This is 1 of the 7 total Porsche 959 examples that were specially commissioned by Porsche Exclusive for Abdelaziz bin Khalifa Al Thani, a member of the royal family of Qatar. Today, what’s now known as the Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, began as a special request program as early as the 1950’s. By 1978, this ‘special wishes’ department officially opened and was originally called the ‘Sonderwunsch Programme’ or the “Special Requests” program. In 1986, the name was officially changed to ‘Porsche Exclusive’, and by 1988, the department built this special car. Originally finished in black from the factory, this specific car is a 1988-09 Porsche 959 (s/n S900218), now finished in a spectacular paint-to-sample orange over a light buffalo leather interior, among other specially added touches. Work for the 959 began in 1981, and was originally named the ‘Gruppe B’. The ‘Gruppe B’ idea was created after Porsche’s then-new Managing Director, Peter Schutz, was approached by Porsche’s chief engineer at the time, Helmuth Bott, with some new ideas for the Porsche 911 model. After Bott was given approval, he immediately began creating a model that would be utilized for competition in Group B, and was to be produced by Karosserie Baur, a coachbuilder in Stuttgart, Germany. The first prototype made an appearance at the 1983 Frankfurt Motor, and the road version (now called the 959) was shown years later at the 1985 Frankfurt Motor Show, a requirement needed to satisfy FIA homologation regulations (minimum of 200 units). By 1987, the Group B programme was ultimately canceled, however, the 959 did see some racing in period during it’s first ever racing entry at the 1984 Paris-Dakar Rally, as well as a cross-country dash in 1985.
How many made? 337 (production & prototypes). In the early 1990’s, Porsche assembled eight more 959 examples from spare parts from the inventory in Zuffenhausen, this car is a 1 of 1.•Engine: 2.8 L (2,849 cc) twin-turbocharged flat-6 - 444hp
Debut: 1985 Frankfurt Motor Show
Top Speed: around 197mph
0-60: around 3.6 seconds
Photo Credit: @justinschmoeller
Research: @rarecarsonly