0 to 60 in 3.3!



Do recall the 959? A 295,000 dollar car that Bill Gates (and others) bought but then couldn't get out of customs? Bill had one that sat at Oakland for a long time. Well Autoweek did an article on how these cars got ok'ed in the US. What did it take? Lawyers, Money, Time, and Bruce Canepa and more Money. They actually got a change in the law to get the cars in. Here is a link to the article.



At Long Last: Federalizing the Porsche 959 has been a long road. Now, at least, it can be traversed.



Original partners Gates and Lauren have taken delivery of their cars. Ironically, when Allen moved to Europe he took his nonfederalized car with him. Meanwhile, Canepa is canvassing the globe looking for unmolested, low-mileage 959s. "The average car we buy has less than 1000 miles on it, has gone through no winters and costs between $275,000 and $300,000. We charge $85,000 for the work we do, so the finished product goes out of here for $400,000 to $425,000." Yes, there is some profit in those numbers...



For four hundred large you want your money's worth. Canepa has undertaken back-to-back tests with his modified 959 and a new RUF GT2. The RUF turned 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and took 11.9 seconds to reach 100 mph. The 959 goes from a standstill to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds and reaches 100 mph in 11.4 seconds. Top speed of the 959 is 215.



"We're maintaining a McLaren F1 GTR," says Canepa. "And after driving both cars, there's just no comparison. The McLaren skips and jumps all over the place. The 959 just squats and goes."



And finally, after all these years, it can do it on these shores.

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My buddy emailed me about this. He and some friends were in various discussions to import the Smart Car to the US. They even got one in and drove it around. He says:



"Yeah, in our negotiations with Smart, and MBZ they referred to that as the "Bill Gates Law". Pretty funny. I think I heard the Sun International (the R-5 turbo guys) call it that as well. "