The Porsche 935/78 ‘Moby Dick’, with its distinctive long-tail body and formidable 750bhp 3.2-litre twin-turbocharged flat-six, stands as one of the German marque’s most iconic race cars. Conceived by engineers Norbert Singer and Hans Mezger, it dominated its debut at the 1978 Silverstone Four Hours and secured eighth place at that year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.
Four decades later, Porsche celebrated its 70th anniversary by unveiling a track-only homage to the 935/78, based on the 991 GT2 RS platform. The result was an intoxicating blend of retro race-car styling with cutting-edge performance and technology. Limited to 77 units, these special machines were never intended for road use.
Yet, two determined 935 owners sought to enjoy their cars beyond the confines of the race track. To make this possible, they enlisted the expertise of British engineering firm Lanzante, which is renowned for adapting track-only hypercars for street use, including the McLaren F1 GTR, P1 GTR and Senna GTR, and the Pagani Zonda Revolución.
Two determined 935 owners sought to enjoy their cars beyond the confines of the race track
Eighteen months later, Lanzante debuted the two road-converted 935s at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed, each decked out in bespoke Marlboro and Martini-inspired liveries. “Each conversion presents unique challenges,” admitted Lanzante CEO Dean Lanzante after the launch. “The first thing we were asked about the 935 conversion was: ‘What are you going to do about the headlights?’ There are quite a lot of regulations in this area, so that was one of the big challenges that you wouldn’t get with something like a P1 GTR.”
Lanzante’s solution was to remanufacture a new flat-nosed front end from carbonfibre, which could incorporate a pair of slim headlights. “The flat nose without headlights is a key feature of the car, so, instead of putting a light in, we tried to make them look like vents that echo the shape of the air vents on the bonnet. We also had to situate the rear lights in the rear-wing end plates. Our aim is that when someone looks at the car on our stand, they’re trying to figure out what we’ve done. If that’s the case, we’ve done a good job,” Dean explained.
This subtle, sympathetic approach belies the sheer amount of work Lanzante has carried out to make road certification possible. The dramatic, swooping bodywork, for example, has had to be reprofiled so that front wheelarch and rear gurney flap radiuses comply with road regulations.
The eye-catching aerodisc wheels are another example of the company’s tenacious attention to detail. At first glance they look identical to standard 935 wheels – but they are, in fact, completely bespoke. “The original race wheels were 18-inchers, but we’ve gone to 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels just because of tyre availability,” Dean said. “The aerodiscs then had to be remade as well, because the diameters are different.”
The suspension was another area of the car that had to be completely revised. “People say that the 935 is just a rebodied GT2 RS, but it’s not. You can’t just buy a damper off the shelf and put it on the car. We have had to have dampers specifically made for this car by KW. You have to run it much softer for road use than it would be for slicks. We’ve also fitted carbon-ceramic brakes – it used to have steel.”
While the suspension, bodywork, brakes and electronics have been overhauled, the 3.8-litre water-cooled flat-six continues to send 700bhp through the rear wheels via a seven-speed PDK transmission. “We’ve done very little on the engine,” Dean said. “Power-wise we haven’t changed it, and it still has to pass emissions tests.”
Another, more straightforward part of the conversion comes from the fact that, unlike many other track-day specials, the 935 comes with a key: “It sounds daft, but the fact it has a key makes things much easier. Having keyless entry on a race car is actually quite complex, because you have to incorporate receivers and immobilisers to make it all work,” Dean explained.
After completing the necessary modifications to the bodywork, electronics and suspension, Lanzante turned its attention to the 935’s stripped-out interior. “If you look at a lot of track cars, the interior finish varies. What’s difficult about the Porsche is that it’s a steel shell, and when you strip a steel shell, it’s not normally very aesthetically pleasing.
“There is an expectation with a road car to have a level of finish. So, we’ve installed retrimmed 918 seats and put in 3D-printed mats and carbon over-mats to cover the floor. We also had to relocate the battery from the passenger footwell and the fire extinguisher to give you a heel rest. So, it’s finished in a more refined way, but equally, these customers don’t want an outright road car. They want to drive their cars to the circuit and enjoy them without needing all the trackside support.”
Dean then revealed that he expects to convert several more 935s to road use: “We’re optimistic that we will convert five of the 77 cars – maybe ten over the next five years.”
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