Jump to content
Colt Seavers

How Likely Is A Porsche 959 Re-release?

Recommended Posts

I remember receiving a Porsche 959 for Christmas 1986 and would love to see it re-released. However, it was quite a complicated kit and in particular a very complicated body so I wonder whether Tamiya will go to the expense of re-releasing it. But now they're releasing the Avante it gives me hope they'll release other 'high end' kits.

What do you guys think?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Unlikely due to issues around the Porsche body shell rights, but I might be wrong...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Unlikely due to issues around the Porsche body shell rights, but I might be wrong...

Given that Tamiya already has a 911 GT3 and Cayenne S in the RC line, has produced many Porsche bodies in the past for RC, and is currently producing all kinds of static models of Porsches (including the 959) I doubt licensing is going to be an issue. Seems like the two companies have a good working relationship.

Not sure what Tamiya's strategy is for re-releases these days. After many said it would never happen we got the SRBs so anything is possible. Only problem I can see is that this would be a higher end, higher price kit and may not sell very well because of it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Given that Tamiya already has a 911 GT3 and Cayenne S in the RC line, has produced many Porsche bodies in the past for RC, and is currently producing all kinds of static models of Porsches (including the 959) I doubt licensing is going to be an issue. Seems like the two companies have a good working relationship.

Not sure what Tamiya's strategy is for re-releases these days. After many said it would never happen we got the SRBs so anything is possible. Only problem I can see is that this would be a higher end, higher price kit and may not sell very well because of it.

The same can be said about the Avante and SRB. These kit sold fairly well considering not many people ran them but bought them just because

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Given that Tamiya already has a 911 GT3 and Cayenne S in the RC line, has produced many Porsche bodies in the past for RC, and is currently producing all kinds of static models of Porsches (including the 959) I doubt licensing is going to be an issue. Seems like the two companies have a good working relationship.

I did say i might be wrong :lol:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You were probably thinking of the original issue with the 'Rothmans' decals, but I assume a re-re would just have the 'Racing' decals...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Don't get me worked up on this! :lol: Out of all Tamiya cars, this is the one I long for. I too had one back in the day and traded it for about 500 comic books. Boy was I dumb back then. I've been spying Ebay and I'm not going to spend oodles of dough on a beaten shell of a car and then tons more for replacement parts. This and my Super Shot were my two most favorite cars. I've had original, Grasshopper, FAV, Wild One, Fox, Boomerang, Hot Shot, Super Shot,Brat, Falcon, Frog, Hornet, Black Foot, King Cab, Lunch Box, Porsche 926, Road Wizard, and Avante (why did I sell all those before going to college? Hindsight is a badword of a thing). Out of all (even though I'm getting the Avante, I want my 959 back!!! I wish I had an idea of how many "real" miles the 959 and Super Shot had on them. It was a lot, lol. PS, I know technically the Celica is the better of the two, but man was it ugly compared to the 959. That car is sex on wheels. I would be so OK, if Tamiya re-re'd the chasis with a Lancia Startos rally body in classic Alitalia rally livery. Just throwing that out there for you big T! :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If they can somehow make a 4wd of the current m-chassis and re-re the body ..that would be awesome :lol:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
If they can somehow make a 4wd of the current m-chassis and re-re the body ..that would be awesome :lol:

Not that difficult I think to make a full 4WD M-chassis actually instead of a modded 2WD M-chassis... TB03 gearboxes, shorter suspension and smaller tub... Yes it´s tight... But it´s possible if HPI, ABC Hobby and many other brands manage to squeeze 4WD is such a tight package.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
You were probably thinking of the original issue with the 'Rothmans' decals, but I assume a re-re would just have the 'Racing' decals...

Yeah that's it, knew I wasn't going completely mad!

Saving my resto for a rainy weekend

IMG01129-20101115-1314.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The same can be said about the Avante and SRB. These kit sold fairly well considering not many people ran them but bought them just because

I have to admit I'm someone who will spend more money than I should on the toy car hobby. I have both SRB re-releases still in the shrink wrap waiting to get built, and if the 959 comes out I'll be getting one. I missed them the first time but am in a much different position in life now, however...

