Chassis No. 935-84 After substantial popularity and race-winning success throughout the 1970s, it’s difficult to understand why Porsche Motorsport stopped building racing 911s in 1979. After all, the 935 was still highly competitive. Heck, the Kremer brothers won the Le Mans 24 Hours overall that year in one with two more 935s filling the top spots of the podium. The same goes for the Daytona 24 Hours, Sebring 12 Hours, and the Nürburgring 1000 Kms – each race resulting in an overall victory by a Porsche 935. Unlike many other manufacturers, Porsche didn’t simply accomplish a goal by winning a race and then heading home. In fact, they had their sights set on the FIA’s new set of rules issued for 1982, specifically Group C. The engineering and development of a top-level sports racing prototype like the 956 unfortunately spelled the end of 935s pounding around Porsche’s Weissach test track and winning races. That, however, did not mean those independent race teams with in-house expertise had to abandon their own experimentation. Along with names like Kremer-Racing, Joest, and Gelo Racing soldering on in Europe, Bob Akin Motor Racing led the charge to keep the 935 flame alight from the USA. An independent racer with a style all his own, Bob Akin saw remaining untapped potential in the 935 concept, and by 1982, contracted Chuck Gaa of Gaaco to design and build a car with the leading edge of a Lola T600 ground-effect prototype and the race-proven mechanicals and silhouette of a Porsche 935. Dubbed the ‘Super GTP 935,’ Akin’s Gaaco build, chassis number 935-L1, proved quick at times, but with elusive handling, overweight partial monocoque construction, and a shunt at the 1982 IMSA season finale, it was set aside and did not return for 1983. At this point, Akin’s team had a direct replacement waiting in the wings, a Kremer 935 K3 – less exotic but much more of a known quantity. Judging by the race results, promoting the K3 to number one status proved to be the correct decision with a number of high-placed finishes including a GTP class win at the Sebring 12 Hours. While much of Bob Akin Motor Racing’s 1983 season was a success with their K3, there are those in life, and clearly Bob Akin was of this type, that cannot stop looking to extract more from themselves and their creations. To that end, Akin set about a final attempt to create his, and for all intents and purposes, the ultimate evolution of Porsche 935 concept. Using the mechanicals removed from the shelved 935-L1, Akin commissioned Dave Klym’s Fabcar Engineering based in Tucker, Georgia to build a car around these pieces – one that was just as fast as his L1 and as predictable and reliable as the K3. Dubbed the 935-84, Bob Akin Motor Racing had nothing short of one of the fastest GTP entrants throughout 1984. Utilizing a lightweight space frame construction – not unlike the multiple Le Mans-winning 936 – and efficiency of design, Akin’s new car shed hundreds of pounds when compared to 935-L1, with its weight right up against IMSA’s minimum weight of 2060 pounds. Making its debut at the Daytona Finale 3 Hours November 1983 and classed in GTP, 935-84 qualified 3rd among strong, pure prototype competition including Al Hobert’s March 83G, Lola T600s, Rondeaus, and Nimrods. Even more incredible is that not only did the 935-84 beat all other 935s – including the K3s – but it finished second overall on the lead lap! Akin’s praise for the car and his team was effusive, later recalling that he was stunned by the performance, ruminating that if he had this car throughout 1983 instead of his K3, he would have won the IMSA championship outright. Akin’s 1984 season with he, John O'Steen, Bobby Rahal, and Hans Stuck taking turns at the wheel proved to be one of extreme quickness, qualifying 9th on the grid at Daytona, 3rd at Sebring, 10th at Road Atlanta, and 10th at Lime Rock. Usually unable to improve on its qualifying pace it did finish a fine 5th at the Sebring 12 Hours. What Akin’s Fabcar 935-84 gave his team, along with several strong finishes throughout the 1984 IMSA season, was a taste of what it was like to run at the sharp end of a highly competitive IMSA field. To that end, Bob Akin Motor Racing added a Porsche 962 as his number one racecar. However, Akin entered the 935-84 one final time at the Daytona 24 Hours, its second attempt at the endurance classic. With Jim Mullen, Kees Nierop, and Ray McIntyre at the wheel, the quick and reliable 935-84, liveried in silver with sponsorship by Polo Ralph Lauren, finished an impressive 5th overall – only two laps behind Akin and Stuck in their brand new factory 962! To say that the Akin 935-84 showed considerable speed late in life would be quite an understatement. However, the arrival of an onslaught of Porsche 962s quickened the end of 935-84’s career, and a final entry by Jerry Kendall at the 1986 Sebring 12 Hours would be its final competition outing. Its Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) logbook notes ownership by Phil Bagley and Todd Jenkins in January 1996 and a clear intent to participate in historic sportscar events ten years after its final Sebring 12 Hours. In 2007, the consignor notes that 935-84 received a restoration at Jerry Woods Enterprises, long-time racers of the era and knowledgeable marque specialists. By 2009, a Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA) log book was issued with entries recorded for the Monterey Historic Races in 2008 and 2009, and both Rennsport Reunion IV and V. Rennsport V was an especially epic event with none other than Porsche factory racer Partick Long taking the wheel throughout the memorable weekend at Laguna Seca. Notably, this logbook contains the signatures of both David Donohue and George Follmer. Additionally, in 2012, 935-84 received its FIA Historic Technical Passport. Most recently, 935-84 has been in the care of Porsche specialists, Road Scholars of Durham, North Carolina. While there, the paperwork on file from Road Scholars shows an inspection in August 2022. During the inspection, records on file show that Road Scholars noted items in need of repair and replaced its battery. *Please note that additional history file information is available upon request