1980 Porsche 935 K3 Pilots: B. Rahal, B. Garretson, A. Moffat Team: Dick Barbour Racing Race: DNF (IMSA class) at Le Mans in 1980 TSM - TSM2017 (resin)
Published 11/06/18
The Porsche 935 was without a doubt one of the most successful cars of the Group 5 era. The chassis was of an unitary steel construction, and the engine was the famous Typ 930/72. It was a flat-6 displacing 2994 cm³ with a single big KKK turbo, powerful enough to produce 630 hp. But as good as the 935 was from the factory, Kremer Racing made it even better. Despite making improvements to the whole car, what made the 935 K-Series really stand out was the engine. Kremer enlarged the engine and added an intercooler and two KKK turbos. With 3.2 l of displacement that resulted in 750 hp of power! Kremer sold their cars to many race teams, and one of their clients was Dick Barbour Racing.
At Le Mans in 1980, Dick Barbour had three 935s in the race, all in the IMSA class. But for one of the cars he managed a partnership with Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Computers. And for the first time in history a computer company sponsored a race car. K3 #71 here, the so called “Apple 935”, had a flat-6 displacing 2994 cm³, and with twin turbos it was capable of hefty 730 hp. Unfortunately though, the Apple 935 had to abandon on the 134th lap. They were in 8th place, but a seized piston ended their race.
The K3 #71 has one of the most sui generis liveries of all the 935 that ever raced at La Sarthe. It was a model that I always wanted to have, but prices usually are not on the cheap side. Fortunately, with the help of a member of the Royal Family of Northumberland, I managed to find the TSM set for a steal. In scale it’s just perfect, as nice as my best Sparks. A real looker, and therefore it could easily be the only 935 of a Le Mans collection.