If there's one automaker gearheads can always depend on to produce world-beating sports cars, it's Porsche. Over the last century, Porsche has produced some of the greatest German cars, including the iconic 911, the Boxster, the 918 Spyder, and the Taycan, to name a few.

RELATED: These Are The Fastest Cars Of The 1980s, Ranked

The 1980s decade wasn't kind to Porsche, as it was still trying to figure out how to build fast cars that met the new emission requirements. However, the German marque still built one of the all-time greatest, rarest, and most desirable models — the 959. We don't like to call any car "perfect" as the absence of flaws in any human-built product is extraordinarily rare, but the 959 definitely comes close. Let's explore ten awesome facts about the incredible 959.

10 Porsche Developed The 959 For Group B Rallying

Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar Rally
Via: RM Sotheby's

In 1982, the FIA established Group B rallying, where the fastest, most sophisticated rally cars would compete for glory. Group B spawned some of the best homologation cars ever, including the Audi Quattro, Ferrari 288 GTO, and the Ford RS200, to name a few.

Porsche 959
Via: carscoops.com

Porsche also wanted to get into the action, so it started developing the 959 in 1981. Porsche's then chief engineer, Helmuth Bott, convinced Managing Director Peter Schutz that a new rally would help extend the 911's bloodline, improving profits for the company. Bott also felt that Group B racing was the perfect arena to develop a new world-beating sports car.

9 The 959 Used A Race-Derived Engine

Bill Gates Porsche 959
via duPont REGISTRY Daily

Porsche wanted the 959 to be incredibly fast, so they knew they had to equip it with a special engine. Naturally, Porsche engineers chose a flat-six unit based on the engine used in the Porsche 935/78 Le Mans racer.

PORSCHE 959 engine
via hemmings

However, they reduced the capacity to 2.85 liters and added a pair of sequential turbochargers to ensure a smooth, lag-free power delivery. An impressive amount of race-inspired components such as forged alloy pistons, titanium connecting rods, and Nikasil-lined cylinders helped the engine produce 444 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque.

8 The 959 Was Extremely Lightweight

1989 Porsche 959
Via German Cars For Sale blog

Although the 959 was based on the 911, it was significantly lighter, weighing in at just over 3,200 pounds. For starters, the 959's body panels were made of lighter materials — the front trunk lid and doors were made of aluminum instead of steel, while the rest of the bodywork was made of Kevlar. Even the floor was made of Nomex to save weight.

Parked Rear View
via SuperCars

But, despite the weight-saving measures, Porsche still ensured that the 959 was every bit as luxurious as buyers would expect from a Porsche. It had leather seats, air conditioning, power windows, a radio, and more.

7 The 959 Was The Most Technologically Advanced Car Of The 80s

Porsche 959 mechanicals layered view
Via: Supercars.net

During the 959's production run, it was considered to be the most technologically advanced road-legal sports car ever and forerunner for future cars. For one, it was one of the first high-performance supercars equipped with an all-wheel-drive system. Porsche developed the Porsche-Steuer Kupplung (PSK) all-wheel-drive system specifically for the 959, allowing it to change the torque distribution between the front and rear wheels depending on the driving conditions.

Porsche 959
via : autosspeed

The 959 was also the first production car to use magnesium alloy wheels featuring hollow spokes and tire pressure sensors.

6 The 959 Was The First Off-Road Supercar

Porsche 959
Via supercars.net

The 959 was developed for Group B rallying, which means it needed the ability to go off-road. As such, Porsche equipped it with an advanced all-wheel-drive system that used several computers to calculate the amount of power to send to each wheel depending on road conditions.

Porsche 959 Front Three Quarters
Via: Pinterest

On top of that, the 959 had an adjustable suspension system — which, at the time, was primarily found in pickup trucks. The standard height was 5.9 inches, but the car could be raised to 7.1 inches for off-roading or lowered to 4.7 inches to reduce drag and improve stability in high-speed situations.

5 The 959 Broke The Production Car Speed Record

Porsche 959 Pre Production Dyno Testing The Brumos Collection 3
via YouTube

What do you get when you take a 911-based sports car, equip it with a race-derived twin-turbocharged engine, and keep its weight down to 3,200 lbs? Well, that's a perfect recipe for an incredibly fast car.

Porsche 959
Via: Classicdriver

With 444 hp on tap, the 959 had a 0-60 mph time of 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 198 mph, allowing it to break the production car speed record previously held by the Ruf BTR. Three decades later, the 959 is still one of the fastest Porsches ever built.

4 The 959 Is A Racing Champion

Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar Rally
Via: Porsche

Porsche developed the 959 for Group B racing, but before it was ready in 1987, Porsche tested some development race cars in various rally championships. The first development race cars were entered in the 1984 Paris-Dakar Rally, where they finished 1st, 6th, and 25th. Porsche then entered two development 959s into the 1985 Rallye des Pharaons where one of them achieved a commanding victory.

Porsche 959
Via: thespaces.com

Unfortunately, by the time the 959 was ready for Group B homologation, the FIA had already canceled the program after a series of fatal accidents involving the Ford RS200.

3 The 959 Is Super Rare

Porsche 959
Via Mecum Auctions

The 959 was developed for FIA Group B homologation, which required at least 200 road-going units to be produced. However, Porsche ended up building 292 road-legal examples and 37 prototypes and pre-production models by the time production ended in 1988.

Porsche 959
Via Mecum Auctions

In 1992, Porsche realized that it still had 959 spare parts left, so it decided to build a limited run of eight more cars. These special 959 models were a lot more expensive than the earlier ones and were sold to hand-picked collectors.

2 Porsche Sold The 959 At A Loss

Porsche 959
Via William Loughran

The 959 was not a car that many could afford. In 1987, the 959 debuted at the cost of $225,000, making it one of the most expensive cars of the day. However, even at such a high price, Porsche was still losing money on each car. It's estimated that each car cost Porsche about $500,000 to manufacture, which was more than twice its price.

Porsche 959 on the road
Via medium.com

These days, the 959 won't exchange hands for anything less than seven figures. Even a wrecked one sold for $467,500 at a 2018 Monterey auction, showing just how special the 959 is.

Porsche 959 hd car wallpaper
Via: Petrolicious.com

In 1987, the 959 was not street legal in the US. The 959 was never certified for street use by the NHTSA since Porsche never provided the US Department of Transportation with the four cars required for crash tests.

Jerry-Seinfield-Porsche-959
via therichest

Fortunately, the "Show or Display" law was passed in 1999, allowing the 959 to be imported into the US legally. In fact, many gearheads believe that the 959 was largely responsible for the Show or Display law, as Microsoft founder Bill Gates and other wealthy individuals wanted to drive their 959s in the US.