1979 Porsche 935 K3: An icon amongst icons
The Porsche 935 was a by-product of the era in which it raced where the rules, such as they existed, were made to be stretched and, ultimately, broken. In the case of the 935, introduced in 1976, it was built to compete under the FIA-Group 5 rules.
This was a classification that required the production-based cars utilising doors and windows in their original stock position. But beyond that, just about everything else was left open to a very liberal interpretation of the rules.
Starting in 1977, Porsche offered the 935 to non-works teams to compete in series such as the World Championship for Makes, the IMSA GT Championship, as well as the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterchaft (DRM).
For the 1978 season Erwin and Manfred Kremer built the K2, which enjoyed a degree of success even when competing against the Porsche factory race cars. But it was the transition of the K2 to the K3 for the 1979 racing season that literally turned the Kremer Brothers’ creation into a world-beater.
Chassis number 009 0015 was entered by Kremer Racing in the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans, with its primary driver being the talented Klaus Ludwig, the gifted then 30-year old star who had already made his mark on the DRM series driving for Ford.
His co-drivers were Don and Bill Whittington of Florida. Their rise in the top-tier racing ranks was rapid, and drew some whispers, as unlike most racers, finances for the brothers never seemed to be an issue.
On the day before the 1979 Le Mans race, car owner Erwin Kremer announced that Ludwig would drive the car at the start of the race. This didn’t sit too well with the Whittington Brothers, who had a private discussion with Erwin, and after ‘showing him the money’, purchased the car.
How Meyer came to acquire the 935 is an interesting story. Contrary to what has been reported elsewhere, acquiring the car was not just a simple exchange of an important vintage Indy car Meyer owned for the 935 owned by the Indianapolis Hall of Fame Museum’s.
To read more about this Porsche 935 K3’s remarkable 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans victory, the story of the Whittington Brothers, and the history of the Porsche 935 race cars, purchase your copy of Total 911 issue 105 from the Imagine Store, or download it here now.
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