Photography by William Edgar
Canepa Design
October 1, 2005
Heading up highway 17 toward his new 65,000-square-foot Canepa Design
facility in Scotts Valley, Calif., Bruce Canepa pedals a silver Porsche 959
loose from traffic toward the off-ramp, using the short run from his outgrown
complex in Santa Cruz as a sort of breathing exercise. Just then, another 959
shoots past. “Seinfeld’s,” says Canepa. But the comedian isn’t driving. It’s one
of Canepa’s technicians taking the $550,000 German supercar on a little test
outing before delivering it to Jerry. Bill (Gates), Paul (Allen), Otis
(Chandler), and Ralph (Lauren), among other aficionados, all own 959s that have
received magical modifications inspired by what could be Canepa’s motto: Our
whole thing is about perfection.
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(Click image to enlarge.)In the specialty-vehicle world according to Canepa, the smallest of details are giant. This is the obsession-level dictum that drives him and his inseparably dual passions for doing business and having fun. At 55, Canepa has the energy of a 30-year-old.
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Canepa-federalized 959, still the best Porsche ever? (Click image to enlarge.)No Santa Cruz surfer, Bruce Canepa was born a full-blown car guy. His father owned the California beach town’s Lincoln-Mercury-Ford franchise, and Canepa, growing up sanding and painting automobiles and motorcycles while loving sports cars, tried his best to convince Dad that foreign was the way to go. Failing this, he opened his own little body shop and satisfied his compulsion to race sprint cars and World of Outlaw roadsters. When he, along with Rick Mears and Monte Shelton, made a glory showing in 1979 at Daytona sharing a Porsche 934 and finishing the 24 Hours third overall, the Porsche factory rewarded Canepa by building him a 935 turbo racer, sponsorship included. It’s the same car that Canepa “dirt-tracked” his way through IMSA’s paved road course racing back then, and that he still campaigns today in major vintage events. And, man, is he quick.
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