The story of the illegal Porsche 959 that Bill Gates managed to introduce in the United States

The 959 Porsche 1986 became Bill Gates' favorite car, but its lack of legal clearance in the United States led him to one of the greatest folly of having his precious car by his side.

Tech giant and billionaire Bill Gates is not only known for being the CEO of Microsoft, but also for being a Porsche-loving billionaire, having owned dozens throughout his career. But while some Porsches can come and go, especially for a billionaire, the tycoon saw fit to bring an illegal Posche model to the United States, which proved quite difficult for him.

Gates was willing to wage war against the United States Customs and Border Protection agency to keep his favorite car in the United States: the 959 Porsche 1986.

Why was the 959 Porsche 1986 banned in the US?

When the Porsche 959 debuted in the late 80s, everyone wanted it, including Bill Gates. However, this was easier said than done as the Porsche 959 was not even available in the United States.

While most Porsches can be easily imported from Europe into the United States, the 959 was different. Various complications arose with the 959 and its importation into the United States, the main problem being Porsche's refusal to provide the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) with four models for crash testing.

Unsurprisingly, Porsche refused to scrap four of its super-expensive super-luxury cars for crash testing, but that meant the Porsche 959 was "not certified for use on the public road."

Of course, that didn't stop Gates, who ordered one anyway and immediately confiscated it at US customs upon arrival. And so it was for more than ten years.

Porsche 959: the most advanced supercar of its time

When Porsche launched the 959 in 1986, it was, without exaggeration, the most technologically advanced car in the world.

The Porsche 959 burst onto the automotive scene as the most advanced supercar of its time, and it's no surprise that billionaire Gates wanted to get his hands on it. It featured a massive 6-liter twin-turbocharged, air-cooled V2.8 engine producing 444 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque, driven by all four wheels.

Easily one of the best cars of the '80s, the Porsche 959 could hit 60 miles per hour in just 3.6 seconds and hit top speeds of 196 miles per hour. Not only the best in the world for speed and power, the 959 also proved to be a daily driver.

How did Bill Gates convince American officials to keep his bootleg Porsche 959?

When Gates' Porsche was seized by Customs, he clearly wasn't going to accept defeat and spent more than 10 years fighting to drive his dream car on American soil. He teamed up with his partner and Porsche expert/dealer Bruce Canepa to forge a plan. Along with many other experts, Gates and Canepa used a legal team to find a way to circumvent the requirements for the Porsche's street value.

According to Auto Week, attorney Warren Dean helped Gates draft the law to repossess his Porsche 959 and filed it with the court. This law established that:

“If 500 or fewer cars were made, if they weren’t currently being made, if they were never legal in the US and if they were rare, they could be imported without having to pass DOT standards. As long as they meet EPA standards and don't drive more than 2,500 miles a year, they will be legal."

However, the fact that Gates presented the decision does not mean that the US government will approve it. The bill, introduced by Gates' legal team, was repeatedly rejected and failed until it finally made it into the "Senate Transportation Bill" signed into law by President Clinton in 1998.

It took another two years before the government prepared the paperwork to implement the supercar law, but it was still a long time before Gates put his Porsche 959 on the road.

After the paperwork was official, Gates and Canepa had to rework the 959 to meet certain emission standards. But after more than a decade of being seized at US Customs, Gates was finally able to drive his favorite illegal Porsche, legally. As long as you don't drive more than 2,500 miles on US highways.

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