Porsche 935

Porsche 935 – this model awakens racing fans’ memories of the wild 1970s. At that time, the sports car brand from Zuffenhausen raced in the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DRM) and was extremely generous when they interpreted the rules of Group 5 sports cars. Keeping the original doors in place, the door skins were significantly widened to match the original bodywork with widened fenders, where huge slick tires lurked. In addition, a second rear window was placed at a shallower angle over the original, to improve air flow to the rear wing. In the wildest version, the vehicle was nicknamed ‘Moby Dick’ in 1978 (seen on the last picture in our gallery).

Now Porsche presented a modern reissue of the 935 at the historic racing event Rennsport Reunion at Laguna Seca in California/USA. This is a gift to themselves and the countless worldwide fans for the 70th anniversary of the brand. While the original was based on the first-generation 911 Turbo, the new 935 is based on the 991.2 GT2 RS. “This spectacular car is a birthday present from Porsche Motorsport to fans all over the world. Because the car isn’t homologated, engineers and designers didn’t have to follow the usual rules and thus had freedom in the development,” says Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, Vice President Motorsport and GT Cars.

The body shell of the 991.2 GT2 RS received several widebody parts during the transformation to the 935, which are made of carbon fiber. At the front are new fenders without openings for the headlights, but with ventilation slots over the front wheels. Underneath sits a modified bumper with meshed intakes and lateral air deflectors. Fitting to the wider fenders, it wears wider sills under the doors. Further up are specially designed racing rearview mirrors from the current 991.2 RSR. The rear of the 935 is also significantly wider than the base vehicle and also received a further pulled back with spoiler lip. In the black diffusor sit two centrally mounted exhaust pipes. Overall, the 935 extends to 4.87 meters in length and is 2.03 meters wide. At the rear, a 1.9-meter-wide and 40-centimeter-deep wing provides plenty of downforce. The aerodynamically capped alloy wheels echo the rims of the 935/78 ‘Moby Dick’. Meanwhile, modern elements such as the LED taillights integrated into the end plates of the rear wing provide a connection to the 919 Hybrid.

The cockpit only provides space for the driver, sitting in a racing seat with six-point harness. Behind a carbon-fiber steering wheel with the most important control buttons is a digital display flanked by two round gauges. The gear lever is made from plywood, reminiscent of the 917, 919 Bergspyder or Carrera GT. Other standard equipment includes a full rollcage and air conditioning. A passenger seat is available for a surcharge. Technically, the 3.8-liter six-cylinder boxer engine with 700 hp from the GT2 RS remains. New features include the rigid suspension fot the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox as well as the slotted and ventilated brake discs with six-piston front calipers and four-piston rear calipers. The Porsche Stability Management (PSM) including Traction Control and ABS also remain on board, whereby the systems can be adjusted via a map switch on the center console or can be switched off completely. The new 935 only weighs 1,380 kilograms.

All in all, Porsche only produces 77 units of the new 935, which will be handed over to the new owners at exclusive delivery events starting in June 2019. They must pay at least 701,948 € for the car – without taxes. In Germany, including VAT, a minimum of 835,318.12 € has to be payd. For the body there is the choice between a monocoloured variant in ‘Achat gray’ or the Martini livery, visible in the press pictures.

Images: Porsche