In 1988, Bill Gates placed an order for the Porsche 959 Komfort, the most advanced road car of its era and one of only 337 ever built. The twin-turbo, all-wheel-drive coupe could top 200 mph and featured technology that later became standard on everyday cars. Gates paid roughly $400,000—then something close to pocket change for a rising software mogul—but he overlooked one problem: the United States had never certified the 959 for safety or emissions. When the car reached the Port of Seattle, it was declared illegal to register or drive, yet officials offered a compromise. They would hold the Porsche in a bonded warehouse if the owner paid a storage and customs bond of $28 every day. Gates agreed, believing regulators would soon modernise the 1960s-era import code. They did not. For the next thirteen years, the 959 sat wrapped in plastic while Microsoft’s co-founder quietly signed cheques that eventually surpassed $132,000. No reporters noticed, no press release boasted about the world’s most expensive parking fee—just a man, a dream car, and a slow-moving bureaucracy.
Bill Gates’ Porsche was banned in the US: Here’s how he fought back
US law allowed owners to retrofit foreign cars to local standards, but the 959 presented two hurdles. First, Porsche never built a 959 test vehicle for destructive crash certification, so importers could not prove compliance without destroying another limited-edition example. Second, its complex electronics made emissions re-tuning expensive and uncertain. Any attempt to certify the car risked erasing the very technology that made it special. Gates, joined by fellow 959 buyer and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, began lobbying Congress for an alternative path that would respect technological landmarks without compromising public safety.
The “Show or Display” rule: A loophole born from one supercar
Years of behind-the-scenes persuasion culminated in 1999 when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration introduced the Show or Display exemption. The rule lets owners import vehicles deemed historically or technologically significant, provided annual mileage stays below 2,500 miles and the cars remain in near-original condition. The Porsche 959 became the poster child of the new list. Two years later, Gates finally took delivery, drove the car legally on US roads, and ended his daily fine. Critics called the exemption preferential treatment for billionaires, yet preservationists note the same rule now protects everything from early fuel-cell prototypes to the McLaren F1.
Counting the cost of a 13-year standoff
Gates’ ledger shows about 4,745 days of storage fees at $28 each, plus periodic bond renewals of $500. Adjusted for inflation, the sum approaches $300,000 in today’s dollars—comparable to the original purchase price. Still, Gates appears to have no regrets. In a 2018 television interview, he called the 959 “the car that proved software belongs in automobiles,” a nod to its adaptive suspension and in-dash diagnostics. The saga also underscored how innovation often races ahead of regulation; only when a high-profile case exposes the gap does the rulebook catch up.
Legacy beyond one collector’s garage
The Porsche 959 episode shifted US automotive policy, opened museum doors to foreign prototypes, and previewed debates now playing out around autonomous-vehicle imports. It also showed how personal passion can drive policy change: a billionaire wanted to enjoy a piece of engineering history, and the solution he championed now benefits restorers, educators, and small collectors nationwide. The 959 itself remains in Gates’ private fleet, reportedly driven sparingly on summer roads around Washington State—a rolling reminder that sometimes law bends, eventually, to the lure of innovation.
