Bill Gates bought a Porsche 959 but it spent 13 years stuck in US customs

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates bought a Porsche 959 in 1988, but the rare supercar could not legally be driven on US roads because it had not been certified under American safety and emissions rules.

Instead, the car was held in a US customs facility for more than 13 years while Gates and other enthusiasts sought a way to legally import such rare vehicles. The 959 was among Porsche’s most technologically advanced cars of the 1980s, featuring a twin-turbocharged flat-six engine, all-wheel drive and advanced suspension. Gates’ car eventually benefited from the US “Show or Display” exemption, which allowed historically or technologically significant vehicles to be imported under strict conditions.

Why Bill Gates’ Porsche 959 was stuck in US customs

The problem was not that the Porsche 959 was considered unsafe in the ordinary sense. Rather, it had not been certified to meet the US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and emissions requirements needed for normal importation and registration. Porsche had built the 959 in very limited numbers and did not produce a US-certified version. As a result, Gates could own the car but could not simply register it and drive it on American roads.

His 959 was subsequently held by US Customs for years while efforts were made to find a legal solution. According to Forbes, the car remained in customs for 4,745 days, or more than 13 years. The prolonged storage reportedly cost Gates about $133,000 in fees.

Porsche 959 was far ahead of its time

The 959 was developed from Porsche’s work on the Group B rally programme and was intended to showcase advanced automotive technology. Porsche introduced the road-going version in the 1980s, making it one of the most sophisticated performance cars of its era.

The car used a 2.85-litre flat-six engine with sequential twin turbochargers and produced around 450 PS. Porsche says it could reach a top speed of about 317 km/h and accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds.

Its technology extended well beyond the engine. The 959 featured an advanced all-wheel-drive system, electronically controlled suspension, ABS and lightweight materials, technologies that were unusual in a production sports car at the time.

Only 292 road-going 959s were built

The Porsche was also exceptionally rare. Porsche says only 292 road-going customer examples were produced between 1987 and 1988. The car originally cost around $225,000, making it extraordinarily expensive for its time. Its rarity and technological importance have since turned it into a highly sought-after collector car, with Porsche noting that examples have sold for more than $1.5 million at auction. Gates was not the only famous person to own one.

Porsche lists comedian Jerry Seinfeld and tennis star Martina Navratilova among other notable 959 owners.

How Gates and other owners fought for a solution

Gates was not alone in facing the problem. Other American enthusiasts also wanted to own rare foreign vehicles that had never been certified for the US market. Automotive entrepreneur and Porsche specialist Bruce Canepa became particularly involved in efforts to create a legal route for such cars. Canepa had purchased a Porsche 959 and worked on making the model compliant with US requirements.

The campaign eventually contributed to the creation of the Show or Display exemption, which provided a route for certain historically or technologically significant vehicles that did not meet all normal federal safety requirements.

What the Show or Display rule allowed

The exemption, which took effect in the late 1990s, allowed qualifying vehicles to enter the US under restrictions rather than being treated like ordinary imported cars. One major restriction was the mileage limit.

Vehicles imported under the exemption generally could not be driven more than 2,500 miles per year. The cars also had to be considered sufficiently significant because of their historical or technological importance.

Approval under the rule did not mean every other federal requirement, including applicable emissions requirements, automatically disappeared. For rare cars such as the Porsche 959, however, the provision created a legal pathway that had previously been unavailable.

The Porsche 959 was born from rally racing

The 959's roots can be traced to Porsche’s participation in Group B rallying. The company used the programme to develop technologies that eventually appeared in the road-going 959. Porsche says the earlier competition version won the 1984 Paris-Dakar Rally, while Porsche achieved a one-two finish in the 1986 event. The rally programme also helped Porsche develop the sophisticated four-wheel-drive technology that became one of the defining features of the 959.

The 959 influenced later Porsche cars

The 959's significance extended beyond its rarity and performance. Porsche says its development demonstrated the advantages of combining high performance with all-wheel drive and advanced electronic systems. The company later used lessons from the 959 in other performance models. Porsche has described the 959 as a catalyst for its decision to equip future turbocharged sports cars with all-wheel drive.