Love it or hate it … Porsche’s retro 935
It’s fair to say Porsche’s limited-edition £750k special has divided the office
AS PART OF its year-long 70th anniversary celebrations, Porsche unveiled a new 935: a big-money GT2 RS-based track car inspired by the Moby Dick 935 and limited to 77 units. Some of us are more impressed than others.
‘What if’ is a tantalising but usually fruitless question – but it’s one Porsche has answered not once but twice in its 70th anniversary year. Ever pondered how quickly an unrestricted Le Mans car could lap the Nordschleife? Now we know (5min 20sec!). And ever considered what a modern version of the dramatic, streamlined Moby Dick racer would look like in 2018? Look no further than the stunning new 935. Wearing those rousing Martini colours, swooping rear bodywork and red casserole-dish wheels, it’s a nod to Porsche’s history – and a new car to pin on bedroom walls, just like the Bugatti Divo, and Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2.
Sure, it’s ‘just’ a 911 GT2 RS underneath, it won’t race at Le Mans, and it’s unattainable for most. But as an idea and a design, it shows a company willing to fuel excitement and stir up our imaginations. And isn’t that what supercars are all about?
Like Theresa May dancing, Porsche’s recent attempts at retro have been painfully awkward. First there was Project Gold – essentially a brand new 959 that adhered faithfully to the original. So faithfully, in fact, you could only sit back and admire the brazen laziness. ‘This is it?!’ you can imagine the original 959 team saying when they were invited in for a sneak peek at Gold. ‘Thirty years of technological progress overlooked in favour of gold paint?!’ And the 935? Similarly underwhelming, particularly when you consider the dreaminess of the brief: track-only, so no homologation worries; a £750k asking price, so pretty much anything goes; and GT2 RS underpinnings, so all the hard work’s done. All that freedom and we get a Moby Dick pastiche significantly slower than the original.