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Jeff Zwart races rare Porsche 935 up Pikes Peak in just 09:43.92 minutes — Jeff Zwart races this rare Porsche 935 reissue up the Pikes Peak hill climb in a mere 09:43.92 minutes.

We just can’t get enough of 2018’s Porsche 935 reissue or the sensational 911 GT2 RS it’s based on, so we thought we’d shed some light on an impressive entry in this year’s Pikes Peak hill climb, not to mention the man at the wheel, racing legend Jeff Zwart.

Zwart, with 16 Pikes Peak hill climbs to his credit, celebrated his 17th entry with an impressive run up the 20-km uphill course of just 09:43.92 minutes. He later admitted to going easy on the 700 horsepower, $780,000 USD rear-wheel drive car (which equaled exactly 1,025,000 CAD at the time of publishing), due to it belonging to a personal collector, but he nevertheless ended up fifth overall and second in his Time Attack 1 class, which only allows track and race cars based on production models. Zwart may have been a bit rusty too, having not driven the course in five years, but he certainly had high praise for the modern-day 935.

“It’s the most comfortable race car I’ve ever driven,” stated Zwart after his run. “The combination of the turbo, the bodywork and the motorsport chassis is wonderful.”

Weighing in at just just 1,380 kilos (3,042 lbs), the 935 reissue is one of just 77 created after being introduced at the historic “Rennsport Reunion” motorsport event at California’s Laguna Seca Raceway on September 27, 2018. It’s a race-prepped single-seater riding on Porsche’s 991-generation 911 GT2 RS platform, but features special 935-like body panels from nose to tail, the latter boasting a longer rear section (just like the original) for increasing downforce.

The car used in the hill climb is owned by Porsche collector Bob Ingram, while its livery included support for his son Cam’s Porsche restoration shop. It sported white, grey and red paint with Pegasus branding on its rear fenders thanks to sponsorship from Mobil 1.

Clint Vahsholt, who drove a Formula Ford in the Open Wheel category, achieved the fastest overall time in this year’s event, managing only 09:35.490 minutes, whereas the quickest Porsche was a GT2 RS Clubsport piloted by David Donn, who, also in the Time Attack 1 category, achieved a 9:36.559-minute time.

The Pikes Peak road course in Colorado is officially 19.99 kilometres (12.42 miles) long and features 156 turns, while climbing 1,440 metres (4,720 ft) of elevation averaging 7.2-percent grades. The uphill race starts at Mile 7 on the Pikes Peak Highway before ending at the 4,302-metre (14,115 ft) elevation. Multiple vehicle classes take part in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb every year, making it very popular in the motorsport community.

Being that 935 reissues such as the one Jeff Zwart was driving on his Pikes Peak run are worth upwards of $1.5m USD on the used market, and original 935s can fetch much more, we recommend you take a look at our 2021 Porsche 911 Canada Prices page or 2020 Porsche 911 Canada Prices page to check out more down to earth 911 trims. There you’ll be able to get helpful info about factory leasing and financing rates, which are current at 0-percent, plus up-to-date rebate information as well as dealer invoice pricing that could save you thousands on your next purchase. We recommend downloading our free app as well, so you can have all this money-saving info at your fingertips when you need it most at the dealership. See how the CarCostCanada system can work for you.

Also, make sure to enjoy the awesome video footage showing Jeff Zwart racing the sensational 935 reissue up Pikes Peak:

Jeff Zwart | Full Run Onboard + Driver Interview | 2020 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (11:00):

Story credits: Trevor Hofmann

Photo and video credits: Porsche

The 2019 Porsche 911 GT2 RS blasted past the previous Road America track record by nearly 2 seconds. (Photo: Porsche)

Only last fall the brilliant Porsche 911 GT2 RS MR set a street-legal lap record at the renowned Nürburgring Norschleife race track in Germany, which only remains bested by a modified version of the Stuttgart brand’s own 919 Hybrid EVO World Endurance Championship (WEC) racer, but now the globe’s winningest sports car manufacturer claims a new production car record-setting time on Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin’s ultra-challenging Road America track.

The 14-turn, 6.5-km racetrack combines long high-speed straight-ways, tight turns and a bevy of undulations, making it easy taking for most any Porsche 911, although when that 911 is a 2019 GT2 RS it’s game over for any competitors. As it is, Road America has yet to become popular for attempting track records, with the current title-holder being a GT2 RS privateer that managed an ultra-quick 2:17.04 lap time last year, so Porsche was really trying to beat itself, but when competition seems so scarce what’s there left to do? How about carving 1.87 seconds off the just noted lap time for a new record of 2:15.17 minutes? Not too shabby, and it only took 24 Hours of Daytona and Le Mans class winner David Donohue two laps to do it.

2019 Porsche 911 GT3 RS — The GT3 RS can rev to 9,000 rpm, therefore delivering an entirely different kind of sports car experience than the GT2 RS. (Photo: Porsche)

As if that wasn’t good enough, Porsche doubled down on its RS track time with another outing, but this time with the less formidable 911 GT3 RS. Even though engine output is 200 horsepower less convincing, Donohue managed a surprisingly quick best-of-three 2:18.57-minute charge, the high-revving flat-six engine often passing right by its lofty 8,800-rpm redline during the process. The fact that the 911 GT3 RS’ track time remained so close to the GT2 RS record is a testament to its impressive handling, especially when factoring in Road America’s long high-speed straights and plentiful sharp corners.

Both GT2 and GT3 RS models wore road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R N0 production rubber, these optional for Canadian RS owners, while it should also be noted that the Road Atlanta event’s lap times and vehicle telemetry were recorded and validated by Racelogic.

Not to be satisfied with just two racetrack lap records, Porsche took this 911 GT2 RS to Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia only last month, and with Randy Pobst in the driver’s seat managed another record-setting time of just 1:24.88 minutes, which incidentally trumped the outgoing record-holding Corvette ZR1 by nearly two seconds, not to mention the previously mentioned Porsche 911 GT3 RS by 1.36 seconds.

So why is Porsche taking its RS models to all of these tracks to break records? Possibly it’s due to a new 2020 911 arriving later this year, and the need to make hay while the sun shines, so to speak. This said it’s not like a redesigned GT2 RS will be available immediately upon the new 911’s arrival, which means we’ll likely see plenty of additional racetrack records smashed soon.

Until that happens, enjoy some record-breaking videos below:

Porsche 911 GT2 RS sets production car lap record at Road America – David Donohue onboard camera (2:25):

911 GT3 RS completes Road America lap in just 2:18,57 minutes (2:28):

Porsche 911 GT2 RS Record Lap at Road Atlanta – Highlight Film with Randy Pobst Onboard Camera (2:18):

Porsche 911 GT2 RS sets production car lap record at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta (1:39):

Onboard video of the 911 GT3 RS at the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta (1:36):

Story credits: Trevor Hofmann

Photo credits: Porsche

Tag: GT2

Jeff Zwart races rare Porsche 935 up Pikes Peak in just 09:43.92 minutes

Porsche smashes Road America and Road Atlanta lap records with 911 GT2 RS