Forza Horizon 4: A Porsche that conquered Dakar

Forza Horizon 4 pays tribute to Porsche's 70th anniversary and while our Great Britain adventure takes part on the year-long celebration of Stuttgart's finest, we take a look at a Porsche we never knew it competed at the Paris-Dakar and won and it was based on the legendary short-lived speed king we all know about.



Yes, this is essentially a Porsche 959, the legendary short-lived speed king that made headlines in the late 80's, but what that is is a rally raid car. Applicable for Car Pass owners, this unsung hero lives to tell the tale of how Porsche sent the 959 on the Paris-Dakar and won.

It all started when Porsche opened their opportunity to take on Group B racing during the development of the 959 but because Group B is all about rallying, there has been a change of plans for Porsche. What they do is they convert their 911 cars to 959 specifications for use at the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1984 but a year later, a rally version of the 959 was ready but mechanical issues caused all of the cars failed to finish. In 1986, the 959 made a 1-2 finish at the Paris-Dakar Rally.



While it was not meant to be made as a Group B rally monster, the capabilities of the 959's four-wheel drive system demonstrated through the unforgiving paths of the Paris-Dakar show that even the short-lived fastest car in the world is able to adapt through different surroundings, something that the one that stole its crown, the Ferrari F40, couldn't do.





So, not only this rally raid 959 is fast but it can go anywhere and it's their way of showcasing just how capable Porsches are, something that was almost carried over to Porsche's first-ever SUV, the Cayenne. It maybe theoretical but let's put this theory to the test as the 959 Rally Raid car takes on a Double Dare to see if the legend is true.

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...and that is all she wrote.



Adding this to Porsche's greatest hits might be hard but for a rally raid 959, I think its tale is pretty impressive and like this car, there could be unsung Porsche heroes lurking around its 70-year history and this rally raid 959 is a clear reminder that we need to dig deeper to understand Porsche's hidden achievements. In the meantime, let's celebrate 70 years of Porsche while we still can.  The more you know.

Forza Horizon 3: Legendary Supercar

Look what I got from this weekend's Forzathon event, it's the supercar that started it all. Yes, it's the Porsche 959 and it's a real legend, all right.

Launched in 1986, it is known to be the most advanced and technological sports car Porsche has ever made. For instance; it comes with the adjustable suspension and a complex 4WD system that drivers can split the power between the front and the rear wheels for grip and cornering at the same pace. Notable people who had a 959 include Bill Gates, Don Johnson, Boris Becker, and a few others.

Thanks to the 2.9L twin turbo B6 engine that produces 331 kW (444 hp) of power, the top speed is 197mph, which in 1986 made it the fastest production car in the world.





I already heard the tale of the legendary 959 and how its reign as the speed king was short-lived by the Ferrari F40 a year later, but because storytelling about these two legendary supercars are a tad boring, let's give them another piece of history by battling themselves on the streets of Surfers Paradise and see who come out on top. This is going to be fun because the whole world are already familiar about these 80's supercar titans that inspired the likes of the fastest supercars of today and I'm here to witness it.



And now the results...

1987 Porsche 959* (450HP/369ft-lb/3,190lb/43%/2,849cc/A 763) - 2:26.113
1987 Ferrari F40 (478HP/424ft-lb/2,980lb/42%/2,936cc/A 776) - 2:20.374

These legends...they are always remembered for their greatness in the real world and when paced together, history is meant to be made. That's what these two are made for, establishing a new kind of war only the fastest will survive. The war we called the "speed wars" and it's been going on since the invention of the automobile. Some will win, some will lose. That's the rule all power-hungry carmakers are living right now and like they said, if you aren't speeding, you aren't living.

1980's Supercar Nirvana

The ultimate showdown between the 959 and the F40!

It was the late 1980's. The Porsche 959 and the Ferrari F40 became the ultimate supercars that reached above or beyond the 200mph mark. These two were Richard Hammond's boyhood dream and on the Series 16 finale of Top Gear, he got a chance to drive his dream cars. I can't recall seeing the two of them being together as fierce rivals but to find out, let's talk about these two; beginning with the one that was from 1987...

This 959 has a lot of gizmos....

Launched in 1986, the 959 is known to be the most advanced and technological sports car Porsche has ever made. For instance; it comes with the adjustable suspension and a complex 4WD system that you can split the power between the front and the rear wheels not just according to the grip but how you can cornering.

Thanks to the 2.9L twin turbo B6 engine that produces 331 kW (444 hp) of power, the top speed is 197mph, which in 1986 made it the fastest production car in the world.

A year later, its reign as the speed king was been short-lived thanks to this....

It's the one that gets me! Not 200 but 201!

The Ferrari F40. This car was launched in 1987 but it's more than just celebrating Ferrari's 40th anniversary. This is the car that defeated the Porsche 959 in terms of top speed because thanks to its 2.9L V6 twin-turbo engine that produces 478BHP of power, it achieved a top speed of 201mph. Another reason is because this is the first car to be ever made of carbon fiber. 

This was the last car to be commissioned by the founder, Enzo Ferrari, before his death. Originally it was made for a limited run of 400 units but because this car is a whopper, about 1,315 models were produced, with the last one being produced in the year 1992.

Both these cars have 2.9 liters. Both have the identical power. Both have twin turbos. But with these top speed differences, it can be quite challenging to figure out which of these two are the best. As observed on the 1980s Supercar Powertest episode from Top Gear...

ENZO WOULD NOT LIKE THAT RESULT!

It appears that the 959 defeated the F40 but as Hammond says, if his gear changes is better, these two were neck and neck. Despite that, it appears that these two never lapped round the Top Gear Test Track because of their problems. The F40 failed to start, therefore resulted a DNS or DID NOT START. Then, the Porsche 959 ended in a DNF or DID NOT FINISH because the turbos seem to be broken.

Despite these two failed to lap round the track; both the Porsche 959 and the Ferrari F40 played an important role in the supercar world. Surely the 959 is all about luxury and technology but the F40 is more of a stripped-out hyper go-kart with absolutely no luxury at all. I can see why the world's finest supercars like the McLaren F1 and the Bugatti Veyron draw some inspiration from these two.

If the 959 and the F40 didn't made, maybe the supercar realm wasn't even existed and there was no car that can go beyond the 200mph mark. Guess we have to owe them their thanks...