1977 Porsche 935/77
Pilots: R. Stommelen, M. Schurti
Team: Martini Racing
Race: DNF (Group 5 class) at Le Mans in 1977
Spark - S2022 (resin)
Published 08/10/18
The Porsche 935 was certainly one of the most iconic racing cars of the 70’s. A so-called “silhouette car”, it borrowed it’s looks from Porsche’s 911 (930) Turbo of 1974. Produced from 1976 to 1981, the 935 was one of the most successful cars of the Group 5 era. The chassis was of an unitary steel construction, and the engine was the famous Typ 930/72. At the time, a Group 5 car could have an engine up to 4 l and should weigh only 970 kg. So to keep things light, Porsche opted for turbo-charging. That meant that using the 1.4× turbo equivalency rule, the new engine could only have 2857 cm³. The engineering team then fitted a large KKK turbo hung behind the engine, mated to an intercooler. The resulting flat-6 delivered a massive 580 to 630 hp, depending on the tune.
Though the 935 obtained good results in 1976, by the end of the year Porsche was already working on it’s replacement. Many details were changed or upgraded, but the big difference would be the engine. One of the main issues with the 930/72 engine was the turbo lag caused by that huge single turbo. To address that Porsche used two smaller KKK turbos instead. With twin-turbocharging the new Typ 930/77 delivered up to 680 hp.
Porsche built three works cars, and for the 24 Heures du Mans of 1977 they fielded 935/77 #41 (chassis #935-005-R19). However, factory cars don’t guarantee results, and the Martini car abandoned on lap 52 with engine troubles. Of all the 935 liveries that I know of, I think Martini’s is probably my favorite. Not my first Martini 935, but compared to my Ebbro and Minichamps models this one has the edge. Unfortunately a HTF model nowadays, but a VERY nice one for sure.