An unlikely vehicle listing appeared online by Cartique – a luxury car dealer from Germany. The listing in question is for a 1979 Porsche 935 Kremer K3.
In 1979, two different 935 Kremer K3s won first and second place, as well as class win in the Le Mans race. It’s a truly spectacular vehicle and one that will be remembered throughout time.
If you’ve never seen one drive by you on the street, don’t judge yourself too much. This is in fact the only street-legal Porsche 935 Kremer K3 in existence and it has under 6,300 miles on the dash.
Porsche 935 Kremer K3 is a piece of racing history
Porsche 935 model was originally built in 1976 as a factory produced racing car for the Le Mans race. It was based on the 911 chassis and become the next stage in evolution after the Carrera RSR 2.1 Turbo, which took second place at Le Mans 1974.
At the same time, German custom builder Kremer took the 911 platform and created their own Porsche 935. Starting with the K1 and evolving into the K2 and, in 1979, the K3, which won the Le Mans race the same year in the competent hands of Klaus Ludwig. Coming in second on the same race was Rolf Stommelen and Paul Newman who drove a factory spec version of the K3.
The most notable thing about this car is the rear window. Kremer wanted a new, more aerodynamic shell of the vehicle. However, The FIA-Group 5 rules governed that the rear window must stay in the same place as it was when the car rolled out of the factory. So, to go around the rules, Kremer built a second rear window and added it on top of the original.
The Kremer K3 participated in a number of other races, including a win on the 24 Hours of Daytona and numerous runs on the Nürburgring. The K3 is the ultimate 911-derivative of its time.
The only street legal 935 K3 in existence
In any case, this particular 1979 Porsche 935 Kremer K3 was purchased by serial entrepreneur and Williams F1 co-owner Walter Wolf in 1980. Wolf asked Kremer to make the car street legal.
They added turn signals, license plates and had Goodyear create custom roadworthy tires to fit onto the original wheels, but kept 98% of the original components.
This includes the $2.8 liter, twin turbo, six cylinder, flat head engine – generating a jaw-dropping 740 horsepower. Behind that monster sits a tall-gear, four speed manual transmission. Before handing back the car, Kremer put it to the test on the German Autobahn and achieve 238 mph top speed – quite enough to give modern supercars a run for their money.
The K3 was later sold to Angelo Pallavicini and, in 2013, acquired by Cartique.
The car dealer will disclose the asking price only serious buyers. Walter Wolf paid $800,000 for it in 1980. And given its victory in one of the most demanding races in the world, you can be sure it’s going to be a 7-figure sum.
This is a truly unique vehicle and it’s future owner will own a piece of racing history.
