drive system that actively managed the drive ratio between the front and rear wheels according to the conditions of the road surface. Also, it was possible to select a drive mode that matched the current driving condition. The 959's all-wheel-drive system was truly revolutionary in that it provided not only excellent stability at high speeds, but also convenience for the user.

Only 292 examples of the Porsche 959 were produced for Group B homologation, but because of the termination of the Group B category, the race version never made it to the WRC. But it did go on to set great records in competition, even winning the overall title at the Paris-Dakar Rally, which is considered one of the most grueling races in the world.

Many of the technical innovations of the 959, including the all-wheel-drive system, saw their way into the company's other production cars, such as the 911. The Porsche 959 still enjoys a high level of respect and popularity today and remains a very important part of automotive history.

Café Conversations (GT7)

Jeremy

The Porsche 959 is perhaps best remembered for its performance at the Paris-Dakar Rallies of the 1980s. The Paris-Dakar Rally... was a rally raid of over 10,000km, from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal. A course spanning vast deserts and mountainous terrain, it was considered the toughest rally in the world. Porsche's first success at the event was in 1984, a year before the 959's official debut... When René Metge pulled off a marvellous overall victory in a 911 fitted with a developmental 4WD system. A year later, in '85, Porsche entered the 959, which combined 4WD and a twin-turbo engine. However, it wasn't until '86 that the 959 had an overall victory at the rally, once again thanks to René Metge!

Acquisition

Game	Purchase location	Credits	Other methods
Gran Turismo 7 (v1.31+)	Legend Cars	1,950,000	Dakar Rally replica livery: Participate in round 2 of the 2023 Porsche Esports Challenge USA.

Trivia

• The model depicted in-game is the base model "Komfort" trim.
• The gear shifter is in a G-1-2-3-4-5 pattern, in which "G" was designated as an off-road gear. This was for German compliance rules, so that Porsche could pass the car through German compliance testing as an off-road car. In-game however, the G gear is treated as the first gear, and so on.
• The customization options can make it resemble the Porsche 961, the track racer equivalent.
• On September 12th, 2023, the special livery given to participants of the second round of the 2023 Porsche Esports Challenge USA was made available for download to all players regardless of country/region through the Sagittarius account (login required), but was removed some time later. Said version has a different car number (#75 instead of #23).
  • The shared livery still has #23 as a hidden decal.
  • Additionally, the gold color used for the gold stripes are not accessible by any other method and will be lost if the body or hood colors are changed in doing so.

Gallery

The 2023 Porsche Esports Challenge USA livery version of the car, based on the Rothmans-sponsored Dakar Rally car.