Porsche entering the legendary Paris-Dakar with one of its supercars?
Absolutely.
The German brand has always been one of sophistication and speed, with the stages of rallying being an area it also contested successfully through its 911 variant. Porsche was in the middle of a successful era of sports car racing, but decided to go into rally raiding following the cancellation of Group B in 1986.
The inherent dangers of Group B were on display well before its ending point as Porsche made the educated decision to turn its development towards a heavily modified version of the 959 destined for the deserts of Africa.
Aerodynamics and weight weren’t a problem for the 959 forming a great basis for its Paris-Dakar equivalent as the four-wheel-drive system featured an advanced program with four modes labelled traction, ICE and the final two were automatic functions.
The powerplant was a bi-power unit developing 400hp featuring a two-stage sequential supercharging system to prevent turbo lag. Due to the remote areas the rally was held in, it was essential the 959 was able to run on different types of fuel reliably without much of a performance loss. Porsche engineers detuned the engine to ensure of maximum reliability and a 200L fuel tank was installed in the front as the layout was rear-engined.
Raised suspension also had the benefit of being heavy duty to ensure stability across the sand dunes the rally encountered frequently in Africa.
After failing on the 959’s first attempt in 1985, Porsche was eager to make amends the next year entering three examples again led by road racing star Jacky Ickx.
Teammate Rene Metge led from Ickx to secure victory in the event with the third entry driven by Porsche engineer Roland Kussmaul was sixth as it played back up.
Only six of these special examples were built, three for each year and Porsche pulled out of Paris-Dakar competition after 1986 as it had achieved its mission to win.
The Dakar Rally is currently being held in Saudi Arabia.