Porsche 959 'Komfort' To Be Sold At Auction in January

A low mileage example of Porsche's first ever supercar — the 959 — will go up for sale, at an auction in January.

The 959 was originally developed for Group B rallying, and was introduced as the 'Gruppe B' prototype at the 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show. It won the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1986 and even topped its class at Le Mans the same year.

The production model hit the streets in 1986 and was available in two variants, 'komfort' and sport. The 'komfort' had all the necessities including air-conditioning while the sport dumped all the creature comforts for some extra speed. In all only 329 were ever produced.

The 959 was powered by a 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged engine that produced 450bhp which was sent to all four wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. 0 – 100km/h took just 3.7 seconds and the top speed was 314km/h (195mph) in the 'komfort' trim, sport variants could go up to 319km/h (198mph).

Famous owners include Bill gates, whose 959 was kept in storage for 13 years by US Customs San Francisco as it did not meet US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

The 959 that will go on sale at RM Sotheby's auction in January is a white coloured 959 'komfort' with a blue interior, that has done just 25,500 kilometers and is described to be in very good condition. The Price is expected to be somewhere near the million dollar mark.