Porsche 911 RS 2.7 Carrera Sport Lightweight

Cars

The most desirable Porsche?

For me, this 1973 911 RS Lightweight represents the essence of Porsche.

It was 1973. Porsche had achieved unheard-of dominance at Le Mans. There was an oil crisis that meant that sports cars were required to be fleet footed and stripped down. They had to displace less than 3.0 Litres too, after the FIA brought in the special Grand Touring class. This car was an immediate response to these guidelines. it started as a homologator, but was an immediate success across the board and went into wider production as soon as the first 500 were sold.

Porsche-RS-4

The Carrera RS came with a brand new 2.7 litres six-cylinder engine. With this increased displacement and Bosch mechanical fuel injection it produced 210 brake horsepower at 6,300 rpm and 202 foot-pounds of torque at 5,100 rpm. It also came with a strong five-speed manual transmission, which replaced the old Type, with its awkward “dog-leg” first gear.

Porsche-RS-5

This version, as the name suggests was even lighter than the RS ‘touring’ model, tipping the scales at only 975 kilograms. This was achieved by using special light-weight glass, losing the sound insulation and including only very thin carpeting and simple rubber mats. There are no sun visors, no dashboard clock or radio. Even the glovebox door has been deleted. As a finishing touch the standard armrests and latch handles have been replaced by simple plastic pull handles and pull-cord door releases.

Porsche-RS-2

So: this is for sure a very desirable 911. Perhaps the most desirable. It’s expected to fetch at least £1 Million at Villa Erba later this month.

Definitely one for our dream garage.

All Images Tim Scott ©2015 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s




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