12 Beloved Cars That Are Actually Banned In The USA

Ask any car enthusiast with a penchant for Euro power what is the most advanced supercar of the ’80s, and the answer is likely the Porsche 959. Created to run in the ill-fated Group B racing series, the Porsche 959 was the most technologically advanced car of its day. According to Stutt Cars, it integrated the digital age fully into the automobile with computers controlling the engine, turbos, suspension, and traction control. The advanced componentry and lightweight materials used to construct it made it very expensive and only those with substantial wealth could afford one, if they were European.

With such an audacious project as this, news about the incredible machine circulated globally and piqued the interest of some wealthy Americans interested in buying one, such as Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft. Attempts to import the car were thwarted by then-new import regulations and Porsche had no desire to make it pass U.S. regulations as that would have required crash testing 120 vehicles, an enormous expense for the sale of a handful of vehicles. 

Undaunted by the hurdle, some intrepid enthusiasts, according to Road and Track, worked diligently to find a way to get the cars into port. Their efforts resulted in a new law known as Show or Display, which allows certain cars of particular significance and limited production to be imported but not be driven more than 2,500 miles annually. And that is how Bill Gates and a few others got their hands on the ultimate Porsche.