Year after year, there’s one car in particular that brings me back to the Rolex Historics at Laguna Seca. Don’t tell my peers… but, truth be told, it’s a Porsche, and a 911, at that. Sort of. The Porsche 935 has been, for as long as I can recall, one of my favorite automobiles on earth, trailing behind only the M1 Procar and the Zakspeed Capri. In ways, it holds a more near-and-dear place in my heart to the latter pair, as it was the car that ignited my passion for the FIA’s Group 5 monsters. The 935 represents everything I love most about the breed: silhouette racers that are distant but distinct relatives of their road-going counterparts, with the most inspiring era of engineering incorporated into them.
From the late ’70s through the early ’80s, the Porsche 935 absolutely dominated the sport. With a twin-turbo 3.3-liter flat six pumping out nearly 900 horsepower, the 935 was equipped to win, and thus lead the pack in groups in seemingly every race it was entered in. With victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Daytona, Sebring, and the Nurburgring, it was an influential force across the board. The Porsche 935 led an era in motorsport, and was only dethroned when the rules deemed it so.
Picking a favorite amongst the 48-or-so 935s that were built may, on the surface, seem to be a difficult task. As a fan of the Kremer K3s, it narrows the field a decent bit, but even amongst that group, the choice is easy. The Gozzy K3, wearing white, black, and most notably pink, has held the top spot since day one. I’ve spent hours pacing around it, photographing the ins and outs, each and every detail that makes it whole. I’ve even been in the car, thanks to a crew chief that clearly understands a shared love for such a machine. Despite that, I’ve never been able to capture it in a way I feel does it justice. Thankfully, Keith Ross has done just that, establishing a long-overdue Aesthetics piece on a StanceWorks all-time favorite.
