As Rob mentioned in his Jade Green Targa piece the other day, we’re entering in quickly to auction season. Mecum, typically the purveyors of more muscle cars than European rides, nonetheless had quite an impressive lineup of signification Porsche race models that cover a few decades and many changes in the company’s history, so I thought it would be pretty neat to take a look at them. It’s very interesting to see over a relatively short period of time the many changes that Porsche’s motorsports programs have gone through.
Tag: 934
In the days when 930s were a tad bit more affordable than they’ve become in recent years, it wasn’t uncommon to see blown-engine examples be turned into track creations. It makes a fair amount of sense – with upgrades brakes and wider flares, the Turbo model was a natural born track car. So with that in mind, we have two very different routes that seemingly similar cars could take; both based upon Turbo models, which is your track-flavored style? First we’ll look at the 3.6 flat-6 RSR-styled PCA racer:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1976 Porsche 911 “RSR” on eBay
1 CommentIf the insanity of the crazy modified 80s wasn’t enough for you in earlier’s DP 935 Targa, how about a 962-powered 911 Speedster? Sound absolutely bonkers? Yup, it sure is. But in the no holds barred world of the well-heeled, you can create just about anything that you want. Borrowing elements from the 962, 934, 959 and DP935 and adding them to the already quite rare and valuable Speedster, Bruce Canepa created the ultimate enthusiast’s dream of a convertible 911:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 Porsche 911 Speedster on Hemmings.com
3 CommentsThe Porsche 935 is one of the most iconic racing sports cars. It’s also one of the most extreme mutations of a street 911, pushing the envelope of aerodynamics and the rule books. Porsche engineers found there was no stipulation of where the headlights needed to be located; in short order, the super aerodynamic “slantnose” appeared. There was, however, a stipulation that the original rear window had to be retained – but there wasn’t a rule that there couldn’t be a second, more aerodynamic window – so later 935s got a more slippery profile channeling air to that very important rear wing. That wing was so important because the 935s were at times pumping up to 800 horsepower through those rear wheels – enough to make them as fast as prototypes had been only years before.
The 935 was so successful that many were continually modified and raced from their original launch in the late 70s until well into the mid-80s – unusual for a top-spec race car, which is usually antiquated in a year or two. This was the case with the last 935 I wrote up, a 1977 Porsche 935 that was later updated to the top Kremer spec. Today’s car took a different path, originally beginning life as a 934 before being sold to the Minister for Sport in El Salvador who upgraded it first to 934.5 spec, then to full 935 spec. It was in this full 935 spec that the car ran Daytona in 1981 and 1982, though it was uncompetitive compared to those Kremer prepared cars. At that point, the car was again modified – this time back to 934 spec until 1985. Since then the car was both crashed and restored back to the 1981 spec, in the “El Salvador” livery celebrating the Central American championship heritage: