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The story of the "Moby Dick" began in the mid '70s when Porsche first created the 935. The 935 was a silhouette car based on the 911 production vehicle but modified for racing to the prevailing Group 5 regulations. The 2.1 litre engined car dominated the 1976 and 1977 World Championship For Manufacturers in the hands of the factory team and private customers such as Kremer and Joest. To quote Paul Frere (from his book Porsche Racing Cars Of The '70s) �Ever since motor sport has existed, those who decide the rules have often come up with good ideas but somehow the engineers whose task it is to make the best of those rules always seem to come up with even better ones�. In the latter part of 1977, Norbert Singer (the Porsche factory team's chief engineer) was present at a meeting of the FIA Technical Commission. BMW were asking the FIA if they could be permitted to cut the side panels of their front-engined car to allow the exhaust through. After some discussion, it was agreed that this amendment could be made to counteract the advantage enjoyed by rear-engined vehicles. Singer realised at that moment that this amendment had created a potential "loophole" that could be exploited for their 1978 car. They were already planning a lighter aluminium-framed "Baby" with a more powerful 3.2 four valve six cylinder engine. If it was now permissible to cut the panels to allow the exhaust through, the car could in fact be made lower by 8 or 10 cm. This would create a car perfect for the high-speed straights at Le Mans. Singer had also realised that whilst the FIA's rules relating to 'additional rear aerodynamic aids' were very specific about how far they may overhang the rear axle and beyond the limits of the bodywork, they did not mention how far they could extend forwards.
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