I look at the Buggy Champ Exclusive Edition, where it appears that Tamiya has a bunch of people opening up unsold kits and painting bodies gold, as a sign that they did not sell as well as they thought they would and there's excess inventory. The Grasshopper/Hornet/Frog re-releases where priced at a point where those of us who either had, or wanted, one 20 some years ago could now afford to get one and relive our youth. When the price gets to the 300USD range though the kits become more of a luxury. I look at the Holiday Buggy re-release as a sign that Tamiya got the point on what people will buy (although I really wish they had done a "correct" re-release.)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think the 959 was ahead of its time. No one was used to such complicated RC cars in the eighties. Also the materials were not as good as we are now used to. Now with new materials available and more (design)knowledge for both the Tamiya company and drivers (we) I think it has a much better chance (if the price is right). Let's see what happens. Maybe something for the second half of 2011?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

For me this is one that would get me spending big only other be a vintage 3 speed re-re. I had catalogue of the 959 and just remember looking it so much like purposeful rally machine and theose dampers are so cool but i guess some changes be made to be make it better as well, and it had lights and interior to but at time was wayyyy out of my price range lol!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'd love to see a 959 re-re. My bud had one when I was young and that thing was wicked fast. I remember it handling well, but all I had at the time was my hornet for comparison. Nonetheless, it is a sexy car, and I want one. Bring it on Mr. T! "If you build it, they will come (and buy it!)"

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm not sure I'd say the dampers were cool - more like a flipping nightmare! I spent ages trying to get all the air bubbles out...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I honestly think anything that hasn't yet been re-re'd could still be at some point in the future, given what we've seen in the last couple of years.

So many people have said "X won't be re-released because of Y", and they've been wrong.

Never say never.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It's a fine line between how much money it costs and what the projected profit would be - of course. But IMHO the "X" factor is whether there will be a new market created or just a huge initial nostalgia purchase.

Sure, everybody who used to run a Scorcher will snag one or two, and lots of people will buy one from curiosity, but will the line have appeal to a new crowd. It seems the answer is yes so far.

Same with any re-re. Tamiya doesn't care about the secondary market or spares or resto segments. They will look at how many units can they sell and will a new generation still be interested after the nostalgia / collector crowd fades.

The more fiddly and fragile the kits are, the more disinterested the Traxxas crowd will be. Don't get me wrong, I like some Traxxas and am frankly amazed at the quality and innovation they have shown recently. Good on them. What I'm saying is this: you throw a 959 off a 10 foot jump at warpspeed with a brushless motor propelling it, and you won't be best pleased with the result - and you won't do it more than once for sure. Try that with an E-Revo and ... well you can do it all day long and repeat for several years before you break something. If you do, the parts cost $8 and can be found at the local convenience store right next to the Snickers bars.

The really, really fiddly kits like tanks and trucks don't get hucked 30 feet into the air, so part of the appeal is how difficult they are to build. If Tamiya feels they can capture that segment and price the car high enough to make the profit [as well as capturing the nostalgia crowd] then sure, anything is possible.

It's no coincidence that the SRB kits are priced so much higher than other kits. I don't actually believe it is the cost to manufacture, it reflects the cost of return and projected market. I think if Tamiya can find the profit in rereleasing the 959 kit under a similar market projection, then you bet, it could happen. If they think they can spawn a new generation of modelers who enjoy the challenge and aren't primarily interested in high speed demolition, then sure, why not.

By the way, do you know how hard it is to use "spawn" in a polite sentence? Bonus points for me. :)

Just my wild hypothesis, and I might be full of beans too, but that's all I got to say about that. :lol:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The Avante has changed the game and now anything is possible. Also, since Tamiya like to do commemorative stuff, the 959 was the company's first proper & scale looking rally car designed for on/off road use so it would not be a shock to see this one come back too. I hope so because I always admired them back in the day.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The Avante has changed the game and now anything is possible. Also, since Tamiya like to do commemorative stuff, the 959 was the company's first proper & scale looking rally car designed for on/off road use so it would not be a shock to see this one come back too. I hope so because I always admired them back in the day.

I just recently got my hands on two examples for cheap and sold them off to make a few $$. They weren't really my thing to begin with, and I'm sure we will see a re-release soon enough. Collecting old Tamiya has lost it's "fun" to me now, especially seeing the Avante surface, which was the second Tamiya I owned years ago.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, nearly three years on from my original post and still no sign of a re-release. Perhaps in 2014? Big releases the last few years - Avante in 2011, Bruiser in 2012 and Egress in 2013. Hopefully next year is the turn of the 959!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It's got to be one of the most widely desired re-releases on this club now that the Fox, Bruiser and Egress are out of the way. Let's just hope the Japanese customers want it as much as we do since that will probably be the deciding factor on whether it returns or not.

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Im pretty confident it'll happen, have said that for a while. Have fond memories of driving each of the 1/12 rally cars as a kid, real fun TBH and id jump at the chance of a re re, its a fave of mine, but vintage are too rich for my blood, bring it on in 2014, and i dare say the body shell quality will be much improved!

lee

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...