A Racing Past catches up with the Future

Wera Tools presents a true game changer

VIN 0090003 Kremer Brothers 935 K3

Engine: 930/80
Transmission: 930/60
Horsepower: 760
Year of Manufacture: 1979
Color: White
1st Owner: Porsche-Kremer (Germany, 1980)
2nd Owner: Werner Hermann (Germany, 1980–1982)
3rd Owner: Jürgen Lässig (Germany, 1982–1985)
4th Owner: Willy König (Germany, 1986–1991)
5th Owner: John Greasley (UK, 1992–1993)
6th Owner: Claes Wahlund (Sweden, 1994–2008)
7th Owner: Nigel James (UK, 2008–2009)
8th Owner: Chris Goodwin (UK, from 2009)

The Goodwood Festival of Speed 2017 is just around the corner, marking our sixth participation. For the second year in a row, we are presenting the Wera brand to the public on an impressive 230-square-meter stand: to motorsport enthusiasts and car lovers, automobile manufacturers, and leading competitors in our industry. More than 200,000 visitors are expected over the next four days to witness the world’s most famous cars and motorcycles on the unique hill located directly in front of Goodwood House.
This year, the theme of the festival is “Peaks of Performance – Motorsports Game-Changers.” A motto that fits Wera perfectly, as we were able to secure a piece of motorsport history as the central exhibit for our stand.
From 1980 to 1982, Wera owned a Porsche Kremer 935 K3, which competed under the Wera Meißberg flag in the DRM series, the World Sportscar Championship, the Drivers' World Championship, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Motorsport fans among you will know...

...how groundbreaking the Group 5 935 of the Kremer brothers was – true game-changers. The Kremers interpreted the Group 5 rules generously—very generously—which led to one of the most striking designs of that era, if not of all time. Flames shot from the exhausts of these incredible 3.2-liter twin-turbo cars as they raced across European tracks. Gradually, however, they disappeared from motorsport. So it was an exciting moment when we discovered that the Wera car still existed. Today, thirty-five years later, Wera enthusiastically welcomes back the companion from the old days. Beneath its full Le Mans number #61 exterior, a healthy 760 horsepower roars. The Porsche Kremer 935 K3 still looks impressive—and sounds just as impressive.

The King

Porsche 935 K3 Turbo – a brief chronicle of this icon that defined an entire era; by Carsten Krome. It’s 1979, and Klaus Ludwig is sitting in the cockpit of a high-performance race car that would become a game-changer in motorsport. The car comes from the Cologne workshop of the brilliant brothers Erwin and Manfred Kremer and is called… Porsche 935 K3. At its debut as a special vehicle in Le Mans, the Porsche 935 K3 wins by a wide margin. The other competitors are shocked, and the bar is now set very high.

The Porsche 935 K3 was sold to Hermann Werner, co-owner of Wera, on February 21, 1980. From then on, the sports car raced for "Weralit" – a plastic material invented by Wera. The car participated in the German Championship in 1980, 1981, and 1982. The main driver was Edgar Dören, with Jürgen Lässig occasionally taking the wheel. The Wera 935 made its debut for Wera on March 23, 1980, in Zolder, Belgium, and finished fifth.

World Championship Races

The early victories eventually led to the greatest success in the first European round of the World Championship in Monza, Italy: Edgar Dören and Jürgen Lässig defeated all competitors in a dramatic, rain-soaked race. The car was sold in 1986 to the renowned German car tuner Willy König. At the end of the 1990 season, Willy König was the winner of the "Special Touring Car Trophy." König drove the car for many years at the Nürburgring before suffering a serious accident with a 962 engine he had installed himself. John Greasley bought the damaged car, converted it to right-hand drive, and won the British GT Championship in 1993. Before that, Greasley had reinstalled the original 935 twin-turbo 3.2-liter engine.

It was pure coincidence when it became known in 2014 that this car still existed in the United Kingdom. After some detective work, the owner was tracked down and contacted. Since that day, a trusting relationship has developed between us. Thanks to this relationship, we were able to sign a contract that allows us to exhibit this fully restored, race-ready motorsport legend at this year’s Festival of Speed.
A film has since been made about chassis no. 009 0003 (the first time in two years that the car was shown in public). In addition, the footage includes historical photographs, made possible by careful and thoughtful archiving in recent years.

The Restored Wera Porsche

A true game changer