When it arrived, the Porsche 959 was a high-tech flagship that cost the automaker three times as much to produce as it sold for.
The launch took place in 1986 and the model was produced in 345 copies. However, it was never type-approved in the United States, which put a damper on speculators on the other side of the Atlantic.
One of those speculators was Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who was attracted by the car’s advanced computer system. The purchase was, however, according to Carbuzz a long story.
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Gates’ Porsche was immediately impounded
In the United States, they are strict that a car must be federalized, or type approved, in order to be registered and used on public roads in the country.
The federalization means that cars have to be changed in a number of points compared to the European design, and you also have to crash test four cars.
The Porsche 959 was one of the most high-tech cars of the 80s – Photo: Porsche
Doing this with the 959 was not something that appealed to Porsche, who were already making a decent loss on every car they sold. Customers in America could therefore buy the car, but under no circumstances were allowed to drive them on public roads.
Bill Gates promptly ordered a car, which was just as promptly seized by customs when it landed on American soil. As a result, Gates’ Porsche 959 spent a full 13 years in the port of San Francisco before he was finally able to take delivery of the car.
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A suitably amused billionaire
Understandably, Bill Gates, and other 959 buyers, were not overly amused by the approach of US Customs.
A new law is required before Gates was allowed to drive his car – Photo: Porsche
To try to resolve the situation, the billionaire contacted the famous American Porsche importer Bruce Canepa, with the aim of finding a solution so that the Porsche 959 could be registered in the United States.
Gates and Canepa contacted attorney Warren Dean to try to craft a law specifically aimed at historically significant cars.
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Introduced a special law
The result of the work was a law that is colloquially known as “Show or Display”. The law means that cars that are in fewer than 500 copies worldwide, have never been sold in the United States, and are considered to be sufficiently exclusive and historically significant, may be imported into the United States and exempt from certain rules.
The cars may be driven a maximum of 400 kilometers a year, which is something that the authorities keep a close eye on.
Getting the bill through was a protracted process as it was repeatedly voted down. In 1998, however, it was finally approved by President Bill Clinton, as part of a larger bill.
After 13 years of waiting, Bill Gates was finally able to jump into his Porsche 959 and take it for a ride. Nowadays there is a list of car models that are approved for “Show or Display”.
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