Like wine, some car builds need time, 20 years worth in this case, to be built to proper specification, specially when what you are building is one of the most famous racing cars ever built.
The Porsche 935/78 was built for the Group 5 regulations of the period, where Porsche's Norbert Singer used a standard 930 chassis (the basis for the 911 Turbo). By removing the front and rear sections and grafting aluminum subframes, the designers were able to attach the racing suspension and install an exclusive twin-turbo flat six with 4-valve water-cooled heads, making 845 horsepower. A low-drag body featuring a long nose and tail were used, which made it look like a whale, hence the moniker Moby Dick. Only one was ever built in that period, although Porsche apparently had another chassis in storage.
It is this chassis, 935-007, that was the basis for the recently completed build started by an American Porsche collector and restorer 20 years ago. Because of his desire to build the car to original specifications, the parts needed were very rare, to the point that he gave up the project because of his inability to purchase the special 935/71 engine. Passing the project on to Fresinger Porsche who were able to acquire the rare engine, the car was finally completed recently and went out on its maiden outing at the Spa Classic in May of 2011. This car is built to the correct 1978 spec and can thus be recognized as the only 935/78 in private hands.
Specs for the factory car are 2.6 seconds to 100 km/h with a top speed of 365 kilometers per hour. Performance calculations show that this car has a power-to-weigh ratio of 837 bhp per ton, with the quarter mile time estimated in 10.1 seconds. It’s nice to see that this car was driven at the Spa Classic instead of being kept hidden away for just a few people to see. Iconic racing cars like Porsche’s Moby Dick are extremely rare and it had not been seen at a racetrack for 30 years until last May.
Source article here.
No comments:
Post a Comment