2019 Porsche 935 testing at Monza

Porsche surprised us all during its Rennsport Reunion at Laguna Seca Raceway with the reveal of a tribute to one of its most famous race cars, the Porsche 935/78.

The 2019 Porsche 935 is a modernised version of the car most famously known as Moby Dick, wearing a Martini livery inspired by the original and featuring bespoke body panels to replicate the original car’s ‘whale tail’.

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Porsche VP of motorsport and GT cars Frank-Steffen Walliser was present to comment on the car at its reveal.

“This spectacular car is a birthday present from Porsche Motorsport to fans all over the world,” says Walliser, though only 77 of those fans will actually receive that present, and they’ll be paying around 701,948 Euros (AUD$1,127,100) for it as a base price.

“Because the car isn’t homologated, engineers and designers didn’t have to follow the usual rules and thus had freedom in the development.”

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As Walliser alluded to, the car is track-only, though it’s build on the road-legal Porsche 911 GT2 RS, using the same 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat six for an identical 515kW/750Nm output.

The modern Moby Dick is, however, slightly lighter than the GT2 RS at 1380kg thanks to the use of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic for its replacement body panels. A seven-speed PDK gearbox transmits power to the rear wheels.

Not long after the car’s reveal, a blacked-out version of the track attacker was spotted doing just that in Italy, with a YouTuber uploading a video of the 2019 Porsche 935 on track at Monza (at the top of this article).

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Without the need to adhere to road car regulations, the 935 sounds utterly aggro, with crackles and deep roars amplified compared to the GT2 RS.

Despite not being homologated for racing in any particular class, the Porsche 935 incorporates elements which comply to certain FIA standards for safety, such as a rollcage and roof-located removable escape hatch.

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