While the royal family of Qatar did not build their palaces around vast wine cellars like most European monarchs (the one below Buckingham Palace has seven rooms and dates back to 1703), the Qataris certainly have a taste for grand cru collector cars in burgundy-coloured paint and leather. So when Porsche introduced a new supercar called 959 in 1986 and soon after launched the Porsche Exclusive department for bespoke, tailor-made commissions, a wine red car was high up on the menu for the Qatari super shoppers. So it did not come as a surprise that in 1989, one of the sheiks from Qatar ordered not one, but seven Porsche 959 with unique colour schemes from the Exclusive Department. The order including a gold-on-gold example as well as this outstanding, burgundy-red Porsche 959 Komfort that is now coming up for sale with RM Sotheby’s at the upcoming auction on 17 September 2021 in St. Moritz. 

While the list of extras was relatively moderate by Qatari standards – after all, who could say no to heated front driver and passenger sports seats with electronic adjustment or a Porsche-supplied anti-theft device – the car’s colour combination is what makes it special: Finished by the factory in an eye-catching Wine Red Metallic with matching burgundy carpets, gear gaiter, steering wheel, doors, dashboard, and seats that artfully blend in a shade of grey, the Porsche 959 Komfort represented the dernière cri in automotive style when it was delivered in 1989. What’s even more remarkable than the blissful interior from today’s point of view is the modest number that can be found on the odometer: In more than 30 years, its royal Qatari owner has put only 961 kilometres oin the clock, making the tailor-made car as good as new.

Despite its virgin mileage, the car is documented to have undergone over 130,000 CHF-worth of work at Centre Porsche Genève, the official Porsche workshop in the Swiss city, between 2018 and 2019. Porsche engineers carried out an engine overhaul with the replacement of important water seals, fuel hoses, belts, filters, spark plugs, and ignition parts while also cleaning the fuel injectors. Since the work was completed, the royal Porsche 959 has covered not more than 10 kilometres. So when you raise your hand on 17 September in St. Moritz, it is entirely up to you if you want to put this delivery mileage back into its time capsule for the next decades – or take it for a maiden Grand Tour through the Alps and all across Europe, just like it was built for.  

For RM Sotheby’s, the upcoming sale organized in partnership with the International St. Moritz Automobile Week is a new highlights in its international auction calendar, as Oliver Camelin, the new market manager for Switzerland, explains: “Our auction in St Moritz is our first ever sale dedicated to the Swiss market, and it was our objective to bring together a boutique style auction that contains some of the very finest cars, and I’m delighted to say we have achieved that.” Naturally, the full catalogue can be found in the Classic Driver Market. And on a final note on the Porsche 959, Oliver adds: “For me personally, given my personal and professional association with the Porsche marque, I am delighted to have this special 959 in the sale. Any 959 is a special car, but given the provenance, unique specification and the fact that it has covered less than 1000 kms from new, this particular example we are offering is an unrepeatable opportunity for any serious collector.” We have nothing to add.