A ‘baby’ Porsche for Jacky Ickx

The DRM championship was very popular in Germany in the late 70’s. Interestingly, it was the second division that was the most spectacular one with the BMW’s 320 in very good hands (Winkelhock, Surer, Cheever …) and the nimble Ford Escorts Zakspeed.

Watching this development, Porsche decided to build a smaller version of its 935 and compete in DRM’s second division in 1977. A 1.4 litre turbo-charged engine, instead of the usual 3.0-3.3 litre turbo, was fitted into the 935.

Actually, it was an all new car, with revised bodywork, cooling and aerodynamics, that was soon called the ‘baby Porsche’. And fast it went, in the capable hands of Jacky Ickx.

At Hockenheim, the Belgian finished a close second to the more powerful Kremer Porsche 935 driven by Bob Wollek and won its class, easily beating the works BMW’s.

Once this demonstration done and point proved, Porsche retired the car. Mission accomplished.