Former F1 driver and 2014 Le Mans class winner Nick Heidfeld It was known as the Quick Nick to the masses, but when the German racer took his rare 959 Sport to the Porsche Classic for some work, the company’s resto experts took their sweet time fixing it.
Heidfeld dropped the 959 in the summer of 2017, and didn’t get it back until December 2021. I know we’ve all had the COVID to deal with but that seems like a pretty long wait, especially considering that the car in question only had to cover 4,183 kilometers (2,599 miles) of The new one, so there weren’t some sheds found without floorboards and an engine check.
Heidfeld is probably one of those people who tells the shop to only work on his car when they’re not busy to cut costs even though he knows he might be dead before he actually gets the car back. But then again, since he’s a former F1 star who must have won millions in endorsements and also He has a Carrera GT In the garage, this may not have been the case.
But if you have A 959 Sport You’d probably think it’s worth waiting for it to be refurbished by the people who built it, who still have all the original tools needed to create and maintain the ’80s supercar in prime condition. The S or Sport version of the 959 was a lighter, faster version that came without automatic air conditioning, central locking, power windows, rear seats, self-leveling suspension, and even a passenger side mirror to save weight.
Related: Watch Nick Heidfeld test Pininfarina Batista at Nardo
This alone will be enough for Make sure that the sport was Faster than the regular 959, but for good measure, Porsche increased the volume of its sequential-equipped turbine to a 2.85-liter flat-six, boosting power from 444 hp (450 hp) to 508 hp (515 hp). Only 29 models were built, which is worth a lot more than the $2 million you’d need to give up to get into one of the regular 959s.
Says Uwe Makrutzky, Head of Factory Restoration In a classic Porschewhich suggests owners drive at least 100 kilometers (62 miles) each month to keep gremlins off the hook.
“The powertrain and chassis must be completely overhauled; experience has shown that any reduction in the working range leads to problems in the future.”
The Porsche Classic team discovered that Heidfeld’s ECU had been tampered with previously, likely to release more horsepower, but Porsche restored it to its original condition.
“I have had the privilege of driving many high-performance cars, but driving this high-tech legend is something special for me,” Heidlfed said. “I was a teenage car lover in the late ’80s, and this Porsche has always been exceptional to me. At the time, 959 kan The world’s fastest and by far the most advanced production car. So, even today, it doesn’t drive like a 30-year-old car, but like a more modern car.”
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