The Porsche 959S was built as a United States automobile for Porsche racer Al Holbert’s close friends. The plan was to introduce the Porsche 959S as a track day/race car, avoiding all the DOT and EPA standards that Porsche had never met. In order to pass the car off as a track car, they removed the A/C, added a roll cage, installed a classic coil over suspension, installed 4-point seat belts and customized seats, and increased power to up to 30 horsepower.

When the first ten cars arrived in the United States, US government agencies investigated them and ruled that the Porsche 959S was not a track car following a trip to the Nazareth Speedway. They were all returned to be sold to different regions outside North America. A full roll cage, sport seats with racing seat belts, and a race-tuned suspension were included in the S version. It went from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and reached a top speed of 198 mph, and it completed the quarter mile in 11.8 seconds at a top speed of 119 mph.

During the testing period, Porsche didn’t test crash up to 4 cars , which was the main reason the 959 models weren’t legal for road usage in the United States market and this made Canepa Design come in. The turbo, exhaust, and computer-control systems of the Porsche 959 were modified by Canepa, and the supercar passed emissions tests and became road legal in the United States. More importantly, the tuner was able to increase the car’s output to an incredible 575 horsepower and 540 pound-feet of torque. The sprint from 0 to 60 mph was now completed in 3.2 seconds, with a top speed of 220 mph displayed on the speedometer.

Related: This Is How Much A Porsche 959 S Costs Today

The 1988 Porsche 959S: A Spectacular Overview

Porsche produced only 284 units of the 959S model. These sports cars have a well-fitted leather-wrapped road café with cloth upholstery and 4 point racing harnesses. Based on mechanical factors, its coil-over suspension is more conventional than the 959 Komfort model. This made the 959 S to be approximately 220 pounds lighter than the 959 Komfort model.

Just like every successful project, the 959 S has a fascinating story behind it, and it can be said to be the most beautiful example of its kind. When a noted California Porsche dealer and racer Vasek Polak’s son, Vasek Polak Jr purchased the car from the city of Stuttgart, they drove the car around Europe before taking it back to the United States.

Porsche's aficionados will grasp that 959s were never delivered new to the US, as they weren’t compliant with the U.S. department of transportation importation laws or emissions standards. However, Polak managed to discover some way to import the automobile to the US. It’s important to note that the 959 S was an upgraded version of the 959, but the units were in thoroughly short supply, which made production to be limited to only 29 units.

​​​​Related: Here's What Everyone Forgot About The Porsche 959

1988 Porsche 959S: Car Specifications, Rating, And Performance

The 1988 Porsche 959S has a length and width of 167.7 inches and 72.4 inches respectively while its height is 50.4 inches. Unlike most modern cars, the 959S has an indirect fuel system that runs with petrol on a spark-ignition 4-stroke engine type. It has a 3-way catalyst, Lambda-Sensor emission control, and Boxer 6 cylinders alignment.

The 959S can contain up to 85 liters of fuel and its horsepower and torque nets are 510 hp 414 ft-lb respectively. It comes with a Porsche manual gearbox that has 6 number gears. This car runs at a top speed of 203 mph. The 1988 Porsche 959S also featured a twin-turbocharged six-cylinder boxer engine with a displacement of 2.85 liters sitting in the back.

How Much Will It Cost You To Get A 1988 Porsche 959S Into Your Garage Today?

The 959S was more of an exclusive version that shared plenty of aspects with the base model, like price, features, specs, and design, however, it absolutely was created with a lot more restricted production. It was also created to own a sportier package, and mainly created with more focus on speed. The value for the Porsche 959S has risen greatly since their arrival thirty-five years ago; whereas they’d sell for $300,000 upon their debut, they currently sell for $1 million on average, and sometimes even for $1.5 million.

Some foremost intact and ideal models will cost between $1-2 million, and tons of models with a lot of flaws or poorer upkeep do not quite cost as much as six figures. As an example, one specific unit goes for $2.1 million because Porsche racer turned automobile restoration guru Bruce Canepa spent plenty of cash restoring it with all the correct functioning parts.

Sources: TopSpeed, Automobile-catalog, Porsche, Luxify