Instead, the car was held in a US customs facility for more than 13 years while Gates and other enthusiasts sought a way to legally import such rare vehicles. The 959 was among Porsche’s most technologically advanced cars of the 1980s, featuring a twin-turbocharged flat-six engine, all-wheel drive and advanced suspension. Because it had not been certified under American safety and emissions rules, microsoft co-founder Bill Gates bought a Porsche 959 in 1988, but the rare supercar could not legally be driven on US roads.
Gates’ car eventually benefited from the US “Show or Display” exemption, which allowed historically or technologically significant vehicles to be imported under strict conditions.
The problem was not that the Porsche 959 was considered unsafe in the ordinary sense. Porsche had built the 959 in very limited numbers and did not produce a US-certified version. His 959 was subsequently held by US Customs for years while efforts were made to find a legal solution. The car remained in customs for 4,745 days, or more than 13 years, according to Forbes. The prolonged storage reportedly cost Gates about $133,000 in fees. The 959 was developed from Porsche’s work on the Group B rally programme and was intended to showcase advanced automotive technology. The car used a 2.85-litre flat-six engine with sequential twin turbochargers and produced around 450 PS. Porsche says it could reach a top speed of about 317 km/h and accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds. The 959 featured an advanced all-wheel-drive system, electronically controlled suspension, ABS and lightweight materials, technologies that were unusual in a production sports car at the time. Porsche says only 292 road-going customer examples were produced between 1987 and 1988. The car originally cost around $225,000, making it extraordinarily expensive for its time. Its rarity and technological importance have since turned it into a highly sought-after collector car, with Porsche noting that examples have sold for more than $1.5 million at auction. Porsche lists comedian Jerry Seinfeld and tennis star Martina Navratilova among other notable 959 owners. Canepa had purchased a Porsche 959 and worked on making the model compliant with US requirements. Vehicles imported under the exemption generally could not be driven more than 2,500 miles per year. For rare cars such as the Porsche 959, however, the provision created a legal pathway that had previously been unavailable.
As a result, Gates could own the car but could not simply register it and drive it on American roads. Because of their historical or technological importance, the cars also had to be considered sufficiently significant. Porsche introduced the road-going version in the 1980s, making it one of the most sophisticated performance cars of its era.
Rather, it had not been certified to meet the US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and emissions requirements needed for normal importation and registration. Its technology extended well beyond the engine. The Porsche was also exceptionally rare. Gates was not the only famous person to own one. Gates was not alone in facing the problem. Other American enthusiasts also wanted to own rare foreign vehicles that had never been certified for the US market. Automotive entrepreneur and Porsche specialist Bruce Canepa became particularly involved in efforts to create a legal route for such cars. The exemption, which took effect in the late 1990s, allowed qualifying vehicles to enter the US under restrictions rather than being treated like ordinary imported cars. One major restriction was the mileage limit. Approval under the rule did not mean every other federal requirement, including applicable emissions requirements, automatically disappeared.
The campaign eventually contributed to the creation of the Show or Display exemption, which provided a route for certain historically or technologically significant vehicles that did not meet all normal federal safety requirements.
The 959’s roots can be traced to Porsche’s participation in Group B rallying. The company used the programme to develop technologies that eventually appeared in the road-going 959. Porsche says the earlier competition version won the 1984 Paris-Dakar Rally, while Porsche achieved a one-two finish in the 1986 event. The rally programme also helped Porsche develop the sophisticated four-wheel-drive technology that became one of the defining features of the 959. The 959’s significance extended beyond its rarity and performance. The company later used lessons from the 959 in other performance models. Porsche has described the 959 as a catalyst for its decision to equip future turbocharged sports cars with all-wheel drive.
Porsche says its development demonstrated the advantages of combining high performance with all-wheel drive and advanced electronic systems. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.