1983 Porsche DP 935 Retro Review Is the Stuff of Dreams
Relive the magic that is the Porsche 935 in this review from nearly 40 years ago.
Retro Review
The Porsche 935 debuted in 1976 as the automaker's factory racing version of the 930 Turbo. Starting with the 1977 season, it began competing on race tracks around the world with customers behind the wheel. Success for the 935 came both quickly and often, and the model racked up 123 wins in the 370 races it entered. Back in 1983, Car & Driver was able to sample the magic of the 935 in the flesh and wrote about it in this fascinating now-retro review.
Photos: Car & Driver
Automotive Fantasy
No matter what one's automotive fantasies might be, C&D notes that the Porsche 935 is "a car that can fulfill every one of these fantasies with startling realism." It's a machine that draws universal admiration, provides its owner with incredible performance, and yet, also demands respect from the person driving it.
Photos: Car & Driver
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Go Fast Ambience
On the inside, the 935 was still very much a period 911, with leather seats and other road-going vehicle amenities. However, "a serious go-fast ambiance is imparted by the oversize boost gauge; the pure-racing, perforated-aluminum dead pedal; and the very businesslike adjustable boost knob directly astern of the shift lever."
Photos: Car & Driver
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Nasty Powerplant
At the business end, a DP-modified 930 flat-six has been taken apart, blueprinted, and put back together with ported and polished heads and turbo inlet housing, higher compression, and 16 psi of boost, all breathing through a nasty-sounding DP exhaust that features a catalyst in place of a muffler for U.S. emissions certification.
Photos: Car & Driver
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Sheer Thrust
The result of those modifications was a 0-60 time of 4.6 seconds, a 10.5-second 0-100 time, and a 12.8-second quarter-mile. This seems quite tame by today's standards, but seriously impressive for something built 38 years ago. C&D also notes that the car feels faster than it is on paper - "even these fabulous figures don't convey the car's sheer thrust."
Photos: Car & Driver
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Fantasy Fulfilled
Couple that with 0.84 gs on the skidpad - the best C&D had ever recorded from a Porsche at the time - and you've got a pretty enticing machine. "These landmark performance measurements bolster the DP 935's position as a paragon of automotive omnipotence," the rag concludes. "And for a mere $95,000, Richard Buxbaum of Classic Motors in Chicago can make it yours. That may seem a bit high, but fantasy fulfillment never comes cheap."
Photos: Car & Driver
>>Join the conversation about this DP 935 right here in Rennlist.com.
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