935 - The ultimate racing car

935 appeared in 1976 as a Group 5 racing car. In appearance, it differed from the 911 by its "slant nose" and the full scale aerodynamic kits. Moreover, the larger diameter rear wheels, which was 19 inch in diameter versus the 16 inch front wheels, were easy to catch eyes. Under its skin, differences could be found in the coil-spring front suspensions, the 590 hp 2.85-litre race-breed turbo engine, the 917 brakes ... it won Porsche the World Championship of makes in 1976.

Next year, the more powerful 935/77 appeared. Twin-turbo and higher lift cam enabled 630 hp while aerodynamic was also improved. Porsche retained its World Champion title in 1977.

In 1978, the most powerful version, 935/78 "Moby Dick", introduced dohc 4-valve heads to the block which was skretched to 3.2 litres. The engine became water-cooled and developed 750 horsepower. That made it the most powerful GT racing car ever made. Besides, new interpretation of the regulations allowed a very long tail which improved aerodynamics a lot, also gave the nickname "Moby Dick".

However, it was a private entry 935 which eventually won the Le Mans. Kremer Team's 935-K3, which was based on the 1979 "Customer" specifications, won the overall Le Mans title in that year. That was the only occasion that a production-based car won the title.

Since then, Porsche stopped developing the 935 but still supply parts to private teams to build their own 935s. This extended its competition life for several years. Until it was retired, the 935 family won 6 straight Daytona 24 hours between 1978 and 83, another 6 Sebring ('78-'82 and '84), as well as one Le Mans 24 hours. No other production-based car could be more successful.

959 - The technical-showcase supercar

Nevertheless, 911 was really the starting point of its development. Moreover, from its 911-like shape Porsche seemed to be eager to publicise its relationship with the 911 seires.

Click here for a full description of 959

Ruf 911 CTR - The 211mph modification

Porsche 911 was one of the favourites to car-tuners. Among all tuners, Ruf could be described as the "specialist among specialists". Alois Ruf created the "Yellow Bird", Ruf 911 CTR, which stunned the world in the supercar contest held by Road & Track in 1987.

R&T gathered 8 of the fastest production cars then - Ferrari 288GTO, Testarossa, Lamborghini Countach QV, Isdera Imperator 108i, AMG 560E, Porsche 959 Sport and 959 Comfort; and three highly-tuned Porsche 911 turbos from Ruf, RS Tuning and Koenig. They were tested in the Volkswagen Ehra-Lessien high-speed test track. At the end of the day, the Ruf 911 CTR beat all other supercars in top speed by recorded an astonishing 210.7 mph two-way average. It became the fastest road car in the world !

Suprisingly, Ruf based his car on the narrow-track 911 Carrera body, its lower drag might be the key factor to its record-breaking top speed. The engine came from the 911 turbo, with slightly larger capacity, twin-turbo instead of single, higher boost and bigger intercooler, power rose from 300 hp to 469 hp, even more than the 959. The engine drove a Ruf-made 5-speed transmission (in then the 911 turbo had only 4 speeds) and then 4 sets of 17in wheels wearing Dunlop D40 tyres originally developed for the 959. Brakes also came from Ruf itself.

I cannot quite understand why the Yellow Bird could be that fast. Compare it with 959 and you will understand my mistery - Yellow Bird was obviously less aerodynamic-efficient than the 959's 0.32 Cd, while its power advantage was only 19 hp, I can hardly see why it could be 13.7 mph faster. Because of taller gearing ? Unlikely, because the 959 had the additional 6th ratio. No one knows what magic Alois Ruf did in his car.