Porsche’s 70th birthday celebration continues. After building a tastefully resto-modded 911 for charity, it took the sheet off a modern version of the monstrous, 911 Turbo-based 935 race car that earned the nickname Moby Dick in the late 1970s. The 21st-century variant arrives as a limited-edition model developed exclusively for track use.
The project represents what is possible when engineers and designers are unfettered by rules save for those they themselves lay down. The menacing 935 isn’t street-legal so it doesn’t need to comply with strict safety and emissions regulations, and it wasn’t designed with a specific race series in mind so restrictions on aerodynamic add-ons and engine displacement never entered the equation. This is as pure as design gets in the automotive world.
The 935 is based on the GT2 RS, the most powerful 911 currently available. Like the original, it wears a sleeker, more aerodynamic body made largely out of carbon fiber in order to keep weight in check. The front end of the car is wider, lower, and longer than stock and it ditches the standard 911’s archetypal round headlights. The back end is much wider and longer, too. It’s fitted with a tall wing for additional downforce and LED lights reminiscent of the ones seen on the Le Mans-winning, record-breaking 919 Hybrid LMP1-spec prototype.
This is as pure as design gets in the automotive world.
Look closely and you’ll spot other parts that channel Porsche’s illustrious heritage. The wheels are a modern interpretation of the ones fitted to the 935/78. The twin titanium tail pipes echo the 1968 908, while the door mirrors are sourced from the 911 RSR. The Martini livery is a heritage-laced throwback to the 1970s.
The carbon fiber steering wheel also comes from the company’s race car parts bin, and it sets the tone for the rest of the interior. Porsche kept two analog gauges and replaced the rest of the instrument cluster with a configurable screen. It fitted a race car-specific center console with buttons used to adjust (or completely turn off) the driving aids like the traction and stability control systems. The 935 offers a single seat in its basic configuration, but enthusiasts who want to share the experience with a friend can order a second seat at an extra cost.
Like the GT2 RS, the 935 receives a 3.8-liter flat-six engine twin-turbocharged to deliver 700 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Porsche hasn’t released performance specifications but we’re expecting stellar figures. 700 horsepower is a lot in a car that tips the scale at about 3,000 pounds. To add context, the 911 GT2 RS performs the benchmark 0-to-60-mph sprint in 2.7 seconds.
Porsche notes it will build 77 examples of the 935. Pricing starts at precisely 701,948 euros, a sum that represents approximately $816,000. The first customers will receive their car in June of 2019 during what the company calls exclusive delivery events.
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