Meet the most radical Porsche 935 of all
05th September 2019
Laura Thomson
Challenge a renowned car builder to produce the most powerful Porsche
ever, and you won’t be disappointed... This is the 1982 Porsche 935 JLP-4,
the craziest Porsche 935 ever made.
Seen in action here, tearing up the "The Lakes GT" track day a couple of
years ago, it was built by Fabcar Engineering for John Paul’s JLP Racing
Team. Of Fabcar’s Dave Klym, Paul requested one thing: ‘the fastest
Porsche 935 possible for his son to race in the IMSA Championship,
regardless of the price’.
As Porsche had ceased production of the 935 in 1979, the JLP-4 was
constructed from factory-supplied components. However, by the time
Klym had worked his magic, only the roof and engine location remained
stock – the bare minimum for homologation purposes.
With an aluminium monocoque and steel tubular frame replacing the
935’s usual tubular space frame chassis, plus the addition of ground-effect
tunnels and huge ventilated disc brakes, the JLP-4 was effectively a GTP
car.
The latest evolution of the 935 engine, the 3.2-litre 935/80 was mounted
as far forward as possible behind the rear axle and featured two KKK
turbochargers and a large intercooler. In total, 840 horsepower was sent
to the rear wheels through an upside down four-speed gearbox.
Thanks to extensive aerodynamics, the resulting car looks nothing like the
original 935, and at $750,000, cost around three times the price of one.
However, the time and money proved worthwhile, as the model was
several seconds a lap faster than the space frame and non-ground-effect
JLP-3. What a machine.
Porsche
935
JLP-4
The Lakes GT
Track day
Video
