Remember when Apple released the iPorsche back in 1980? The 215 mph Le Mans winning 935 "Moby Dick" caught Steve Jobs eye and became the first Apple Car.
The Porsche 935 was introduced in 1976 as the racing version of the 930 Turbo, and a substitute to the RSR 2.1 Turbo. It proved to be a very successful racing car with over 150 race wins worldwide and giving Porsche four straight FIA World Titles from '76 to '79. But it was of course in the 1979 24h of Le Mans that the 935 ascended to legend status, with Kremer's K3 taking the overall win and the Barbour 935 taking a class win, the latter driven by none other than Mr. Paul Newman. Remember when Apple released the iPorsche back in 1980? The 215 mph Le Mans winning 935 "Moby Dick" caught Steve Jobs eye and became the first Apple Car. The Porsche 935 was introduced in 1976 as the racing version of the 930 Turbo, and a substitute to the RSR 2.1 Turbo. It proved to be a very successful racing car with over 150 race wins worldwide and giving Porsche four straight FIA World Titles from '76 to '79.
LeMans
But it was of course in the 1979 24h of Le Mans that the 935 ascended to legend status, with Kremer's K3 taking the overall win and the Barbour 935 taking a class win, the latter driven by none other than Mr. Paul Newman. And how did Apple Computers get involved in this story? Well, Steve Jobs was a big fan of German design in general and of Porsches in particular, going as far as even trying to convince Porsche Design to do their magic in Apple's own computers. Somewhere in 1980, Jobs had work done in his 356 in a race car garage near Cupertino and met Bob Garretson, who somehow got him to be the main sponsor of his racing team, ran by Barbour Racing. And so, the fantastic rainbow livery was born, and although its competition career was short-lived, it certainly didn't harm Apple's image to be associated with Porsche in an international motorsport tour - Steve Jobs, always the marketing genius. Could this be time for Apple to give it a rest with the new iPhones and get into the car industry? Who knows, maybe they haven't yet because they spent the last 40 years just trying to make something nearly as cool as the 935...
