If you’re wondering what denotes this car as a K3, the simple but effective answer is everything. All of the above: the arches, the ridiculous wing sweeping out from the roof – it’s all signature Kremer madness operating within the glorious ambiguity of the special production rules. This car (chassis 930 0907) was a customer single-turbo car originally supplied in 1977 before being converted to K3 specification under the stewardship of Joest racing in 1980.
In its 25 years of active racing history it had over 30 race entries, of which it won four times. Weirdly, every one of those victories was at the Nürburgring. First in 1977 with none other than Jochen Mass captaining and the last being as late as 2001 before its retirement from what an ad’ for its sale describes as its “active racing career”.
The 935’s era of dominance between 1977 and 1982 is a curious one. If not for the sheer numbers in which these cars were produced and the lack of really serious competition, it might not have made itself the staple Porsche motorsport legend that it is today. It is very much self-made, however, with Porsche tactically distributing a veritable swarm of customer chassis, monopolising grids at a time when manufacturer interest was at an inexplicable low. Surely, they will be joined at Goodwood in March, as they were in period, by the BMW CSLs, Lancia Beta Monte Carlos and more but the 935 is the definitive Group 5 special production monster.
It’s one of a few machines that represent high points of extremes in the history of the 911 and as such, are high points in the history of what is arguably one of the finest sportscars in the history of the automobile.
Photography by Ethan Jupp