Teutonic Tuesday - White Whale Edition

It's full name is the Porsche 935/78, but everybody calls it Moby Dick.

The late seventies were a great time for Porsche, the 935 was evolving at an incredible rate. What started as a 930 with some flared arches and a mad motor, developed into Group 5 insanity with the 935/78. What was left from the 930 starting point? Not very bloody much. The entire car was nearly four inches lower than the original, the floor was entirely cut out, the gearbox was mounted upside down. Taking advantage of a loophole in the regulations which stated that there was no limit to the forward extension of the rear aerodynamic aids, Porsche added fairings to the doors. The engine was enlarged to 3.2 liters, and it gained water-cooled four-valve heads. It clocked 235mph on the straight at Le Mans, leaving the Group 6 prototypes in the dust. Unfortunately it was to have no joy in the race itself due to reliability issues and finished 8th.

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Here is the Spark 1/18 scale rendition of the 935/78 in glorious (but, alas, unopenable) resin.

Illustration for article titled Teutonic Tuesday - White Whale Edition
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Cheeky door spoilers...

Illustration for article titled Teutonic Tuesday - White Whale Edition
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Illustration for article titled Teutonic Tuesday - White Whale Edition

This angle gives you an idea as to how far removed this car is from the donor 911.

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Illustration for article titled Teutonic Tuesday - White Whale Edition

It's a 911, but not as we know it.

Illustration for article titled Teutonic Tuesday - White Whale Edition
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Illustration for article titled Teutonic Tuesday - White Whale Edition
Illustration for article titled Teutonic Tuesday - White Whale Edition
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Aaah, resin models, capable of such delightful detail.

Illustration for article titled Teutonic Tuesday - White Whale Edition
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Illustration for article titled Teutonic Tuesday - White Whale Edition

Porsche really paid close attention to detail. Le Mans is a clockwise-oriented race track so Porsche's engineers decided to move the steering over to the right for better weight distribution and line of sight in the poo-inducing right handers like Dunlop, Tertre Rouge and Mulsanne.

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Illustration for article titled Teutonic Tuesday - White Whale Edition

The late seventies were truly a golden age for sportscar racing and development. Compare Moby Dick to Porsche's official entry from just two years before and you get the idea (935/76 on the left, 935/78 on the right).

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Illustration for article titled Teutonic Tuesday - White Whale Edition

They are ostensibly the same car, but in reality they are but cousins. If I remember correctly the only parts on Moby Dick which were compatible with the donor 911 were the windscreen and the doors.