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Porsche 935

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Porsche 935

The Porsche 935 is a race car that was developed and manufactured by German automaker Porsche. Introduced in 1976 as the factory racing version of the 911 (930) Turbo and prepared for FIA-Group 5 rules, it was an evolution of the Carrera RSR 2.1 turbo prototype, the second place overall finisher in the 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Beginning with the 1977 season, Porsche offered the 935 to customers entering the World Championship for Makes, in the IMSA GT Championship and in the German Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DRM). The 935 went on to win the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans overall, and other major endurance races, including Sebring, Daytona, and the 1,000 km Nürburgring. Of the 370 races it was entered, it won 123.

Usually, no other make could challenge the 935, as other manufacturers did not supply customer cars as Porsche did. Each race, at the time, typically featured at least five 935s. The 935 used a 3.3L Type 935 twin-turbocharged flat-six engine which used a mechanical fuel injection system. All of the high performance components combined enabled the engine to have a power output up to 630 kW (845 hp; 857 PS), the engine often suffered turbo lag at low RPM due to the large turbochargers. The dominance of the 935 ended with changes in the FIA rules which came into effect in 1982, replacing the six numbered groups with only three groups, namely A, B and C.

The second generation of the 935 started a limited-production of just 77 units, with customer deliveries in June 2019.

For 1976, endurance racing had two world championships: the 1976 FIA World Championship for Makes for Group 5 special production cars, and the 1976 World Sportscar Championship season for Group 6 prototypes up to 3.0 L. Accordingly, the 935 and the new Porsche 936 were the two-pronged Porsche effort for 1976 which was sponsored by Martini Racing, which had already supported Porsche 917 or 908 entries in 1970 and 1971, like the 1971 Le Mans winner.

Each championship had seven races, with only Dijon hosting both on the same weekend, while on two other weekends, the races were even run in different countries, which forced Porsche to divide its resources. Jacky Ickx and Jochen Mass were the main drivers, when the F1 schedule permitted. Rolf Stommelen, who was recovering from his bad crash in the 1975 Spanish GP, was the backup, along with Manfred Schurti.

Under Group 5 rules, also known as "silhouette rules", several significant modifications were allowed (including bodywork modifications, larger wings, wider axles and water cooling), provided that the basic silhouette of the car remain unchanged when viewed from the front. The 935's engine was a 418 kW (568 PS; 561 hp) (at 7,900 rpm) version of the regular 3.0 L flat-six, with 60 mkp (438lb-ft, 588Nm) torque at 5,400 rpm. Boost was between 1.35 and 1.55 and fuel consumption was 52 litre per 100 km. Capacity was reduced to 2.85 L, and with the turbo charging penalty factor of 1.4, it fit into the 4.0 L class which had a prescribed minimum weight of only 970 kg (2,140 lb). Porsche, having a lot of experience with lightweight cars, had managed to get the Carrera RSR prototype to under 800 kg. The empty 935 tipped the scales at 900 kg, and weight distribution could be balanced with an additional 70 kg. Preseason testing at the fast Paul Ricard circuit showed a top speed of 183 mph (295 km/h).

In addition to the naturally aspirated 340 hp (250 kW) Carrera RSR introduced in 1974, Porsche offered a customer racing version of the 911 Turbo prepared for the more standard Group 4 rules, the 485 hp (362 kW) Porsche 934. Some customer teams modified their 934s to Group 5 rules with body kits supplied by Porsche, these were often designated 934/5. Cologne-based Kremer Racing entered a 935 K1 built on a factory shell which in the first race, the six-hour Mugello, finished second behind the Martini Racing sponsored factory entry of Mass and Ickx. Porsches occupied the first seven places ahead of a BMW in eighth, which according to the points scheme meant that Porsche had now twenty points, and BMW three. The factory 935 also scored the pole, fastest lap and win at the six-hour Vallelunga, where a BMW was second and the best 934 finished fifth.

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