During the late 1970s and early 1980s one sports car dominated the Group 5 ‘silhouette’ class, a category of racing that allowed manufacturers and entrants to build a race car which echoes of the road car it was based on. The rules permitted radical, creative engineering and in the case of the hugely successful Porsche 935 that dominate the era, it took the basic shape of the 911 and moulded and honed it into an extreme variation that came equipped with a twin-turbo 3.0 or 3.3-litre flat-six engine that provided almost 900bhp.
It became the car to beat, winning 150 races during its career and at every major race at circuit such as Le Mans, Nurburgring and Daytona. It was much in demand by private entrants despite the cost and Porsche was happy to supply them. One client was the French privateer Christian Bussi who purchased chassis number 930 770 0912 with assistance from his sponsor, Denim Sportswear, and is shown here during the 1980 World Championship 6 Hours at Brands Hatch where he co-drove with Bernard Salam. They started from 13th on the grid but due to mechanical issues, were not classified despite completing 130 laps, just 17 laps behind the winner.
From the book ‘Moments in Motorsport’ by Trevor Legate
