Porsche designers and engineers break down the new 935

The only appropriate way to honor and follow-up a legend is with another legend, and

Porsche

thinks it has just that with the new

935

. At the 2018 Rennsport Reunion, Porsche released a modern version of the famed 935/78 racecar, complete with proper Martini “Moby Dick” styling. Two new clips released by

911 Magazine

show first-hand accounts of what went into the design and production of the updated show-stopper.

Although Porsche has released a

brand-new generation of the 911

since the

Rennsport Reunion

took place at Laguna Seca, the company thought the 935 deserved a little more love. Exterior designer Grant Larson sees it almost as a car inside a car, as it is based on the

911 GT2 RS

. The exterior bodywork, however, gives it a completely distinct appearance.

The new 935 has all the signature design cues seen on the old 935/78, just with its own refreshed twists. The headlights have been moved to the lower grille intakes to create the smoothed-out nose, which also has slotted side air vents. The body has been widened, particularly around the wheel wells, and the sides feature a new interpretation on the large rear air intake. Possibly the most notable carryover is the signature sweeping longtail that was a big reason for the Moby Dick nickname. On the new 935, Porsche left the rear beneath the tail fairly open and blank, giving it a very mechanical and exposed look.

In the video, Larson takes time to point out the detail on the exhaust. The pipes, which Larson considers an element that shows off the car’s power, are an evolution of a design Porsche first started using on its racecars in the 1960s. They feature a separate pronged piece that goes inside the end of the pipe to keep it from deforming. Despite designing an exhaust that could be printed, Porsche went for the craft look on the 935, with titanium pipes that have the separate piece hand-welded inside.

Larson, as well as Project Manager for GT Customer Motorsport Kay-Alexander Breitbach and Lead Project Manager for GT Customer Motorsport Matthias Scholz, go further into the looks and functionality of the 935 in the videos seen above and below. Only 77 of these 700-horsepower racecars will be built, numbers that demand respect only given to legends.