1977 Porsche 934.5 Coupe

The Porsche 934½ was designed to maintain the dominance achieved by the normally aspirated RSRs in IMSA's GT category. The 934 was one of two racing version of the Type 930, or Turbo Carrera, the company's first production-based turbocharged automobile. One was the 'Group 5' 935 and the other was the 934, configured for FIA Group 4 competition.

Porsche's competition feared that allowing a turbocharger would give Porsche an unfair advantage; for the 1976 season, IMSA refused the 934. Instead, Porsche turned to the SCCA's Trans-Am series. There, with the help of driver George Follmer, the 934 Porsche captured the season title.

For 1977, IMSA relented and allowed turbocharging, along with large rear wings and wider fenders.

The Porsche 935 was just entering production in late 1976. Porsche produced 0 examples of an upgraded 934 specifically for IMSA competition. These '934½' offered most of the aerodynamic features found on the 935, including a front air dam, a large rear window, and wide fenders.

At the first race of the season, Peter Gregg's car was properly prepared for competition. Unfortunately for Gregg, politics again intervened and it was banned on the spot. Porsche once again turned to Trans-Am competition, and the interim car captured all but two of the season's eight contests. At Canada's Mosport round, another team running a standard 934, protested that the new car was illegal. The SCCA responded by taking away Gregg's championship. Since Gregg had captured the checkered flag at eight races, Porsche produced a commemorative poster claiming the title.

This particular car is number seven in the series of ten. It was purchased by Porsche-Audi dealer Bob Hagestad Racing at the factory's request for a list price of nearly $42,000. It was intended to be raced at IMSA and the Trans-Am series. Hurley Haywood was brought on board as a co-driver.

The car's first race was at Road Atlanta; however, it failed to finish. Its next outing was at Laguna Seca where it took 7th with Franz Blam Racing as the entrant. Haywood drove the car to a strong 3rd place at Mid-America and 2nd at Lime Rock. It failed to finish at Mid-Ohio, but Haywood finished 2nd in class at Mid-Ohio two weeks later. Hagestad drove the car to a victory at the Road Atlanta Trans-Am event in late June. Haywood took 2nd at the Daytona Paul Revere 250; after which, he and Hagestad combined for a 3rd place at the Watkins Glen Six Hours. At Sears Point, the car failed to finish, but at Pocono in August, he was 3rd. Hagestad and Haywood again co-drove at the Mid-Ohio Three Hours, where they were 4th overall and 1st in class. Haywood finished the season with a 3rd place at Road Atlanta, a DNF at Laguna Seca, and a 1st place at the Daytona 250-mile finale.

At the close of the season, it finished with 10 podium appearances in 15 races, and it was 2nd overall in the 1977 IMSA Championship.

For 1978, Haywood and Hagestad were joined by Doc Bundy at the Daytona opener. By this point, the car had been upgraded to 935 specification and running in IMSA's new GTX category. At Daytona, the car suffered clutch failure and did not complete the race. At Sebring, Hagestad and Haywood finished in 2nd place, and then DNF'd at Talladega and Road Atlanta. At Laguna Seca, Haywood finished in 2nd place with Vasek Polak sponsorship.

In 1979, the car was sold to Charles Mendez's Racing Associates. It was painted blue and running with Busch Beer sponsorship. At the Daytona 24 Hours, Mendez, Johnny Rutherford and Paul Miller finished in 15th place overall. Brian Redman joined Mendez and Miller at Sebring, qualifying 4th and capturing 2nd place at the end of the 12-hour contest. The team was 8th at Road Atlanta with Mendez, but it DNF'd at Riverside with Paul Miller co-driving. Then followed 6th, 3rd, and 4th place finishes for Mendez at Hallet, Lime Rock, and Brainerd, respectively, and then a 5th place for Mendez and Miller at the Watkins Glen Six Hours. At Laguna Seca, Ron McFarlin drove the car to 13th place. Mendez was 5th at Portland. At Road Atlanta, Bob Akin finished in 8th place. A 6th place finish was earned at the season's final race at Daytona in the hands of Akin and Roy Woods.

In 1980, the car ran only two races. It ran under Coca-Cola sponsorship and was painted red and white. Claude Ballot-Lena, Ralph Kent Cooke, and Gerard Bleynie qualified 12th at the Daytona 24 Hours, but they dropped out with ignition problems. The Sebring 12 Hours was the car's last race, with Cooke and Lynn St. James sharing the driving duties, but again failed to finish.

Currently, the car has been restored to its original 934½ configuration, and is in period-correct colors of white Franz Blam Racing livery. It has a proper Type 930/73 three-liter flat-six engine with single KKK turbocharger, intercooler, and mechanical fuel injection. The engine offers over 600 horsepower and 435 foot-pounds of torque, depending on turbo boost. The car rides on lightweight, 16-inch diameter BBS alloys and are 10.5 inches wide in the front and 14.5 inches wide in the rear.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2014