Porsche’s 959 mastered the grueling Paris-Dakar desert rally from France to West Africa in 1986, ending 1-2 within the 8700-mile endurance contest. Now the runnerup Jacky Ickx/Claude Brasseur machine—which completed proper behind the equivalent 959 of winners René Metge and Dominique Lemoyne—is able to be pushed as soon as once more. A cmprehensive recommissioning has been carried out over the previous few months by the Porsche Heritage and Museum staff along with their colleagues from Porsche Basic.
The multi-part documentary “959 Paris-Dakar” on the Porsche YouTube channel presents insights into the recommissioning course of.
The beginning line-up of the ’86 Paris-Dakar Rally was dominated by vehicles and all-terrain automobiles. The three Porsche 959 automobiles from Zuffenhausen stood out—the third, a service automobile pushed by mission supervisor Roland Kussmaul and Wolf-Hendrik Unger, took sixth place. To this present day, the Porsche Museum has preserved the entire trio as a part of its assortment.
“The successful automobile stays untouched and we maintain it in a type of time capsule, so to talk, with the entire bodily traces of the rally preserved for so long as potential,” explains Kuno Werner, Head of the Museum Workshop.
The staff spent two years within the early Nineteen Eighties remodeling the 953 and later 959 into rally automobiles, reinforcing the suspension with double shock absorbers on the entrance axle and fitted all-terrain tires. If the floor didn’t require all-wheel drive, an electro-hydraulically managed middle differential on the 959 distributed the facility variably between the entrance and rear axles.
Racing director Peter Falk recalled Porsche’s first three Paris-Dakar makes an attempt—1984 with the Porsche 953 and the next two years with the 959: “It was actually nice that we acquired all of the automobiles throughout the end line and gained the race at our first try [in ’84]. Then Mr Bott mentioned, ‘Now we have to go once more, as soon as isn’t sufficient.’ However in 1985, all three of our automobiles dropped out. That was devastating. We had been decided to race once more, although we had been all a bit sick of the entire thing after dropping all the pieces.
“In 1986 we did it once more,” Falk defined. “All three automobiles completed and we had a 1-2 victory.”
Porsche Museum 959 Paris Dakar Restauration
“[In recomissioning the second-placed 959] we wished to maintain the unique situation and solely calmly overhaul the automobile whereas eliminating any technical flaws,” mentioned Werner. There have been simply over 11,000 miles on the clock of the 959 which, like its collection manufacturing counterpart, was powered by an air-/water-cooled flat-six engine with compound turbocharging. As a result of low-quality gas, the output of the six-cylinder engine was decreased to 395 hp, nevertheless it was nonetheless able to 130mph speeds.
“The automobile was in excellent situation, with no main defects or corrosion,” mentioned Uwe Makrutzki, Head of Porsche Basic manufacturing unit restoration. Through the 959’s disassembly, the staff found aseveral kilos of sand and grime from the African desert as its physique and mechanical elements had by no means been separated.
“This was not an on a regular basis factor for us. It was fascinating. Mud and grime confirmed us that the automobile had gone by means of rivers and gotten water in its inside,” mentioned Werner.
Small areas of corrosion the place the Kevlar physique elements floor towards the metallic body as a consequence of the bodily pressures of high-speed rally driving had been conserved somewhat than repaired as a way to protect the historical past of the automobile.
To re-tell the 1986 story, the Porsche Heritage and Museum staff invited Belgian star Jacky Ickx to the automobile’s reveal following its overhaul, its former pilot giving it a run in a close-by stone quarry.
“Within the automobile, the recollections got here again to me instantly as I remembered the individuals who made all of it potential again then,” Ickx mentioned. The staff on the time numbered simply 18 individuals. “It’s unbelievable that I get to be part of this story,” he continued. The rally was an unbelievable problem and in addition the proper testing floor for all-wheel drive.
Virtually 4 a long time later, Ickx summed up the ‘86 race in three phrases: “Reminiscences, feelings, ardour.”
For Kuno Werner, Head of the Museum Workshop, the reveal was one thing very particular: “The 959 stood idle for a few years earlier than being given the chance of an entire new reunion with its authentic driver on this snow and grit. This has been a supply of satisfaction for our whole Porsche Heritage and Museum staff.”
From February 23 to 26, guests can see the automobile in Stuttgart on the Retro Classics occasion, as a part of the ‘75 Years of Porsche Sports activities Automobiles’ particular exhibition within the atrium / east entrance to the exhibition middle.
For these unable to go to in individual, insights into the recommissioning course of can nonetheless be loved, with the six-part ‘959 Paris-Dakar’ documentary now obtainable on Porsche’s YouTube channel.
