46 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | OCTOBER 2019
PORSCHE 935
Bewitched
Vanity project or timeless classic? Porsche’s modern Moby
Dick – yours for £750,000 – splits opinion. And then you drive it...
aero-disc wheels, modelled on the 1978 car’s, as
much for extracting hot air from the brakes as
reducing drag; the near-two-metre-wide rear
wing, with LED-lit endplates pinched from
the 919 LMP1 car; the exhausts like Philippe
Starck-designed rocket boosters (modelled on
those of the ’60s 908 racer, and collapsible in
the event of a crash).
Inside, however, it’s all business. There are
remnants of the 911’s production interior, but
essentially this is a racecar cockpit: instead of
a passenger seat there’s a mass of electronic
equipment, and you’re surrounded by rollcage
tubes, nets to contain errant limbs in the event
of a Big One, and a roof hatch to get you out in
the aftermath. Let’s not think about that.
There are just two interior retro flourishes:
a balsa-wood top for the gear selector lever (à
la 917) and a brace of analogue dials either side
of the digital dash readout, including a boost
gauge that looks like it could have been beamed
straight from ’78.
Starting it is simple: it involves the use of
a regular ignition key. The pitbox fills with a
gruff flat-six burr, rattling glasses of water in
the garage next door. Pulling away is just as
easy: it’s a production PDK ’box, so you just put
the lever in D, nudge it to the left for manual
mode and you’re good to go. ⊲
THE FIRST HOUR
30 seconds
It’s big: best part of 5m
long and 2m wide
15 minutes
Safety nets clicked,
harness tight, a drop
from air jacks – the
intimidation factor
could be huge, but pull
away and the 935 puts
you at ease
18 minutes
Full throttle for the first
time. Yeesh. This is
seriously quick
25 minutes
It’s a 911 underneath
- and there’s
understeer. You
can drive around it.
Traction is immense
1 hour
I’m smitten. Marmite it
might be, but I love this
car. What a creation
How do you feel about this car? Because it split
the CAR office down the middle when it was re-
vealed last year. To some, Porsche’s modern-day
homage to its 1970s 935 endurance racer is a
droolworthy dream car, a time-bending meld
of classic-era spirit and cutting-edge tech. To
others it’s an empty pastiche, a 911 GT2 RS in
Elton John fancy dress. I’m somewhere in the
middle. Or at least, I was.
At this freeze-frame moment, I couldn’t care
either way because I’ve just pushed the throttle
to the stop for the first time and I’m too busy
concentrating – and grinning – to debate. This
car feels amazing.
While we’re on pause, a quick rundown of the
essentials: 77 new 935s will be built, and despite
an asking price in excess of £750,000 all have
been spoken for. Underneath the bodywork, a
tribute to 1978’s famous whale-tail long-bodied
935 nicknamed Moby Dick, it’s based on the 911
GT2 RS. Or, more specifically, the track-special
GT2 RS Clubsport – the 935 isn’t road-legal. It’s
intended for private track sessions and special-
ised Porsche club races. Or one heck of a shock
for the regulars at a public trackday.
That, and a sort of high-speed objet d’art.
Pacing around the 935 (and at 4.9 metres long,
it’s quite a walk) you begin to appreciate just
how many captivating details it packs in. The
First drives
Inside it’s mostly
racer. Balsa
gearknob is a
nod to the 917
£750,000 car,
wall. Nervous
Porsche bods
just out of shot
