When You Absolutely Have to Pass Absolutely Everyone: Porsche 934.5 On-Board

Hop on board a very special Porsche 934.5 with Grand-Am and ALMS sports car champion Leh Keen and blast past absolutely everyone and everything at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.

The name may sound a little too close to that of a radio station, but Porsche’s 934.5 is actually a very rare and special race car. As you may have guessed, it’s a mix of the 934 and 935 – each a world beater in its own right.

Both 934 and 935 were based on Porsche’s first turbocharged 911 – the 930. The 934 was built for, but ultimately not allowed to compete in, Group 4 racing. When IMSA turned it away from the 1976 series it went off to stomp the SCCA Trans-Am series instead.

The 935 was built for Group 5 racing, when IMSA allowed turbocharging for the first time in 1977.

At the end of 1976, Porsche decided to stick the two cars together to produce the 934.5. They took ten 934s, with KKK-turbocharged three-litre flat sixes, that had been upgraded for IMSA competition, and gave them the wheels and aerodynamic developments of the 935.

The International Motor Sports Association took one look at the 934.5 and said “Nope!”, so Porsche went straight back to SCCA Trans-Am racing, where they won six of the season’s eight races and claimed the championship.

Until it was taken away from them, at least. At the conclusion of the series an objection to the 934.5 was raised, and SCCA stripped Porsche and Peter Gregg of the title, giving it to runner-up Ludwig Heimrath.

Bummer. Porsche, justifiably, boisterously celebrated their victory anyway.

In this video the 934.5 shows-off its world-beating potential, monstering everything in its path thanks to some very tidy steering and race craft by Leh Keen, who passes a chunk of the field before popping in to the pits, quickly fixing an issue with the clutch, and then going on another passing spree.