Porsche 959 (1985). A prototype of the supercar for sale

The Porsche 959 “F7” prototype is for sale.

One of the very first prototypes of the Porsche 959, and one of the only ones to be in working order, is currently on sale. This piece of history by the German manufacturer has had several lifetimes and has road homologation.

With 292 copies of the Porsche 959 produced in the 1980s, the Zuffenhausen manufacturer’s first supercar is a rare model. Rarer still, a 959 unlike any other is offered for sale by Mechatronik in Germany. This is a development prototype, more precisely one of the first, and it could even be the oldest 959 in working order.

Porsche 959 F7 prototype — The 959 prototypes, like other cars from the 1980s, did not have a passenger side mirror.

A work vehicle above all

Between the presentation of the concept car in 1983 and the marketing in 1985, Porsche built three series of prototypes designated chronologically by the letters F, V and N. The car in question here is the F7, so the seventh produced on the 12 models F. Painted in ruby red, it was used for testing electronic systems and road tests at high temperature, in Europe but also on the west coast of the United States.

Porsche 959 F7 upholstery — The interior has experienced several types of seats before these.

Porsche 959 F7 engine — The twin-turbo flat-six is already developing 450 hp.

The F7 does not have power steering, electronic ground clearance adjustment or other equipment on board 959 series. Its Commodos of an older design, the electrical diagram displayed in the passenger compartment and the wiring present under the passenger seat are all witnesses of its nature as a prototype. During its testing, the car went through multiple cabin configurations.

TO READ. MP Gemballa Marsien (2021). The all-terrain super-911 tribute to the 959

A 959 with many lives

Once the development of the 959 was completed, the F7 was acquired by Vasek Polak, Porsche dealer and Czech collector based in the United States. It was agreed that the car would not be approved for the road. Polak kept it until his death in 1997. Then the coupe changed ownership and country several times. In the early 2000s, in the UK, it finally received road approval then underwent a refurbishment costing the equivalent of € 60,000. In 2018, a € 30,000 revision was carried out. The Swiss collector, from whom Mechatronik bought the car, acquired it at auction that year for $ 1 million, or around € 853,000 at the current exchange rate. The Porsche 959 F7 now totals 26,520 km. The asking price for its sale has not been made public.