What... the chuffing heck am I looking at here?!

Incredible, isn't it?

Is it... is it... Moby Dick?

It is. Or it's a modern recreation, at any rate. Like many manufacturers, Porsche is raiding its back catalogue to bring us a deeply, deeply, deeply desirable new car. And, of all the things it could have recreated, it has chosen the mighty 935/78 as its inspiration.

Wasn't Moby Dick a Le Mans winner?

No. No, it wasn't. It ran at the 1978 edition of the race, where it was monumentally fast (it hit 228mph down the Mulsanne, making it comfortably the quickest thing there), but it wasn't hugely reliable, so it eventually finished eighth... behind three customer 935s that didn't feature the mentally long tail. But sometimes, the sheer romance and wildness of motorsport can addle our minds, and Moby Dick is rightly revered as a legend of the semi-modern track era.

So what are we looking at here?

Revealed at the Rennsport Reunion event in Laguna Seca, this 935 is another of Porsche's 70th birthday presents to itself. Although Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, vice-president for Motorsport and GT Cars, said: "This spectacular car is a birthday present from Porsche Motorsport to fans all over the world. Because the car isn't homologated, engineers and designers didn't have to follow the usual rules and thus had freedom in the development."

Is this 935 a one-off, or going into production?

It's going into production, albeit in very limited numbers - just 77 will be made, an homage to the year of Moby Dick's sole appearance - and at a very high price; something like £750,000 apiece, in fact. Serious Porsche collectors only need apply. Furthermore, you won't actually be able to race the modern car, because it's non-homologated and, naturally, it is only capable of being used on track, not the road. Thus, it's a very special circuit-day toy.

What's underneath that gorgeous bodywork?

A 911 GT2 RS. Which means the 935 has 700hp from a 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six. It runs the PDK transmission of the road car but it has racing-spec suspension and six-pot, aluminium monobloc brake callipers. The bodywork is made of carbon fibre and is finished in (DROOL!) Martini Racing colours, while there are LED brake lights incorporated into the 935's absolutely ginormous rear wing and the door mirrors are lifted from a 911 RSR competition car. Inside, a laminated wood gear knob is the traditional touch, while a full roll cage is contrasted by comfort items like air conditioning.

I have much, much want for this thing.

We think that's just you and the rest of the Earth's population, yes.

Matt Robinson - 27 Sep 2018