Market Find: 1988 Porsche 959 SC Reimagined by Canepa in Broad Arrow Private Sale

What: 1988 Porsche 959 SC Reimagined by Canepa
Color: Irish Green (irischgrün; Y78; Porsche)
VIN: WPOZZZ95ZHS900053
Mileage: 2,130 miles
Price at Time of this Writing: Available Upon Request
CarFax: N/A
Window Sticker: N/A
Location: Undisclosed
Dealer listing: Link

Why we love it:
There’s remastered, and then there’s a Porsche 959 SC reimagined by Canepa. The Group B homologated Porsche 959 is already the most forbidden of fruit and the most exotic of the exotic from the so-called “Rad” era. Now throw in a tailored rebuild that Bruce Canepa’s Northern California firm has been building over recent years and you have the makings of a perfect thing. And, did we mention Irish Green over Tobacco brown leather?

This car is so good, we’re going to include the full Broad Arrow description below. However, you should definitely check out more photos and, of course, call for the price if you are interested. It is a rare thing indeed when these cars come available in the market in any form, but particularly rare and exclusive when such a beautiful build as this from Canepa also makes a showing.

BEGIN DESCRIPTION [Source: Broad Arrow]

In the early 1980s, Porsche was keen to prove its technological superiority learned throughout the previous decade’s racing efforts. The “Gruppe B” Study was created to display these advancements with development underway as soon as 1981. Turbocharging, first used on the 917/10 Can-Am racing car in 1972, made its way three years later to the first turbocharged road-going Porsche – the 1975 911 Turbo – and from it, to the 959. It was a similar story with engine cooling. Through its racing program, Porsche had reached a thermal limit with the air-cooled flat-six. Water-cooled heads appeared on the all-conquering Porsche 956 endurance racing prototype in 1982 and, just a few years later, the 959 was the beneficiary of these successful experiments. Height-adjustable suspension, “intelligent” all-wheel drive, tire pressure monitoring, ABS, composite body construction – all commonplace in today’s supercars – were decades ahead of their time when applied to the 959. 

Fewer than 300 of these halo supercars were built by the end of the decade, with each example estimated to cost Porsche double its 420,000 DM price tag to produce. Faced with these substantial losses, Porsche did not see fit to modify and test the 959 to comply with NHTSA safety standards, and as a result, it was not road-legal in the United States. While a number of 959s slowly trickled into the U.S., the model was the prime example of the type of car petitioned by Canepa and others to include in the “Show or Display” rule, passed in August 1999. The rule allowed for the private importation and limited road use of certain vehicles deemed to meet a standard of “historical or technological significance,” famously enabling Bill Gates to drive his 959 after it was stored by the Customs Service for 13 years. In the decades since the rule was passed, Canepa’s ceaseless obsession with extracting as much performance as possible out of the 959 has culminated in a series of refinements and performance upgrades developed by Canepa for the standard Porsche 959, officially launched in 2015 as the “959 SC Reimagined by Canepa” program.

Drawing on his many years and thousands of miles driving the 959, Canepa developed a ground-up approach to reconditioning, and in some areas outright re-engineering, every element of Porsche’s already superb creation. Starting with only the most original examples, the talented team at Canepa’s Scotts Valley, California headquarters begin by carefully disassembling the entire car to the bare steel unibody. At this stage, all of the body panels are stripped, primed, and block sanded to perfection in preparation for paintwork. Canepa’s unrelenting attention to detail can be observed on the driver’s side quarter panel, where the auxiliary door for the hydraulic suspension oil on 959 Komfort models is deleted by molding a new composite body panel. Clients are able to choose from Porsche’s own factory Paint-to-Sample palette of over 150 unique shades, or to create a custom color of their choice. The virtually limitless personalization offered by Canepa’s service extends to the cabin, where over 400 hours are spent hand stitching an entirely new leather interior with countless colors and stitching options from Porsche’s own factory offerings. Swaths of leather trim every element of the interior – including components that were not originally upholstered from the factory – while numerous upgrades ensure a 21st century driving experience. These include Porsche’s Classic Radio Navigation system connected to an upgraded six-speaker system, LED cabin and gauge lighting, and a switch located on the center console to control the two-stage sport exhaust system. 

