935 'Moby Dick' in Porsche and Joest guises ...

[Wouter Melissen]

Ever since the first rules were made to sanction racing, manufacturers have tried to explore them to the fullest. One of the most spectacular examples of creative rule interpretation is the Porsche 935/78. Based on a 911 Turbo, it was developed by some very clever engineers at Weissach, with Norbert Singer at the helm. It was still homologated as a 'Group 5' GT-racer despite sharing only the passenger compartment with the road car. The front and rear of the car was formed by space-frames and the car was powered by a trick turbocharged engine that produced well in excess of 800 bhp. The dramatic shape of the heavily flared body earned the 935/78 the nick-name 'Moby Dick' after the white whale in Herman Melville's famous novel. Porsche had high hopes for the car and even believed it could win at Le Mans outright. Unfortunately the 935/78 only managed to score a debut win in the Silverstone 6 Hours, suffering from mechanical problems in all of the subsequent races. After a single season, Porsche abandoned the project. The engine first used in the flawed machine did score many more major wins in the 956 and 962 prototypes.
It is believed that Porsche built three examples, which were all retired from service and stored at the end of the year. Joest, one of the German manufacturer's best customers did manage to pry the drawings for the chassis from Porsche a few years later. They were used to construct the 935/81 'Moby Dick'. The two cars built were used with some success by various privateers, with a class victory at Le Mans as the highlight. Joest's incarnation of the inspired design struggled against the competition as it lacked the four-valve engine used for the original cars. Sadly one car was completely destroyed in a fatal accident that took the life of Rolf Stommelen. Ironically, he had piloted the original 'Moby Dick' at Le Mans a few years earlier. The sole surviving Joest car, and the only 'Moby Dick' in private hands, was recently acquired by a French enthusiast. He had it restored to full running order and raced it during several rounds of the CER championship in 2009. This provided us with ample opportunity to get a closer look at this phenomenal machine. The result is a 18-shot gallery with action and detail shots of the car. Hopefully it will be back out this year for the Le Mans Classic in July.

Enjoy the links:

1981 Porsche 935/81 'Moby Dick' - Images, Specifications and Information

1978 Porsche 935/78 'Moby Dick' - Images, Specifications and Information

[henk4]

time for some bonus shots of the 1981 car.
At Spa, Barcelona, and RM/Monterey in 2008 and 2005.