The 1985 Porsche 959, chassis 010015, estimate $3,000,000 – 3,400,000, is one of only three built for participation in the 1985 Paris to Dakar Rally. None of the cars finished the 1985 rally but three new 959s were built for the 1986 race and finished first, second and sixth respectively. Though homologation rules prevented what began as a new and improved twin-turbo, all-wheel drive 911 concept from competing in its intended Group B class, Porsche continued development of the new model and renamed it the 959, with the ultimate goal of building the fastest, most technologically advanced Porsche road car ever.

One of just three examples built for the 1985 Paris-Dakar Rally, thanks to the encouragement of six-time Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx who finished the Paris-Dakar race in sixth place in a Porsche Type 953 911 in 1984 the car would serve as a 959-development prototype, representing Porsche in the most grueling rally of all. These three cars were equipped with the naturally aspirated 3.2-liter Carrera engine.

Historically speaking you'll realize that this race car actually predates the street car. Porsche developed these Paris-Dakar 959s as a test model for the road car, so really, you can think of this as more of a prototype. It wears the body panels from the 959, and is equipped with its advanced four-wheel drive system, but it has a naturally aspirated 3.2-liter flat-six from a 911 Carrera instead of a twin-turbo 2.85-liter. Chassis no. 010015, was driven in the 1985 Paris-Dakar as #186 by René Metge (winner of the Paris-Dakar in 1981, 1984 in a Porsche Type 953 911, and 1986 in a Porsche 959) and Dominique Lemoyne. Of the 552 entries in the rally, just 146 completed the 14,000km race.

Unfortunately, 010015 retired due to oil line failure, while the other two 959s were involved in accidents. Though the car on offer did not finish the race, it certainly served as a testbed for the three 959s entered by Porsche in the 1986 Paris-Dakar, which dominated the event, finishing 1st, 2nd, and 6th overall, proving the incredible potential of the model.

There has been a considerable surge in the popularity of safari-style, rally-spec 911 builds, and the 959 Paris-Dakar is essentially what sparked all of these on/off-road Porsche models. For any die-hard Porsche collector and off-roader, this is an unheard-of opportunity.