While a one-of-a-kind appearance is being crafted by Canepa’s in-house paint and upholstery departments, over 4,000 individual mechanical components are inspected, refinished, rebuilt, or upgraded by technicians with over two decades of experience working with the Porsche 959. Quite literally nothing goes untouched, with every bolt, clamp, and fitting being stripped and replated in a variety of coatings such as zinc, anodizing, powder coating, and Teflon. Starting with the suspension, the 959 SC opts for the weight savings and simplicity of the coil-over spring and shock assembly found on the factory 959 Sport specification – thus eliminating the adjustable ride height and its related hydraulic system on Komfort models. In its place, the Canepa suspension upgrade employs custom-valved Penske shock absorbers with titanium coil-over springs for a one-inch lower ride height while still providing ample ground clearance for real world driving. All four corners also feature specially developed cryo-treated semi-floating brake rotors with upgraded brake pads for improved stopping power. Housing these improved brakes are 18-inch wheels custom-designed by Canepa in conjunction with Michelin to mirror the 18-inch wheels originally featured on the Gruppe B concept car. While radial tire technology in the 1980s forced Porsche to revert to a 17 inch wheel for production 959s, Canepa’s wheel upgrade allows 959 SC owners to take advantage of the grip and comfort offered by the modern tire technology while retaining the timeless look of the original 959. 

Initially developed for Group B class homologation and tracing its lineage back to the powerplants in the 936, 956, and 962 sports prototypes, the 959’s 2.8-liter twin-turbocharged flat-six was designed to handle significantly more power than the 444 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque it left the factory with. After three decades spent optimizing the existing engine components as well as engineering new ones, the 959 SC’s flat-six now develops a staggering 800+ horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque with Canepa’s Stage III upgrades. These encompass Pankl titanium connecting rods, a blueprinted and upgraded valvetrain assembly, upgraded camshafts and camshaft housings, tungsten ceramic coated headers and two-stage stainless/titanium exhaust system, a MoTec engine management system and wiring harnesses, and two state-of-the-art BorgWarner turbochargers. The robust six-speed manual transmission is also treated to a full rebuild as well as REM isotropic super finishing on gears and shafts and an upgraded clutch assembly to ensure a reliable and extremely capable package. The result is otherworldly, modern-supercar performance, including zero to 60 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds and a top speed in excess of 230 miles per hour. 

Limited to a mere 50 examples in total, only the most original, low-mileage candidates are considered for recommissioning to 959 SC specification. Chassis number 053, one of just 266 959 Komforts built, was ideal then, with less than 8,302 kilometers at the time of its disassembly. Originally finished in Polar Silver Metallic with a Dark Grey Metallic leather interior, this highly original, low-mileage 959 was submitted to Canepa in 2019 for its comprehensive transformation to 959 SC specification. After over 4,000 restoration hours it was completed four years later in 2022 and was given Canepa 959 SC serial number “009.” Invoices and photos of the comprehensive Canepa work are on file. Today, the Porsche is resplendent in the lightly modified version of the Porsche factory shade of Irish Green, noted by the consignor as “Irish Green Plus,” containing less yellow than the standard shade. The paint to sample exterior color is protected with full ceramic coated paint protection file (PPF). The exceptional exterior color choice is accentuated by the proprietary gun-metal grey finish of its 18 inch wheels. Inside, the cabin is trimmed wall-to-wall in exquisite bespoke tobacco brown leather and matching cut-pile velour carpeting, further complemented by matching, custom-embossed tool pouches and owner’s books covers. Now fitted with instrumentation in miles, the odometer displays just 2,130 total miles since reimagining at the time of cataloging. 

This Porsche 959 SC Reimagined by Canepa presents the rare opportunity to acquire one of the most exclusive and earth-shattering supercars of the 1980s – so advanced that other manufacturers continue to view it as the benchmark for technology, engineering, and performance decades after production ceased. Rarer still is the chance to experience the full potential of the 959 platform achieved through decades of research and development to bring the legendary model into the 21st century.