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1986 Porsche 959 Prototype at Barrett-Jackson sees gavel fall at $440,000 [UPDATE: w/video]

Fans of Porsche in America have longed for the chance to buy a 959 ever since the German automaker produced and sold it (well, sold it everywhere but the United States...) in the 1980s. Well, they just had their chance. The car you see above is a Porsche 959 prototype built in 1986, and only one other running prototype still exists.
The 959 prototype can't be driven on public roads, as it carries no such certification. Somehow, we doubt that matters all that much to the new buyer - this one is probably going to be sitting in a collection. When the gavel finally fell, bidding had reached $400,000, plus a 10-percent buyer's fee.
Check out our high-res image gallery above to see this prototype up close, and scroll down below to watch a video of it crossing the auction block and for its official auction description.

'Faster. Farther.' dives into the history of Porsche racing tech

No doubt, Porsche has produced some of the best endurance racecars around, such as the turbocharged, slant-nose 935 of the 1970s and the ground-effects-enhanced 956 and 962 of the 1980s. But the company's most famous racecar, its first overall winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, was the 917.
The 917 embodied many of Porsche's technological achievements up to that point, such as the company's first 12- and 16-cylinder engines (the flat-16 was never used in competition), fiberglass bodies that implemented early aerodynamic practices and the use of new, exotic materials, such as magnesium and titanium.
The racecar was commissioned by the head of Porsche Motorsports, Ferdinand Piëch, to win overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970, after he realized a loophole in the rules that allowed cars to compete with engines up to five liters in the Sport category if they were also production models. Piëch saw opportunity: the top prototype class was restricted to three liters; the production minimum to compete in Sport was 25 cars. And so, with much effort, Porsche assembled 25 "production" 4.5-liter 917s and had them parked in a neat line for the race inspectors to verify their legitimacy. It didn't take long before people realized the new Porsches were much faster than the prototype racers, with a top speed approaching 250 miles per hour.

Petrolicious details why the Porsche 911 is something special

The Porsche 911 is a special car, if for no other reasons than it's been continuously produced since 1964, with nearly every generation regarded as being at or near the top of its class. But why the rear-engined icon has done so well among enthusiasts and regular drivers alike can't always be explained easily. To truly understand the 911, you have to experience the whole package, and that means driving one.
While just about every publication has raved about the Porsche, commercial director, race driver, photographer and 911 owner Jeff Zwart explains to Petrolicious why he was drawn to the legend as a young child, and why he still loves them today.
Zwart's professional and personal life are inextricably linked to the 911, and hearing him talk about the car and its history makes for fascinating viewing. Watch the video below to hear Zwart's story and see him drive a couple examples from his collection: an early 911 and the 964-generation Carrera 4 he won Pikes Peak with for the first time - a car that happens to be equipped with the 959 Paris-Dakar's fascinating torque-split transmission. Enjoy!