The Porsche 959 is the brand's supercar icon of the 1980s. While there were special, high-performance versions of the 911, they didn't hold the same halo position as this technologically advanced, all-wheel-drive machine. Let's watch one get a deep detailing.
This 959 starts looking quite nice. There's some dirt and grime from use, but you wouldn't consider it filthy from just a glance.
Gallery: Porsche 959 Cutaway by: David Kimble
The detailing starts by spraying the 959 with just water and then washing it with soap. This process gets the Porsche most of the way to looking perfect. But, there are still little swirls and imperfections to fix. All of the body trim comes off, and the buffing wheel comes out. The car has complex areas like the side intakes that require getting out different tools to get the job done. The sills on each side of the engine also receive attention.
Like the exterior, the interior is in good shape even when the detailing starts. There's always room for improvement, though. Soap, a brush, and a towel are the main tools for cleaning the cabin. Even the bags holding the tool kit and other items receive attention.
The underbody and wheel wells receive a dry ice cleaning. The process removes grease and stuck gunk from places where most people would never look.
Gallery: Porsche 959: Supercar Sunday
The production-spec 959 debuted at the 1985 Frankfurt Motor Show and deliveries began for the 1986 model year. At the time, it featured cutting-edge automotive technology for a road car. Power came from a twin-turbocharged 2.85-liter flat-six engine that had an air-cooled block but liquid-cooled heads. The setup made 444 horsepower (450 metric horsepower).
The sophisticated all-wheel-drive system, which the automaker called the Porsche-Steuer Kupplung, was capable of sending as much as 80 percent of power to the rear axle. Drivers could select settings for dry roads, wet surfaces, snow, ice, and a full-time 50:50 torque split. The 959 had a suspension with two dampers per corner, and they were both adaptive and height adjustable.
Porsche allegedly has a new supercar in mind, but it's not coming anytime soon. The model might use the new battery cells for the automaker's future EVs. We don't yet know whether the vehicle would be fully electric or a hybrid.
