The Porsche 959 was nothing short of a spaceship when it launched. However, instead of viewing the 444 horsepower supercar as a mind-blowing finished product, Bruce Canepa saw it as the starting point for 20 years of development. After thousands of real-world miles and countless stages of refining product prototypes, in 2015 Bruce Canepa launched the 959 SC program, which promised to entirely reengineer the legendary supercar to outperform anything Porsche could have offered in-period.
This Emerald Green marvel is the fruit of Canepa’s labour. This 1988 Porsche 959 SC ‘003' started life as a Silver Metallic “Komfort” model that was originally delivered to Monte Carlo before being sold to Japan, where it was displayed in a private museum in Tokyo. In 2016, it was shipped to the United States with fewer than 38,200 kilometres on the clock, and it was at this point when Bruce Canepa began to work his magic. After being completely disassembled, it was resprayed in the stunning paint-to-sample shade you see here with its hollow-spoked magnesium 18-inch wheels finished in a Canepa proprietary graphite finish designed to mimic the look of oxidised magnesium. While anyone but the most seasoned of Porsche aficionados might struggle to spot what isn’t OEM, there’s a lot going on underneath this Porsche’s skin.
The 2.85-litre flat six was completely rebuilt with upgraded with BorgWarner turbos in a parallel twin-turbo system with new MoTec engine management, bringing the power figure up to a tarmac-shredding 825 horsepower. As for the suspension, the original 959 Sport coilover system was upgraded with custom valved shocks from Penske and titanium coilover springs, giving this 959 SC greatly improved ride quality and handling. However, we’re just scratching the surface of the 4000-plus hours put into creating this masterpiece. So, if this radical Porsche 959 SC has caught your attention, we encourage you to check out RM Sotheby's Miami auction on December 10th.
