Porsche has undertaken a careful “recommissioning” of the legendary 959 Paris-Dakar racer from 1986. Porsche Heritage and Porsche Classic worked together over several months on the car driven by Jacky Ickx and Claude Brasseur, which finished second in the 14,000km race (behind an identical car piloted by Rene Metge and Dominique Lemoyne).
“We want[ed] to keep the original condition and only lightly overhaul the car while eliminating any technical flaws,” says Kuno Werner, head of the Porsche Museum workshop.
Because the second-placed car was still in good shape, as little as possible was replaced, keeping the maximum number of original parts.
In the 1980s, the team spent two years transforming the 959 into a rally car. The engineers reinforced the suspension with double shock absorbers on the front axle and fitted all-terrain tyres. If the surface didn’t require all-wheel drive, the electro-hydraulically controlled centre differential distributed the power variably between the front and rear axles.
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Like the roadgoing 959, the rally car was powered by an air/water-cooled flat-six engine with compound turbocharging. Due to the low-quality fuel, the output of the six-cylinder engine was reduced to 294kW.
During the 959’s disassembly, the team discovered sand and dirt from the African desert. Small areas of corrosion where the Kevlar body parts ground against the metal frame were conserved rather than repaired.
“We even left the cable ties exactly where they were after testing and overhauling all of the parts,” says Werner.
The first person to drive the renewed racer was the man who drove it in 1986: Jacky Ickx, who was invited to throw it around in a stone quarry.
“In the car the memories came back to me immediately as I remembered the people who made it all possible back then,” says Ickx. “The team at the time numbered just 18 people. The team spirit was strong and made no small contribution to the success that followed.
“Everyone wanted to drive the car on the road. Then Porsche decided to enter the 959 in a rally in the desert. It’s fantastic that I get to be a part of this story.
“The desert is like the ocean – no two sand dunes and no two waves are the same.”
