Bizi Ezerioha, the mad genius behind California tuner Bisimoto and its insane builds, recently visited Jay Leno’s Garage with an all-electric Porsche 935.
Known for its distinctive aerodynamic bodywork, the Porsche 935 was one of the most successful race cars of the 1970s and 1980s. But Bisi is not one for convention, so he built a road-going replica based on a 911, with the original flat-6 engine swapped for electric power. The goal was to build a fast car that was also environmentally conscious.
“I feel that I have the performance without the inherent guilt,” Bisi told Jay while the latter took the pink-and-gray Porsche for a spin.
The car started out as a 1984 Porsche 911 that was gathering dust in a Palm Springs, California, garage. It was a sensible starting point, as the 935 was derived from the 911. Bisi rebuilt it with Kremer-style 935 bodywork and placed liquid-cooled battery packs in the front and middle of the chassis.
Those packs, along with an electric motor also mounted toward the middle of the car, give this 935 better weight distribution than the original, Bisi noted. Because of its 911 DNA, the 935 had a rear-mounted engine and thus a significant rearward weight bias. But this car has a near 50/50 front/rear weight distribution, Bisi claims.
The 935 is powered by a Tesla motor with an aftermarket control unit. It sends 636 hp to the rear wheels. Bisi said the tuning process was similar to an ECU re-flash for a gasoline car, in that it involved lots of software changes. For example, he raised the rev limit from 15,000 rpm to 18,200 rpm.
Bisi installed the charge ports in the hood, where the fuel filler would normally be. The car has a J1772 port for Level 2 AC charging, which takes about nine hours, according to Bisi. A CHAdeMO DC fast-charging port (the kind used by the Nissan Leaf) can charge the 935 in 36 minutes, he claims.
This article was originally published by Motor Authority, an editorial partner of ClassicCars.com.
