Bill Gates fought back after having his Porsche 959 impounded by US officials in California and now he’s responsible for a legal loophole
- Bill Gates helped create a law to import his Porsche 959 to the USA
- Initially his and Paul Allen’s 959s were impounded by the US government
- The new law has assisted in bringing other rare cars into the United States
Published on Feb 07, 2025 at 1:55 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Feb 10, 2025 at 11:57 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Microsoft founder Bill Gates is a busy man, from creating the most widely used digital operating system to his work combating climate change and an interest in collecting cars like the Porsche 959.
However, the tech giant has another claim to fame: helping to pass the ‘Show or Display’ rule in the United States.
This is a legal loophole that allows wealthy gearheads to import certain cars into the USA without them being impounded.
The loophole stems from the experience Gates, Paul Allen, and Bruce Canepa faced after they imported a 959 each, only to have it impounded.
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Gates imported his Porsche 959 in the 1990s
The Porsche 959 supercar wasn’t officially sold in the United States, so Gates and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen decided to import them.
The 959 was an exceptional machine.
Initially designed as a Group B rally car, it was powered by a twin-turbo flat-six that produced 444 HP.
When they imported them into the USA, Gates and Allen had the cars impounded, which began a significant back-and-forth with the government.
The pair initially considered declaring Canepa a manufacturer to hasten the process, but Bill Gates struck gold after meeting Washington, D.C. attorney Warren Dean.
The pair decided to create a law stating that if 500 or fewer of the cars were made, weren’t currently produced, were never US legal, and were rare, you could import them as long as they met EPA standards.
President Bill Clinton passed the law in 1998
After a couple of attempts, President Bill Clinton passed the law in 1998. Following on from this, the only thing left to do was re-engineer the Porsches to meet US emissions standards.
Canepa contributed to this.
Rather than making changes that would harm the power output, he modified the cars to increase power.
These included upgrades to the ECU, catalytic converters, and more.
After the changes, Gates and Allen’s 959s made 575HP.
Thanks to this law, several cars have been able to reach US shores that otherwise would have been banned.
The McLaren F1, for example, is now eligible in the US, as are the Jaguar XJ220 and the Bugatti Divo.
The show-and-display rule has also benefited cars like the Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R and Ford RS200 Evolution.
