Flamethrower: Porsche 935 K3 Group 5 Racecar in Action

Timeless Porsche 935 GT cars smash classic European racetracks.

The Porsche 935 remains one of the most noteworthy grand-touring race cars of all time. The Kremer-built 935/Ks probably represent the best of the breed and this video from 19Bozzy92 shows in true fashion why. With an intense array of fantastic 1970s turbocharger sights and sounds, these 935/K3s shows the car’s rawness.

Everything about these cars comes across so viscerally, it’s almost inconceivable by modern race car standards. The turbocharger on the 3.0-liter flat-six engine whistles audibly at idle. When it’s time to go, however, the motor pops and crackles and snorts on upshifts. When it’s time to downshift, the tailpipes become flamethrowers.

Like most race cars, horsepower figures become arbitrary and vary from race to race. But some sources suggest these engines generated more than 700 horsepower. When you consider the lag endemic to early turbo systems and the engine hanging way off the back of the car, these were quite the beasts to tame.

Bozzy caught these Kremer Porsches at vintage races at Spa Francorchamps and Imola, two places quite familiar with the 935. Of course, the legacy of the K3 comes from one privateer entry’s overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979. Americans Bill and Don Whittington co-drove that winner along with Le Mans legend Klaus Ludwig.

The 935s dominated Group 5 racing in Europe and also finished strongly in both IMSA and Trans-Am competition. They won the 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Daytona a dozen times combined and obliterated all comers for years. This came despite facing stiff competition from lighter prototype-style cars.

Small wonder then, that people obsess over these monsters. They are truly amazing machines. Their grand success may very well make the 935s the most incredible GT racers ever built.