<h1>Porsche 935: From Le Mans Glory to Hillclimb Legend</h1>
<p>Some cars belong to a single playground. The Porsche 935 conquered two. On one side, the Le Mans circuit, where it wrote one of endurance racing's biggest stories. On the other, the narrow, twisting roads of hillclimb racing, where drivers like the Almeras brothers and Claude Haldi built an entirely different legend behind its wheel.</p>
<p>This lesser-known link between the Group 5 world and hillclimb racing is exactly what Live4Racing explores in a brand-new multi-episode series. First stop: a shoot dedicated to the Porsche 935, filmed alongside two other period monsters, the BMW M1 and the Lola T298.</p>
<h2>Built to shock: the birth of Group 5</h2>
<p>To understand the 935, you have to go back to the Group 5 regulations, which in the late 1970s allowed extreme transformations from a classic GT base. For this Porsche, that base was a 911 Turbo. What came out the other end was something else entirely: monstrous flared wings, a huge rear wing, and a heavily boosted turbo engine. Almost nothing remains of the original 911 except its spirit — and the headlights, still hinting at the shape hiding under this radically reworked bodywork.</p>
<p>The result was one of the most intimidating endurance cars of its era. A reputation we got to check up close, standing right next to the car, with the team preparing it today for the Historic 24 Hours.</p>
<h2>"Too much horsepower for 900kg": behind the scenes with Bright Racing</h2>
<p>David Setin, mechanic at Bright Racing, walked us through the story of this particular chassis. A car that raced in the United States with an impressive record, recovered by the team two years ago. At the time of filming, it had just come out of a full mechanical rebuild: a brand-new engine and gearbox, fitted after a technical issue the previous season. This was its very first run with the new powertrain.</p>
<p>The word to sum it up? "Monstrous." Fair enough, when you're talking about roughly 600 horsepower for barely 900kg, with a turbo boost dial that can shift the available power on demand. No differential, a behaviour described as "anti-mechanical", relentless aggression in everything it does: even just moving it around the paddock commands respect. The advice given to any driver stepping into the car for the first time says it all: whatever you do, don't touch the turbo boost dial.</p>
<h2>1979: the overall win that changed everything</h2>
<p>The peak of this car's legend came at Le Mans in 1979. The Kremer Racing Porsche 935 K3 didn't just win its class — it won outright, beating every prototype in the field. Behind the wheel: Klaus Ludwig and the Whittington brothers.</p>
<p>That same year, another name would forge the link between endurance and hillclimb racing: Claude Haldi, also driving a Porsche 935 in that edition. Haldi was no stranger to hillclimbing — he'd already been European hillclimb champion back in 1970, driving a Porsche 911S.</p>
<h2>The Almeras brothers, kings of the hill in a 935</h2>
<p>But it's arguably in hillclimb racing that the 935 wrote its most impressive chapters. You can't tell this story without mentioning the Almeras brothers, and Jean-Marie Almeras in particular: French Group 5 hillclimb champion in 1978, then European champion three years running — 1978, 1979 and 1980 — including an outright win at the legendary Serra da Estrela hillclimb in Portugal.</p>
<p>This car's history with the Almeras family runs deep. Built in its original spec, it later received a twin-turbo engine and competed both on circuit and in hillclimb events. After a period of retirement, it was restored back to its 1979 specification, complete with its original naturally aspirated engine. In that guise, it returned to competition in the European hillclimb championship starting in 2010.</p>
<h2>Jean-Louis Rebou and the "silhouette" 935</h2>
<p>More recently, another name stayed linked to the 935 in hillclimb racing: Jean-Louis Rebou, driving a "silhouette" 935 that ran several different engine configurations between 1985 and 1998. Proof that, long after its golden age, the 935 kept writing French hillclimb history.</p>
<h2>Across the Atlantic: "A beast"</h2>
<p>Filming also took us across the Atlantic, to meet Dennis, technician on another historic Porsche 935. A lifelong Porsche fan, he shared what it means to work on a car he's tested on track himself. His verdict, no filter: an "amazing" car that leaves everyone who drives it astonished by its power and acceleration. Once again, one word says it all: "a beast".</p>
<h2>A driving challenge, on track and on the hill</h2>
<p>What makes the 935 so fascinating is exactly what made it so feared: its giant turbo, notorious for its lag. Power didn't arrive progressively — it exploded onto the rear wheels all at once. Demanding enough down the long Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans... and an even bigger challenge on the narrow, twisting roads of a hillclimb, where the margin for error is razor-thin.</p>
<p>So next time you see a Porsche 935, don't just think of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Think of every driver who took it up mountain roads too, in both the French and European hillclimb championships.</p>
<h2>Watch the full episode</h2>
<p>This episode is part of a series dedicated to the link between iconic endurance cars and historic hillclimb racing. To watch the full shoot, the complete interviews, and this Porsche 935 in action, head over to our YouTube channel.</p>
<p>👉 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Live4Racing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Watch the full episode on the Live4Racing YouTube channel</a> and subscribe so you don't miss any episode of the series.</p>
<p>For behind-the-scenes photos, exclusive clips and shoot stories, head to our Instagram:</p>
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<p>You'll also find our full coverage of historic motorsport and hillclimb racing at <a href="https://live4racing.com/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">live4racing.com</a>.</p>
<p><em>Tags: Porsche 935, Group 5, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Klaus Ludwig, Whittington, Kremer Racing, Claude Haldi, Almeras brothers, Jean-Marie Almeras, Jean-Louis Rebou, hillclimb racing, European hillclimb championship, historic motorsport, Bright Racing.</em></p>
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