Kremer Porsche K2 / 1977 – Better than the original
Built in 1977 by two brothers from Cologne, the Kremer Porsche K2 was such a good race car that Porsche was forced to use the design for its own factory racing team. And the Kremer brothers didn’t stop there.
In 1974 Porsche presented the 911 Turbo. It was the fastest production car of its day. This model, with works designation 930, would form the basis for upcoming racing versions. Shortly after the launch of the turbo-Porsche, two racing cars based on the 930 had been developed: the 934 and 935. The difference between the two lay in the FIA-regulations for the different racing classes they were developed for. The 934 was destined for Group 4, the 935 for Group 5. In this category, the regulations only stipulated that a car should have the same bonnet, windscreen, doors, rear window, trunk and body width as the production cars. Apart from that the engineers could do anything with the car they wanted. And so they did. The 935 soon proved itself to be a winner. That drew the attention of private teams who
wanted to build their own racing cars based on the wildest production Porsche of the day – because at the time Porsche didn’t offer the 935 to customers.
In 1962 Erwin and Manfred Kremer had started their company under the typically descriptive German name E & M Kremer Gmbh – Kremer Racing. Both brothers specialized in tuning and preparing racing Porsches and ran their own racing team. When the 935 arrived and they couldn’t get their hands on one, they decided to build one of their own. The K1 was the first incarnation in 1976, but the second model was more important: the K2. Based on a ‘stripped’ Porsche Turbo chassis the brothers went to work in 1977. Chassis number 007 00016 was, according to the archives, a Porsche 930 which underwent a comprehensive Kremer-treatment. The Kremers devised an outlandish aero package which resembled that of the factory 935 but had some extras. For instance, the Kremers not only used glass fibre, like Porsche, but also carbon fibre and Kevlar composite. All body parts together weighed in at only 70 kilos and could be removed within five minutes. Moreover, these parts gave the car much extra width, which was a cunning way in which to by-pass the FIA rules, which stated that the basic body should be as wide as that of the production model. In a way the K2 really had a double body. The most striking feature of the K2 was its ‘Flachschnauze’, the flat nose. At the rear fins were mounted to guide the airflow to the enormous rear spoiler. Piece de la résistance was of course the engine. The 2,8-litre air cooled six-cylinder boxer was fitted with a whole array of hardware to increase its output. The most important addition was a huge KKK-turbo, which gave the boxer at least 640 ps – more was possible (up to 670 ps) by turning up the turbo boost. The Kremer brothers claimed that the fins at the rear, the flat nose and most of the aero adaptations were their inventions; Porsche later implemented them on its own 935.
The K2 first saw action at the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring on 1 May 1977. It won its first race with a lead of more than 34 seconds from the factory 935 that came in second. At the wheel of the Kremer car sat Frenchman Bob Wollek, whose name would become closely associated with the K2, in its striking paint job of green with purple, red and yellow striping – to this day the racing colours of the Kremer team.It was the first year in which the turbo-beasts from Group 5 were allowed to take part in the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft, a fiercely competitive championship for touring cars and sportscars. The Porsches 935 soon proved themselves to be the fastest cars in the championship, but Kremers K2 always held them honest. Porsche was not always happy with that. During the season Bob Wollek constantly harassed his rival Rolf Stommelen, who drove a ‘normal’ 935; of the 10 races the Frenchman won 4. Stommelen won 1 only more racethan him and became DRM-champion. Wollek did become champion in the Porsche Cup and with that Kremer had shown that Porsche could learn a few tricks from those do-it-yourself racers from Cologne. In 1978 the Kremers developed the K2 into the extreme K3, fitted with a biturbo-boxer. That car won the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans (it was the first victory for a racing car based on a production car after the Second Word War) and many less prestigious races.
After its first racing season this K2 was bought by German driver Louis Krages, who raced it five times before he had a heavy crash at the airfield racetrack of Mainz-Finthen. He survived the crash, but the K2 had to be written off. A year later, Kremer decided to rebuild the K2. A new body was ordered, and the Kremers used the opportunity to try out some new ideas that later would appear on the K3. In 1980 the rebuilt K2 was sold to Sweden, where it was used for circuit racing as well as rallycrosses. The K2 returned to Germany in 2005. And underwent an extensive restoration. After its completion in 2006, Erwin Kremer could pass the K2 a certificate of authenticity, shortly before he passed away in that same year. His creation drove its first few miles after its restoration during that years Le Mans Classics, before German Eberhart Braunach bought it. Braunach also bought the Kremer company in 2010, and so the K2 is back where its story began all those years ago.
The ideas and inventions tested on the K2 and the improvements that resulted from racing it were transferred to the K3, which became a worldwide success. That was the car every racing team wanted – even teams that had a 935 converted it to Kremer-specifications. In 1980 the K4 was introduced – built around an innovative tubular chassis (legend has it that Erwin Kremer managed to lock himself in it while welding the construction). And when the 935 was phased out in the 80s, Kremer continued to build successful racing cars based on the next generations of Porsche 911s. To this day, racing Porsches 911 is the core business of the Kremer company.