A Legendary Porsche Supercar Just Got Even Better

Now there’s an awesomely upgraded version of the Porsche 959, the limited-edition 1980s icon.

Porsche released its first supercar in 1986, and built just 292 of the legendary 959s before concluding the production run in 1993. Porsche Carrera GTs and 918 Spyders have arrived on the scene since, raising the bar for maximum Porsche performance.

But California Porsche specialist tuner Bruce Canepa continues to improve the 959 with his introduction of the Generation III version. This 763-horsepower rocket is built from an engine that originally made 450 horsepower. The custom 959 accelerates to 60 mph in just 2.5 seconds, on par with today’s fastest cars.

The factory turbochargers are gone, replaced by a new parallel turbo system. Nearly all the other components in the Gen III’s intake and exhaust systems have also been replaced, in the interest of improving the flow of air and fuel through the engine.

The car uses new lightweight titanium springs and the original hollow-spoked magnesium wheels have been modified to accept modern high-performance tires.  Meanwhile, the interior has been entirely reupholstered in custom leather, including a hand-sewn steering wheel.

The result is a car that Canepa says is faster, smoother and better-handling than Porsche’s original supercar. That’s a worthwhile upgrade. 

Now you only need to locate one of the other 291 examples (at $1-2 million) to have him build you one like it.