Flashback Friday: The 935 Lineage and Thoughts on the Newest Addition

1976 935

To fully understand this car, it's important to learn about the history of this iconic Porsche rac ecar. That said, we begin with the 1976 version of this amazing Porsche 935. This race car was equipped with 3.0 L Type 935 twin-turbocharged flat-six engine which used a mechanical fuel injection system. The high performance engine was able to produce up to 560hp; 438 lbs of torque. The 1976 version was sponsored by Martini racing. This vehicle and it's few different variations (due to racing organization regulations) all set various winning records across a few different major automotive races like the 24 hours of LeMans, 1976 Monaco Grand Prix, 1976 FIA World Championship, IMSA GT, etc. The overall design retained much of the Porsche 930's look including the big "whale tail". 

1977 935

This version was based directly on its 1976 predecessor. It went on to compete in DRM (Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft). Since the predecessor successfully won both world championships, the company decided to focus more on the LeMans races. Unfortunately, engine and tire troubles placed them at 6th behind other competitors. They were able to recoup this loss at the 1977 German Grand Prix by setting the fastest pole time and fastest lap. The car was then retired to the Porsche museum having successfully won these races and setting these records. 

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1978 935 aka Moby Dick

This was the year that the 3rd and final version of this race car was built and meant only to compete in LeMans. In this version, water-cooled cylinder heads were introduced to prevent head gasket failure like its 1977 predecessor which was air-cooled. The motor was enlarged to 3.2 L, increasing its power to 750 hp, up to 845 pounds of torque. Because of its white color and long tail shape improved for low drag, the 935/78 was often nicknamed Moby-Dick. With this version, the car won the test race, the 6h at the fast Silverstone Circuit, and the fastest lap.  Unfortunately, at the 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 935 qualified third. Compared to 1976, lap times were 15 seconds quicker now. With the new 3.2L engine, it was the fastest car on the straight in Le Mans at 228 mph.

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Kremer 935

Enter Kremer Racing from Cologne, Germany. They had built a 935 K1, and in 1977, modified their customer-owned 935 to the K2. In 1979, they introduced the 935 K3 (Kremer Type 3). Driven by Klaus Ludwig, the K3 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979, beating all prototypes, in heavy rain! (Usually considered a disadvantage for race cars with windshields) The K4 was introduced in 1981 at a cost of 400,000 Deutsche Mark. The K4 was fitted with a Porsche supplied 3.1L twin-turbocharged Flat six engine with a varying power of 750-800 hp. 

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Newest 935

In September 2018, the new 935 race car was presented at the sixth Porsche Rennsport Reunion at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. It is based on the 991 GT2 RS, with the body modeled after the 935/78. It is a creation from Porsche that encompasses many of its famous and other not-so-known Porsche's like the tailpipes modeled from the 1968 908/01 model. Some might see true engineering excellence when they see this for the first time. Others might feel that the brand didn't quite keep true to its engineering marvels by slapping together various different Porsche's. As this was a celebration of the 70th anniversary of Porsche, enthusiasts were expecting more in terms of the overall design, power output, and other features. The horsepower is claimed to be the same as the model it's based on, with lots of "look at me" features. The essence of the car being brought back here was supposed to be of a true race car. This one doesn't really seem to portray that message. Instead, it seems to say "listen, everyone, we've got this nailed for decades now, so for this one let's mold together a bunch of Porsche's, never race it and demand a hefty coin from rich, old "enthusiasts" for a ridiculous sum of money. Happy 70th Anniversary Porsche lovers!". Anyway, only 77 of these will be produced, so, get them while they're hot! 

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