Official Daytona ’85 poster By 1981 at the earliest, and for sure by the 1983 season of sports car racing, it had become clear to most that the Porsche 935 was reaching the end of its useful racing life. While it had been a great car, it just could not...
The #91 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Richard Lietz and Frederic Makowiecki rounds Malmedy during the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on 6 May 2017 Sixty-six years ago, on 24 June 1951, the first Porsche was pushed tentatively onto the starting grid of the 1951 Le Mans 24 Hour race....
Martin Raffauf and Chris Hill look under the car with the ACO inspectors. Mechanic Jeff Lateer looks on with the camera. Tech inspection went very well for the 935 as we had Annie Verney with us to “discuss” any issues with the ACO as we proceeded. The Garretson Developments Sports...
Bob Akin’s 935, one of the major protagonists in the 1983 Sebring 12 Hour race. It was driven by Bob Akin, John O’Steen and Dale Whittington and finished second overall. (©Brian Cleary) The 1983 Sebring 12 Hour was an epic event. Back then the race was run on the ‘old...
The #6 Barbour, Stommelen, Mears car, a 935-78 (935-77A), enters the Sebring front straight. While this was the fastest car there, it was delayed for some laps with a brake issue and finished fourth The IMSA season in the 1970s always started with the two toughest races on the calendar,...
Porsche’s 1981 Daytona 24-Hour winning poster A lot of people have asked me over the years, what is it like to plan, prepare for and run a 24-hour sports car race. It has changed somewhat over the years from the days of the Porsche 935 at the 1981 Daytona 24...
A warm up lap at Le Mans Classic 2012, Emmanuel Collard driving the Porsche 935 Moby Dick of Manfred Freisinger....
The #8 Kremer K3 Porsche 935 entered by Dick Barbour and driven by John Fitzpatrick, in the pit lane ahead of the 1980 Norisring race. The author, Martin Raffauf, is at the car’s right front wheel The Race for the Pork Cutlets… The end of June 1980 was a busy...
All four of the Dick Barbour Racing Porsche 935s line up in the pits ahead of the 1979 Le Mans race, each with the Stars and Stripes draped over the rear wing. From left to right: #73 935/77 (934½) – John Hotchkiss, Bob Kirby and Bob Harmon; #72 935/77 –...
In 1983 Porsche produced a stunning one-of road car for TAG owner Mansour Ojjeh. Based on a 934 chassis, it was designed to mimic the potent 935 racecars and subsequently became the one of the first slantnoses. Both the front and rear sections were made similar to the potent 935 race car which dominated the Group 5 Championship. This silhouette series allowed radical modifications which contributed to the repositioned nose, ultra-wdie flares and extended rear bodywork.
Porsche 935/77 Pictures...
Porsche 935/2.0 ‘Baby’ Pictures...
Porsche 935/76 Pictures...
Porsche 935/77 Pictures...
Porsche 935/78 ‘Moby Dick’ Pictures...
Inspired by the Kremer brothers, Joest built their own version of the 935 for the 1979 season. Like the factory cars it featured intakes in the C-pillars and also had a slightly different front profile. One car was campaigned by Liqui Moly Joest Racing and won the 1980 Daytona 24 Hours outright as driven by Reinhold Jöst, Rolf Stommelen and Volkert Merl. A second car was built up for Electrodyne and raced with Momo livery in the USA.
In 1982 Bob Akin Motor Racing commissioned spectacular Porsche 935 to be built for their Le Mans effort. It was built by Chuck Gaa of Gaaco to have a higher topspeed and increased performance. Chuck Gaa fitted a Lola T600 front end to a new bespoke bonded aluminum chassis. According to the regulations, the body retained the 930 roof structure, but was entirely new from the beltline down. The standard 3.2-liter Porsche engine was used and put out 750 bhp.
Using factory 935/78 ‘Moby Dick’ plans, Kremer built their own version. In doing so they modified the body to their own design to include more downforce. Only two cars were built in K4 specification. Bob Wollek drove the first car to win the Porsche Cup in 1981. Later this car was sold to John Fitzpatrick Racing and driven by John Fitzpatrick and David Hobbs to many successes in the IMSA series.
In 1977 Kremer sufficiently improved the 935 to begin series production of their own version. It was the third Kremer built on Porsche's successful platform and many 935/934s were updated to reflect ideas from the brothers in Cologne. The K3 version of their 935 was a great success and won the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1980 Sebring 12 Hours outright.
Upon seeing the factory 935s and what was possible using the 930 platform, the Kremer bothers from Cologne built up their own version. Their first car contested the World Championship of Makes in 1976 and in the following year, an updated version known as the K2 was further modified. Compared to the Porsche 935, the Kremer version was much more slab sided and featured fences along the top of the rear fender to direct air to the rear wing.
The 935/78 was the ultimate expression of the 911 factory race car before Porsche officially withdrew from motor sport. Raced under the Group 5 silhouette series, great liberties were taken with the design and the result was nicknamed ‘Moby Dick’ for its large size and huge overhangs. The 935/78 was built under Porsche's Chief Racing by Norbert Singer for high speeds at Le Mans. Due to the advanced shape of the car 227 mph or 366 km/h was possible.
The 935 ‘Baby’, based on the successful 935 Group 5 race sports car, was created in 1977, after only four months of development,, specifically for entries in the small division (up to 2000cc) of the German Sports Racing Championship. Compared to the Group 5 car, this little 935 had a six cylinder turbo engine of 370bhp, reduced to a displacement of 1.4-litres. A thorough diet helped ‘Baby’ meet the minimum weight of 750kg as dictated by the rules.
The 935/77 was a result of relaxed rules and the car got a completely new suspension. The mirrors were incorporated into the front fenders and the rear window had a new angle. The 935/77 was visually very pleasing. While the 935/76 had a single turbocharger, the 2.85-litre engine of the 935/77 had two turbochargers. There was also a "baby" 935/77 built with a smaller 1.4-litre turbocharged engine to compete in the national German DRM series under 2 liter class.
The Group 4 racer based on the 911 Turbo (930) was called 934 and the Group 5 Porsche was called 935. The first version of the 935 looked similar to the 911 Carrera RSR. The first customers for 935 were Martini Racing and Kremer Racing. The Martini car was a full factory development, while Kremer made its own enhancements already before the first race. By 1977, the 935 was sold as a customer car for these series to race against cars like the BMW CSL.
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