When Pigs Fly

You Can't Make a Race Horse of a Pig...but You Can Make a Very Fast Pig

FSRMember Todd Jenkins Owned and Raced Bob Akin's 935/84

As told to Bob Weber

Go back in time with us to 1976 and the FIA's dual World Endurance Championships for Group 5 production-based race cars alongside the Group 6 Sports Prototype Championship for 3.0L cars. Porsche elected to compete in both classes with the 936 open-cockpit sports racer in Group 6 and a variant of the 930 Turbo in Group 5. Essentially a 'silhouette' formula, Group 5 race cars must maintain the doors and windows in unchanged positions, maintaining the 'silhouette' of a production automobile. Everything else was open to free interpretation, especially in the power department. The 935/76 was Porsche's factory racer. Race engineer Norbert Singer discovered a loophole in the Group 5 regulations and exploiting that ambiguity, the sloped front nose came into being providing both better aerodynamics and increased downforce. Development of the platform continued through the 935/77 and later, the 935/78 'Moby Dick' factory racer that took every possible

interpretation liberty with the regulations and created a racer with not only the sloped nose, but an extended long-tail and partial fairings over the mandated production doors. The body of the car was 'sectioned' or lowered over the chassis creating an impossibly low 911 variant and requiring that the transaxle be mounted upside down to reduce the angularity of the axle shafts to the wheels. Finally, the steering wheel moved to the right hand position for better weight distribution. Power came from a twin-turbo 3.2L, offering over 800 horsepower. Only one 935/78 was ever built. Step-in the team at Andial in Southern California who built a tube-framed 'replica' of the Moby Dick Porsche. That car was later campaigned by Kevin Jeanette (see his story in this issue) and Preston Henn. At the same time, Dave Klym built another replica, 'the last 935' in Georgia's FABCAR shops for Bob Akin, a stalwart Porsche IMSAracer. The year prior, Bob had commissioned Chuck Gaa of GAACO to build 'the ultimate 935' , the 935 L!. This car took the idea and spirit of silhouette race card to it's ultimate permutation. The chassis was now a full bonded/riveted monocoque such as found in contemporary formula car and sports prototrype construction. While retaining the rules required windshield and roof structure, the remainder of the body was a combination of a Lola sports car nose and custom, downforce inducing bodywork. However, the car was deemed nearly undrivable, and Bob intentionally ran the car out of fuel at LeMans in 1982 at the furthest part of the track so as to ensure it could not return to competition because he

photo by Reflections Detailing

declared the car dangerous to the point that someone would get hurt...or worse...in the car at the speeds it could attain. Officially, the car was retired after 2 hours of racing due to a 'malfunction with the reserve fuel tank' . Now, that retirement reason differs significantly from the 'official' reason, so how do we know that to be true? Well, FSR member and 40-year PCA member Todd Jenkins had built a relationship with Bob through their shared interests in vintage racing such as HSR and SVRA. That relationship carried through the years and the LeMans retirement reason was confidentially shared with Todd. The 935 L1 never attained the race success which its remarkable technology promised causing Bob Akin to commission 'the last 935' , his 935/84. The 935/84 was an incredible machine, but as it came on the IMSA scene, Porsche had taken their LeMans-winning 956 and modified it to 962 specifications. Largely, it was an issue of the driver's feet being behind the centerline of the front wheels. The 962 proved to be one of the best sports prototype race cars in history and Bob Akin had to have one. Thus, that season saw Bob campaign the 935/84 in the early part of the season until his 962 arrived, sharing driving duties with Hans Stuck and taking the 962 to victory at Sebring in 1986. Todd happened to be at a race shop in the early '90's and there sat his friend Bob Akin's 935/84 and it was for sale. Now, realize that Todd's vintage racing stable to this point was a 356B roadster with some 120 horsepower, and a 1967 911S with some 230 horsepower. The twin-turbo 3.2 L 935/84 engine produced some 836 horsepower and it begs the question of Todd: "are you sure??" . Todd tested the car at the Moroso Park road course and in answer to all FSR members reading this and wondering what was driving a nearly 1,000HP 935 like?.... "well, it drove like a 911. " Now recall that 935's, including 935/84 had locked differentials, or a 'spool' , effectively locking both rear wheels together with no differential action in the corners. Thus you waited until the car was pointed straight before unleashing the prodigious power. And goodness did it go! 935's were faster then 962's, but not in the corners. Todd tells that the sensation in the car was violent, loud, and visceral/raw as it was a tube-framed race car with every mechanical system announcing its presence continuously. With 2,160 lbs of weight being pushed by some 830+HP, things happened fast but eminently controllable. Todd tells us that it was an incredibly driveable race car with no vices other than considerable understeer with cold tires. After some 6 years of ownership and actively vintage racing the car as you can see in the accompanying photos, Todd sold the car as his passion for racing subsided after his friend...and the genius behind the 935/84...Bob Akin succumbed to injuries sustained in a testing crash at Road Atlanta in 2002.

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