10 hours Ago By Matthew Guy
Article content According to legend – well, official record, but “legend” sounds so much better – the 1987 Porsche 959 you see on these pages was delivered new to a customer in 1987, a professional racer who would go on to win the 24 Hours of Daytona later in his career. A few years before that triumph, though, he was caught up in an autobahn wreck in this 959, and chose to sell the remains. The new owner, Karl-Heinz Feustel, also a racing driver, took the ruined supercar and put over 4,000 hours into converting the remains into a drop-top, painting it white somewhere along the way.
He also made two tops to accompany the car, a power-operated fabric lid and a removable hard top. The car made rounds at big-name auto shows, including spending time on the stand at the 1989 Frankfurt Motor Show. And now this incredible one-off is headed to auction, via Ontario-headquartered RM Sotheby’s.
Slung out back is a 2.8L twin-turbo flat six engine, still rated for 444 horsepower and likely featuring enough turbo lag to frighten the tar out of any driver not paying attention. Photos provided by the auction site show a blue leather interior in nearly-new condition, and the matching white wheels cement this thing’s place in ‘80s lore.
Back in the day, Feustel is said to have asked for US$1.2 million for his creation, which works out to approximately $3 million today considering inflation. RM Sotheby’s estimates a block price in the 1.
1-million- to 1.5-million-euro range, a sum that translates to about CDN$2.35 million on the high side.
It is true that primo examples of regular 959s tend to trade today for that much money (and more) but Porsche fans tend to be sticklers for originality—something this creation is most definitely lacking. Still, we can absolutely imagine a moneyed collector buying a drop-top 959 simply to park next to their all-original hardtop already in the garage. It’d be one heck of a conversation piece, in any case.
This auction, located in Milan, is scheduled for May 22, less than a month from now. We’ll update this piece with the sale price. Sign up for our newsletter Blind-Spot Monitor and follow our social channels on Instagram , Facebook and X to stay up to date on the latest automotive news, reviews, car culture, and vehicle shopping advice.
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