The clutch action is on the heavy side but very progressive, and stirring the shifter is a delight. When starting off in "G," minimal clutch slip is needed to help the engine onto its power band. This is especially true if one starts in the lowest of the transmission's six ratios-though Porsche, inexplicably, discourages this practice in on-road driving by labeling the bottom gear with a "G," for Gellinde (terrain). Unlike most ultraperformance cars, the 959 is astonishingly easy to drive. In tests with no wheelspin and minimal clutch slip, it sprinted from rest to 60 mph in only 4.9 seconds. The result was a cloud of rubber dust from four spinning Bridgestone RE71 gumballs, and a car that disappeared as if shot from a cannon.Īs remarkable as these acceleration runs were, the 959 was just as impressive when accelerated in a more normal fashion. The drill was to switch the 959's programmable four-wheel-drive system into its locked setting, engage low gear, wind the engine to 7000 rpm, and drop the clutch. We recorded these figures at the Hockenheim-Ring, the site of this year's German Grand Prix, employing a starting procedure recommended by Manfred Bantle, the project director of the 959 program. If that sounds like hyperbole, how does a 0-to-60-mph time of 3.6 seconds strike you? Or 100 mph from rest in a mere 8.8 seconds, 120 mph in 12.4 seconds, and 140 mph in a tick less than 20 seconds? The 959 devours the standing quarter-mile in twelve seconds flat, with a terminal speed of 116 mph.
With rocket-sled acceleration and the highest top end we've ever measured, the 959 stands alone at the pinnacle of production-car performance. Power and speed are the core of the 959's excellence. Porsche's 959 Accurately Predicted the Future
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