<< Prev Page 2 of 2 Mated to the familiar Type 915 five-speed gearbox, the tiny engine was mounted inside the rear subframe of the unique rolling chassis. The car was clothed with lightweight glass-fibre reinforced plastic (GRP) body-panels and the tail featured a full width rear wing and front spoiler. Liveried in the ever striking Martini colours, the 935/2.0 Baby remarkably tipped the scales at just 710 kg. This provided engineers with around 25 kg of ballast to place in the nose for a better balance.
Commissioned at the very last minute, the 'Baby' was not done in time for a proper test and had to be shipped directly to the Norisring. The poor preparation showed as the ratios in the gearbox were too tall, the engine lacked low-end torque and the cockpit ventilation proved insufficient in the scorching July sun. The issue with the ratios was addressed by fitting smaller diameter wheels and Jacky Ickx ran as high as sixth before he had to retire close to collapse from heat exhaustion.
Following the two-litre car's disappointing debut, Porsche conducted the long overdue testing runs before entering for the next DRM round at the Nürburgring. The development work clearly paid off as Jacky Ickx absolutely dominated the Division 2 class, finishing half a lap ahead of the closest rival. Porsche had proven that they could build a winning car for both DRM classes and with that job done, the 935/2.0 Baby was retired on the spot.
Some of the lessons learned with the design of the 935 Baby were applied to the mighty 935 'Moby Dick' of 1978, which featured a further development of the hybrid chassis. In 1980, a second 'Baby' was created by a privateer, using the second 1.4-litre engine built in 1977. The original 935/2.0 has since its retirement been part of the Porsche Museum collection. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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Mated to the familiar Type 915 five-speed gearbox, the tiny engine was mounted inside the rear subframe of the unique rolling chassis. The car was clothed with lightweight glass-fibre reinforced plastic (GRP) body-panels and the tail featured a full width rear wing and front spoiler. Liveried in the ever striking Martini colours, the 935/2.0 Baby remarkably tipped the scales at just 710 kg. This provided engineers with around 25 kg of ballast to place in the nose for a better balance.