Porsche 935 unwrapped for 70th
Porsche has unwrapped a 70th birthday present with the debut of a new Clubsport race car developing 700 horsepower that recalls the hugely successful Group 5 935 racing cars from the late-1970s.
The new 935 was revealed during the historic “Rennsport Reunion” motorsport event at Laguna Seca Raceway in California. The 515kW racer featuring a body reminiscent of the legendary Porsche 935/78 will be produced in a limited number of 77 units.
“This spectacular car is a birthday present from Porsche Motorsport to fans all over the world,” says Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, vice president Motorsport and GT Cars.
“Because the car isn’t homologated, engineers and designers didn’t have to follow the usual rules and thus had freedom in the development.”
The car has been developed for clubsport events and private training on racetracks and is based on the 911 GT2 RS highperformance sports car. Like its historic predecessor, most of the body has been replaced or supplemented by carbon-fibre composite parts (CFRP) so its streamlined and extended rear bodywork extends the length to 4865mm and the body is widened to 2034mm.
The spectacular aerodynamics are a completely new development and pay tribute to the Porsche 935/78 Le Mans race car, which fans dubbed “Moby Dick” due to its elongated shape, massive fairings and white base colour.
The distinctive wheel arch air vents on the front fairings, which also feature on the GT3 Porsche 911 GT3 R customer vehicle, increase downforce at the front axle. Measuring 1909mm in width by 400mm in depth, the rear wing improves aerodynamic balance.
Many details of the exterior are a salute to winning vehicles from the company’s motor racing history: The aerodynamically capped wheels echo those of the 935/78, with the LED rear lights on the rear wing end plates adopted from the 919 Hybrid LMP1 race car. The side mirrors hail from the current Le Mans-winning 911 RSR, with the exposed titanium tail pipes modelled on the Porsche 908 from 1968.
These references are carried through to the cockpit. The knob on the gearshift lever has a laminated wood design and is reminiscent of racers such as the 917, the 909 “Bergspyder” and the Carrera GT super sports car.
The carbon steering wheel and the colour display behind it have been taken from the 911 GT3 R from the 2019 model year. A full safety cage combined with a racing bucket seat and a six-point safety harness ensure maximum safety and a second seat for the passenger is available as an optional extra.
Air conditioning provides driver comfort with optimal cooling of the interior and the car is fitted with the FIA approved driver extraction roof hatch. The front-mounted 115-litre FT3 safety fuel cell with fuel cut-off safety valve complies with FIA regulations while a fastfill coupling is optional.
The new 935 is powered by a 3800cc six-cylinder twin-turbo engine, which is largely identical to the high-performance standard unit in the road-legal 911 GT2 RS. Power is transferred to the rear wheels via a seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) dual clutch gearbox with paddle shifters and a limited slip differential.
Porsche has announced pricing at Euro701,948 (NZ$1.23 million) plus taxes and customers will receive vehicles from June 2019.