The year is 1988. The first episode of Home and Away has just aired. The first game of Rugby League has just been palyed at the new stadium in Sydney. Australia thrash reigning World Champions Argentina 4-1 in the Bicentennial Gold Cup and Crocodile Dundee II is showing on the big screen.
Then if you were lucky, the rumble of a 2.8 litre twin turbo flat 6 would come screaming from the horizon. But then Maybe not. After all, just 377 Porsche 959’s were made. Featuring the debut of Porsche’s PSK system and a revolution for Porsche in general, the 959 could shift torque from the front to rear wheels and was the marque’s first all wheel drive vehicle. Cemented in the Supercar hall of fame, the 444bhp Porsche 959 slingshot from 0-100 in a staggering 3.6 secoday, the most technologically advanced Supercar around. With a top speed of 319km/h it was the fastest production car, bar none and it bears the classical Porsche styling hallmarks that are still reflected in today’s design.
Gosford Classic Car Museum in NSW are auctioning a simply astonishing collection. To grasp just how much of an accomplishment Porsche unleashed; the 2014 Porsche 911R (an example of which is also being exhibited) completes the sprint just 0.3 seconds quicker than the 959. Let that sink in. At a time when a mobile phone was the size of a small child, the perfectionists at Stuttgart had produced a vehicle that is marginally outed by a vehicle that has undergone almost 30 years of refinement.
Maybe you feel that all that 4 wheel drive sensibility wasn’t very ’80’s’. Well – that’s not a problem. For the more ostentatious, There is also a 1988 Lamborghini Countach up for grabs. There is no arguing that The Countach pushed the boundaries of the term “Supercar”. It was ground zero for angular, sleek Supercar designs that would follow that did 200km/h standing still whilst presented and idolise on young boy’s bedroom walls everywhere. This particular example is a 25th Anniversary edition, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Automobili Lamborghini SpA. This means, it was the most refined of the Lambos which were more synonymous with all out madness rather than subtle responses. It is estimated that just 67 were produced in right-hand drive. It’s screaming 5 litre V12 sent it from 0-100km/h in a mere 4.7 seconds, which, although would have been left behind by the German offering, was an entirely different sensation and thrilling showcase of performance.
Jumping forwards a few short years and another offering at the auction will be a stunning Jaguar XJ-15. It was conceived as a Le Mans style Race Car for the road. Designed by Peter Stevens (if that name doesn’t ring a bell think: McLarren F1), the XJ-15 was the first fully Carbon Fibre and Kevlar car ever made in a fashion that is only just starting to become widely applied today. A 6 litre V12 motor pumps out 450bhp which hurtles the vehicle to a top speed of 307 km/h and 53 units produced over three years makes this rarity one of our favourites.
This is just but a snippet of the astonishing collection that will be available; and whilst you can never be sure what will happen at auction, one thing goes without saying. With this amount of Auto Exotica on display, you will need deep pockets and nerves of steel.
A room filled to the brim with every Petrol Head’s dreams!
More from the collection is shown below, do you know what they are?