As the Porsche 911 Turbo entered production in 1975 under the guise of its aggressively styled and distinctive 930-generation body shape, the 250 km/h coupé not only became the fastest road car available in Germany but also the fastest-ever from the marque at the time. With one eye on the company’s motorsport endeavours, Porsche bosses earmarked the new 911 platform for racing as a replacement for the naturally aspirated Carrera RSR 3.0.

The suitability for competition in the Group 4 class was a natural fit for a race-derived interpretation of the 930 Turbo, yet Porsche engineers left no stone unturned as the first 934 was developed for testing. Contemporary Group 4 regulations required a near-standard body configuration and a minimum weight of 1,120 kilograms, resulting in the removal of the stock seats, air conditioning, insulation, and other unnecessary items countered by the installation of a full aluminium roll cage, additional gauges, and racing equipment for application on the track. Features such as the road car’s electric windows were retained in favour of adding ballast, along with the standard rear-deck spoiler.

The chassis was reinforced with a stiff cross-brace tied into the front suspension mounts, Bilstein coil-overs were added, as were wider 16-inch centre-lock BBS three-piece alloy wheels with racing tyres that required fibreglass extensions to the wings. Stronger hubs and brakes were borrowed from the 917 while a 120-litre fuel cell and an oil tank filled the trunk area. These changes left the 934 weighing a fraction less than its road-going 930 cousin, while the track-going Porsche was powered by a 3.0-litre, single-turbo engine that drew critics and plaudits in equal measure for its delayed power delivery. Production numbered 31 cars as 30 units of the 934 followed the initial test build.

The Porsche 934 offered here, chassis 0172, was delivered new to tyre importer and racing enthusiast Richard Leder of Hamburg, Germany. After a debut race in the 1976 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DRM) followed by two other outings, Leder’s first overall win in the Porsche came at Kassel-Calden in May 1976. Unfortunately, the car crashed a few weeks later on the first lap of the Nürburgring 1000 km. Then, in June, Leder tragically died in a road accident and the car passed to Volker Merl, who campaigned the car in the German National Championship, along with a number of smaller national races.

Over the end of 1976 and beginning of 1977, Merl upgraded the Porsche to 934/5 specification and won at Avus in May of 1977. Merl eventually sold the 934 to a Swiss Porsche dealer, Peter Zbinden. Often paired with fellow Swiss Edi Kofel, Zbinden entered more than 30 events in 1978, 1979, and 1980, claiming no fewer than 16 class and overall wins to add to Leder’s earlier two victories with the car. Zbinden converted the car to full 935 specification in 1980 before selling it to Pierre Schärer of Bern, who ran the car primarily in Swiss championship races and hill climb events. In 1982, the car was sold to Peter Baumann of Zurich, who used the car in club events in company with then-Porsche Sports Director Max Welti. Baumann subsequently restored the car to its original specification, appearance and livery using the original Group 4 parts previously removed and kept with the car.

Chassis 0172 is accompanied by a report following a 2021 inspection by Prill Porsche Classics of Halsted, Essex. On compilation of the report, marque expert Andy Prill comments on the car’s originality, and of its formation within a collection for many years. It is said that older parts were preserved amid the period conversion of Group 4 to Group 5 specification, while Group 4 parts that were original to the 934 were retained for when the car returned to that setting. Prill stated: ‘The car is as good as it gets and virtually totally original. Probably the only surviving example of this quality.’

Presented in its original Group 4 configuration, offered with a spare set of wheels and electric tachometer, and wearing its period-correct livery, chassis 0172 offers the opportunity to acquire a highly significant racing Porsche with enviable competition history. Overall, this 934 boasts an impressive competition pedigree: of 69 races entered, it recorded 18 overall victories or class wins and 29 podiums. Needless to say, the Porsche would be a worthy entrant to the many historic racing events for which it is eligible.