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Originally Posted by mit5005
I don't understand. I always thought that the 959 was the best 911. I always read that the 959 was so technologically advanced for its time. Well IMO I think it is the best but I don't know much about Porsche. Do you guys agree with their decision?
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"We include it (the 959) not so much for its advancement of the 911 line back in '85 but as a presage of things to come. At the time, the roadgoing 911 Turbo was well established but it was a recalcitrant beast, a fast but blunt instrument. The 959 indicated how it might evolve, with two turbos instead of one and four wheel drive instead of rear drive...
...Green emerges with a wry smile; he's been waiting to drive a 959 since he had its poster on his bedroom wall as a kid. So was it worth the wait? 'I feel privilaged,' he says, but he's realistic. 'It's not the perfect driver's tool: the steering lacks the clarity and feel of the best here and it's as if you're expected to sit back and marvel at the brilliance of the Porsche engineers.'
The 959 isn't simply unlike any other 911; it's unlike any other car you'll ever drive. It will cover ground at remarkable speed - as fast as the current Turbo, we discovered - but it's a wild ride over these moorland roads. Pushed hard, body control is spongy, and grip and feedback only adequate. Time has not dulled the impact of its two-stage turbo delivery, though. 'Until the second turbo comes on song at 4500rpm there's nothing particulary special about the way it goes,' says Green, 'but at that point everything changes as it kicks in like a booster rocket.'
Meaden has driven it before, as have I, for a feature with the then-new 4wd 993 Turbo, and we both recall it seeming more impressive back then. Still, as he says, 'For a 15 year old car it is quite remarkable - it must have seemed like an alien spacecraft in the '80s and certainly hinted at that Porsche engineers had in mind for the 911. That they had to wait all those years to do it with the 996 Turbo shows how far ahead of its time the 959 was'....
So what's the greatest 911 ever?
Not the new (then 996) GT2, that's for sure. In fact, not any turbocharged 911, though John Hayman has been blown away by the earlier 993 GT2 and wants to elope with it when nobody's looking. Meaden has praise for the 993 GT2, too: 'The greatest turbocharged 911,' he declares, 'but not the greatest 911.'
Overall, it's the normally aspirated cars that have monopolised our enthusiasm, though perhaps that shouldn't come as a surprise. Enjoying the 911's tail-heavy layout, making it work for you and reaping its unique rewards - this is at the very heart of the 911 experience, and best achieved with a finely responsive engine."
p.s
Its VERY hard to pick a 911 over another 911 - especially when you haven't had a drive in each so you can figure out exactly what you're looking for.
I can understand Evo picking the 2.7 RS - but, without driving it myself, I think I'll stick with the 993 Turbo.
*you can drive it everyday
*it goes like stink (like the 959 & 996 Turbo)
*it has 4wd to back you up so you can push a little further than you would in a non-4wd 911.
*it mixes a bit of the old style with a bit of the new style
*I love its aggressive muscular looks, but without going over the top.