Could This 763 Horsepower Porsche 959 Beat a 918 Spyder?

By Jerry Perez - September 7, 2016

When this third generation 1987 Porsche 959 rolled off the assembly line in Stuttgart, it was one of the most radical vehicles in the world. Fast forward nearly 30 years, and it still is.

Any unmolested Porsche 959 would still be considered a technological masterpiece, but this particular unit owned by the foremost Porsche authority in the United States, Canepa Motorsports, is everything but an “ordinary” 959 supercar. Canepa was the pioneer behind the “Show or Display” law that helped bring European masterpieces such as this one to the States, and they’ve been legalizing and modifying said machines for over a decade now.

This stunning white example has been the subject of radical engine work and other modifications. For example: the wheels have been completely reengineered out of magnesium and now sport modern super car tires, the factory suspension has been upgraded to Canepa-spec gas struts and titanium springs, and the total horsepower output now exceeds the original by over 300 horses.

How did Canepa achieve this? The old sequential system was replaced with a parallel twin-turbo system with Borg-Warner turbos, waste gates with titanium heat shields were installed to manage the additional power, and other parts like the fuel system, clutch assembly, wiring harness, exhaust, and ignition system were also upgraded to bring this thirty-year old beauty to modern standards. In fact, the new modifications were performed under such high-standards, that the engine bay and other components look completely OEM to non-connoisseurs.

So what’s the price to pay for a three-decade old Porsche that could possibly beat the current Porsche 918 Spyder hyper car? Without counting the over million dollar Porsche 959, this upgrade package from Canepa will set you back a couple-hundred grand.