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Porsche 959 Prototype started it all

While Porsche was unveiling the new Nürburgring-dominating 918 Spyder downstairs in Hall 3 here at the Frankfurt Messe, there was another Porsche supercar quietly and discretely on display upstairs in the same hall. That, of course, was the 959. But not just any 959: this was the original Gruppe B prototype.
The 959 was first developed as a rally car in the early 80s to compete with the likes of the original Audi Sport Quattro S1, Ford RS200 and Lancia Delta S4. But Zuffenhausen soon saw its potential as a production road-going supercar, emerging as a technological marvel to challenge the decidedly linear approach of the Ferrari F40. It still stands as a groundbreaking supercar in its own right, but also lead to the first all-wheel-drive 911 Turbo and set the stage for the Carrera GT and aforementioned 918 Spyder that followed to cap the top of the evolving Porsche range.
This original Gruppe B prototype, which presaged the production 959, packed a 450-horsepower 2.8-liter twin-turbo flat-six into an even sleeker form than the final version that followed. We caught up with it on display as part of a display of 80s German classics, of which this 959 prototype immediately stood out as the pick of the proverbial litter. Check out the hotness in the high-resolution image gallery above.

Porsche sells 919 Hybrid mockup for $100k on eBay

Want to spend $100k on a new Porsche? Your local dealership will gladly sell you a new 911, Panamera, or Cayenne in the right trim level and spec, with all the right boxes ticked. But one buyer in Singapore recently spent that on a Porsche he (or she) couldn't even drive. The non-functional vehicle in question was a full-scale replica of the 919 Hybrid – just like the ones that just took a one-two finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Only this one was based on the 2014 spec that brought Porsche back to the forefront of endurance sportscar racing. Oh, and it has no running gear - electric or conventional. Porsche made a baker's dozen of these replicas to serve as showpieces and development models where a fully functional example wouldn't be needed. They're seldom sold, but Porsche Asia Pacific was given the green light to auction one off. Proceeds went towards charities helping disadvantaged children and the disabled. The fortunate collector ended up paying precisely $106,100 – that's in US dollars, not Singapore's – on eBay for the opportunity to put an all but completely authentic 919 Hybrid in his garage. Said collector won't be able to drive it, of course, but unless he was put through the kind of training that Mark Webber and Nico Hulkenberg have been, we doubt it'd be of much use anyway. And that's assuming Porsche were ever convinced to part with one of its high-tech, all conquering prototypes, which it likely won't for many years to come.

Jack Olsen built one Porsche to do it all

Jack Olsen has built himself a lair called the 12-Gauge Garage, and inside that garage he built a lairy Porsche 911 nicknamed Black Beauty II. Although it looks like one of Stuttgart's models from the sixties or seventies, it is actually four decades of 911 gubbins from 1965 to 2000 thrown under one shell: the lightweight body is from 1972, the transaxle from 1977, the brakes from a 1986 Turbo, the engine from 1995, for example. It weighs 2,400 pounds and it's got 272 horsepower to get it going, but it's still a pure Porsche, Olsen saying, "If you stop thinking about what you're doing, it will remind you in very abrupt ways."
Olsen said the real point has been to have one car that does it all, so he does everything in his 911 from neighborhood runs to 7-11 to track racing - he loads the aero bits in the car and bolts them on trackside. And he says he'll never stop tweaking the suspension.
You can watch and hear the rest in Olsen's words in the video below.