First Porsche 911 to Race in the U.S. Meets the Last Werks 935

Get America’s first racing Porsche 911 together with the last Werks 935, and you have a dynamic pairing of two historical racing icons.

Representing the Beginning of an Era

Christian Zugel’s 1964 911 race car began life as a U.S. consumer demo car, but its raison d’être changed after it was sold in 1965 to an Atlanta Volkswagen dealership owner and racing driver named Jack Ryan who converted the street car to a racer that won its class at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1966, making it not only the first 911 to race in the United States, but also the first 911 in the world to win a road race.

Representing the End of an Era

The 1979 Porsche 935, owned by Racing driver Bruce Canepa, was the last of 13 935s built in ’79 before Porsche ceased its production. Canepa has owned the car since it was new. He acquired it after placing third overall at the 24 Hours of Daytona in a relatively outdated 934½. Porsche was so impressed with his success in the 934½ that they offered him a new 935 along with Werks racing support.

Fun Fact: The 935 moniker is derived from how the racing car is based off a 930 that is modified for FIA Group 5 competition. Add Group 5 mods to a 930 and you get a 935.

One important trait these historic Porsches share is that they both use many parts from Porsche street cars, yet they’ve been legendary in racing. That should be a good reminder that Porsche builds some pretty robust production cars.

sources [Car and Driver, Sports Car Digest, Canepa Design]