BH Auction held their Super GT Auction on Friday, Januar 10, 2020 at the Tokyo Auto Salon. This incredible 1977 Porsche 935 K3/80 was sold for 150,000,000 Yen, approximately $1,369,200 and was the top seller.
The Porsche 935K is built by the German Porsche tuner, Kremer Racing, according to Group 5 regulation. Inside the body, it is what you may call a evolved-version of the works machine 935/77. At the 24 Hours of Le Man, racing among prototype racing cars, the 935K3 racing for Kremer won the overall title in 1979. The car continued to show its high potential in various races after that.
The Porsche 935 was originally developed for the World Championship for Makes, which began in hopes of boosting the staggering popularity of sports car racing. The race was for Group 5 cars: Cars that were more similar to commercially available cars.
If it cleared the minimum amount of production number (400), and retained the approved vehicle image (including engine storage area, driving method) , most altercations were allowed. For this, the Group 5 was called the “Silhouette Formula”. The Porsche developed the speciality model 935 based on the 930 Turbo. Although the monocoque shell is the same as those of commercially available models, the front was changed to a steel tube space frame, titanium springs, 917 ventilated disc break, a 2856cc flat-six single turbo capable of 590hp, and aerodynamically superior FRP-made flat-nose body were applied. Studying the regulation meticulously, and after careful preparation the 935 overpowered its rivals since its debut.
As the vehicle was sold to privateers starting 1977, the scene at the World Championship of Makes was so much so that people were calling the race “a one make race for 935”. The Kremer Racing, led by the Kremer brothers who had a Porsche tuning shop in Colgne, Germany showed they can put up a fight with the factory-backed teams.
From the start of the 1976 series, the brothers raced with original machines like the 935K1 and 935K2, an altered version of 911RSR. For the 1979 season, they developed the 935K3, based on the factory-backed car 935/77. The exterior did resemble the 935/77 but with the aluminum roll cage extended to the pivot of the front/rear suspension and with a strengthened body, the gear box attached upside down realizing a low center of gravity, equipped with a 3165cc flat-six twin turbo (2943cc for Le Man) complete with an air-cooled single inter-cooler that generates more than 800hp, it was a more advanced version.
With this 935K3, the brothers raced the 24 Hours of Le Man, World Champions of Makes, Germany’s National Championship as a factory-backed team. They also started selling the cars to customers. The success of updating the existing 935 and 930 turbo 953K3 specs, led to the increase of 953K3 on the market. This 935K3/80 put up for auction is exactly that. In 1977, it was delivered as a 930 turbo with a VIN number of 9307700486 (Original owners manual available). The car was brought in to Kremer around 1981 and various altercations were applied to the 935K3/80 including a large rear flap.
The car is equipped with a 3-liter Le Man-type engine. No major races on record, but in 1981 and 1982, the car entered the ADAC Auto Cross, and a log book of the records the car raced in is available. Because the car had until recently been racing in international classic races such as the Le Man Classic, FIA HTP papers for this car are available, too. The car is race ready and ready to enter various races. Due to the recent popularity of the Group 5, many races are springing up especially in Europe. For this reason, the popularity of the car should rise.
Report by collectorscarworld.com
Photos by bhauction.com
