Porsche is moving as fast as its cars do. At Stuttgart where manpower is apparently not an issue despite round-the-clock work to ensure the new 911 and Taycan get delivered as promised, its engineers have now unleashed yet another beast that’s only made our Christmas wish list even more unattainable. Backed with a fair bit of motorsport history and looking every bit worthy of taking down a race track, here is the Porsche 935 revival you’ve been dreaming of.
Revealed at the Rennsport Reunion at Laguna Seca as yet another 70th anniversary present from Porsche to the world, the modern-day 935 is a solid tribute to the legend that’s the 935/78 race car, or better known by its monicker Moby Dick for its white bodywork and long tail shape that’s optimised for low drag. But to truly understand its value is to know its story.
First introduced in 1976 as the factory racing version of the Porsche 911 Turbo, the Porsche 935 was adapted from the Carrera RSR 2.1 turbo prototype, a car that took second-place honours at the 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans. By 1978, the third and final version of the 935 surfaced, notably swapping out Porsche’s signature air cooling engine for water-cooled cylinder heads. Engines were increased from 3.0-litres to 3.2, amplifying its power to up to 845hp.
Because it was categorised as a Group 5 special production car then, there was the freedom to make significant modifications under the “silhouette rules”. Of course, Porsche’s Nobert Singer took the chance to push the rules to their absolute limits, giving the car the iconic huge streamlined rear and swooping aerodynamic fairings it’s now known for today.
Today’s version follows the same ethos of limitless boundaries, mostly obvious via the fact that the car is neither road-legal nor homologated, meaning its engineers didn’t have to follow many rules in its development today too.
Although most panels have been swapped with lighter carbon fibre, it’s apparent the new Porsche 935 is based on the 911 GT2 RS (fastest road car, FYI) with the same gaping front air intakes. The extreme aerodynamic long tail treatment and classic Martini paintwork comes with Le Mans-approved interiors too — bucket seats and a roll cage within are racy accompaniments to the wooden gear knob — a nerdy racing nod the 917 of yonder. Its side mirrors take after the current Le Mans-winning 911 RSR, while the exposed titanium tailpipes are modelled after the 1968 Porsche 908.
Inside the 150kg lighter car sits the same powertrain, a 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six engine that — with a seven-speed PDK transmission — drives the rear wheels with 700bhp of gusto. Unlike its crazy track predecessor, this is fitted with the modern aids such as the Porsche Stability Management as standard.
In true Porsche style, this 935 will only be a limited edition in 77 examples, with deliveries scheduled to begin in June next year.