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The One-Off Porsche 959 Speedster: How a 1987 Komfort Became a Coachbuilt Original

A 1987 Porsche 959 Komfort became a singular Speedster after an accident and a 4,000-hour coachbuilt conversion by Karl-Heinz “Charlie” Feustel.
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There was no factory-built Porsche 959 Speedster in this car’s story. The 1987 Porsche 959 Komfort featured here was converted in 1989 by coachbuilder Karl-Heinz “Charlie” Feustel after an accident. RM Sotheby’s describes it as the sole example of its kind and records its sale in Milan in 2025 for €1,298,750.

Was the Porsche 959 Speedster a factory model?

No. This car began as a production 1987 Porsche 959 Komfort; its Speedster body and roof treatment were added later in a coachbuilt conversion. RM Sotheby’s calls it the sole example, so “one-off” refers to the auction house’s description of this particular conversion—not to a factory 959 variant.

The distinction matters: the car retains its identity as a 959, but its open-top configuration was not a standard Porsche production model. Porsche’s own later use of “Factory One-Off” for a separate 911 Speedster project is a different case and should not be confused with Feustel’s independent conversion (Porsche’s account of the 911 Sonderwunsch Factory One-Off).

How did a damaged 959 become a Speedster?

The car’s detailed early history comes from RM Sotheby’s 2025 auction catalogue. According to that account, chassis WP0ZZZ95ZHS900142, with engine number 65H00094, left Stuttgart on 6 November 1987 in Silver Metallic, with Cashmere Beige and black leather. It was believed to have been delivered new to racing driver Jürgen Lässig, who registered it in November 1987.

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The 1988 accident and Feustel conversion

RM Sotheby’s says the car was reportedly involved in an autobahn accident in 1988. Lässig then sold it to Porsche racer and craftsman Karl-Heinz “Charlie” Feustel. In 1989, Feustel and two colleagues at a specialist workshop east of Cologne carried out the conversion. The auction house says the work took more than 4,000 hours.

The project kept the underlying 959 while giving it Speedster bodywork and a revised roof arrangement. RM Sotheby’s lists an electrically operated blue soft top and a removable hardtop, and says the auction offering included a spare Speedster windscreen, mirrors and tonneau cover. The finished car was described as Grand Prix White with blue leather.

A February 1990 Sports Car International description, quoted in the auction catalogue, praised “the whole package…[as reflecting] the ideas and true German craftsmanship of three people who have a deep-seated interest in and love for fine cars”. The catalogue does not identify the article’s author or page number, so the quotation is best attributed to the magazine as quoted by RM Sotheby’s.

Frankfurt, Essen and the reported asking price

RM Sotheby’s reports that the car appeared on Auto Becker’s stand at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in September 1989 and at the Essen Motor Show in December. The catalogue says Feustel asked approximately $1.2 million for it in 1989. That figure is a reported asking price, not evidence of a completed sale.

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What is documented about the car’s later history?

RM Sotheby’s says a German collector was reportedly associated with the car’s exhibition in 1990, and that the consigning owner acquired it in 2008. The auction house recorded a 12 March 2025 service by Porsche specialist ADR Motorsport before the car sold in Milan for €1,298,750.

The catalogue addendum says the car is titled as a 1997. That is a registration or title detail; it does not change the car’s 1987 model year. The available account does not establish the car’s owner, location or condition after the 2025 auction.

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How does it compare with a production Porsche 959?

Porsche developed the 959 as a technology demonstrator for the newly introduced Group B category, based on the 911. The following comparison separates the production-car facts from the changes and provenance RM Sotheby’s attributes to the Speedster conversion.

Subject Production 959 Feustel Speedster
Factory status Part of the 292 959s Porsche says were built in series production from 1987 to 1988. A later coachbuilt conversion of a 1987 959 Komfort; RM Sotheby’s describes it as the sole example.
Body and roof 959 Coupé. Speedster body treatment, electrically operated soft top and removable hardtop, according to RM Sotheby’s.
Engine and performance reference Porsche Museum lists a 2,849 cc six-cylinder biturbo boxer, 331 kW (450 hp) and 315 km/h for the 1987 Coupé. The cited auction account identifies the car’s engine number but does not give a separate Speedster performance figure.
Documented history Porsche production and specification references. Auction-house-documented accident and conversion narrative, later ownership account, 2025 service entry and Milan sale result.

The production 959’s engineering helps explain why the starting point was so significant. Porsche’s historical overview lists speed-sensitive adjustable dampers, self-levelling suspension, electronically controlled variable all-wheel drive with selectable programs, ABS, tyre-pressure monitoring and a drag coefficient of 0.31. Its body used a Kevlar and glass-fibre-reinforced epoxy structure, with special aluminium alloy for the doors and front compartment cover. Porsche describes the 959 as the first production car with a sequential twin-turbo boxer engine.

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How fast was the 1987 Porsche 959?

Porsche publishes two top-speed figures in different contexts. The Porsche Museum’s 1987 Coupé specification lists 315 km/h. Porsche’s historical overview gives 317 km/h in the context of the car’s then-record for a series-production sports car. These are distinct published references, not a verified top-speed measurement for the converted Speedster.

What can the service record tell you about its condition?

The auction catalogue’s entry for a Porsche-specialist service on 12 March 2025 documents work before the sale; it is not a full condition assessment, and it cannot establish the car’s present state. For wider 959 ownership context, Porsche Classic says its department retained factory testing and restoration tools. In a 2022 Porsche account, Uwe Makrutzki, Head of Factory Restoration, warned that infrequent use can cause storage damage and said the powertrain and chassis should be overhauled in their entirety when that work is required.

Makrutzki’s general maintenance advice was to cover around 100 kilometres (62 miles) in mixed operation at least once a month. That is expert guidance about preserving 959s, not a substitute for inspecting this individual car or evidence that it followed that routine.

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