The US government seized Bill Gates' Porsche and left it to rot for 4,745 days but he came out with a faster car than he started with
Published on Mar 03, 2026 at 10:07 PM (UTC+4)
by Molly Davidson
Last updated on Mar 03, 2026 at 1:58 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Bill Gates once bought a car that the US government refused to let him drive – the Porsche 959.
Instead of enjoying it, he watched officials seize it and stash it in a Seattle port warehouse.
It sat there for 4,745 days, racking up storage fees while one of the most advanced cars of the 1980s slowly aged in the dark.
But while most people would’ve cut their losses, Gates paid the bill and waited.
DISCOVER SBX CARS – The global premium auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
The Porsche 959 the US seized from Bill Gates for 4,745 days
Back in the late 1980s, Gates imported a European-spec Porsche 959 – a 444-horsepower twin-turbo marvel that was basically a road-legal science experiment.
The problem was that it didn’t meet US crash or emissions rules.
So customs seized it almost immediately.
The 959 was sent to a Port of Seattle Foreign-Trade Zone, where it sat at $28 a day in storage.
Over 13 years, that added up to roughly $133,000.
Meanwhile, Seattle’s coastal humidity hovered around 74 percent – not exactly ideal conditions for a hyper-complex machine packed with early computer systems, hydraulic suspension, and magnesium components.
This wasn’t a simple sports car you could park and forget.
The 959 relied on electronic brainpower and fluid systems that prefer to be exercised.
Left untouched for over a decade, seals dry out, connectors corrode, and mechanical debt quietly builds.
After years of back-and-forth, US law finally shifted in 1999.
A new rule allowed ultra-rare cars – even ones that didn’t fully meet federal standards – to stay in the country under strict mileage limits.
That change meant Gates could legally keep his Porsche 959 on American soil.
Driving it, however, was another story.
Click the star icon next to supercarblondie.com in Google Search to stay ahead of the curve on the latest and greatest supercars, hypercars, and ground-breaking technology
The rebuild that made it faster than new
Even with the legal green light, the 959 still didn’t meet US emissions standards.
So instead of settling for a stock restoration, Bill Gates sent it to Porsche specialist Bruce Canepa in California for a full rethink.
Rather than simply restoring the car to factory condition, Canepa stripped it down and rebuilt it with modern engineering.
The original sequential turbos were replaced with contemporary parallel BorgWarner units.
New stainless headers and catalytic converters were fitted.
Aging electronics gave way to updated engine management.
The twist is almost poetic.
In the 1980s, emissions compliance often strangled performance.
In this case, modernization unlocked more of it.
Output climbed from 444 horsepower to roughly 576 horsepower in its upgraded form, and the car emerged cleaner, stronger, and more reliable than it had been new.
After 4,745 days in limbo, Gates didn’t just get his Porsche 959 back.
He ended up with a faster version of the very car the government once refused to let him drive.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
With roles at TEXT Journal, Bowen Street Press, Onya Magazine, and Swine Magazine on her CV, Molly joined Supercar Blondie in June 2025 as a Junior Content Writer. Having experience across copyediting, proofreading, reference checking, and production, she brings accuracy, clarity, and audience focus to her stories spanning automotive, tech, and lifestyle news.
