911 Carrera RS 2.7 (Germany, 1972)

The 911 Carrera RS, first released at the 1972 Paris Motor Show, stands as one of the most estimated classic Porsches ever. When production started, this model achieved instant success, especially in racing events. The ‘Carrera’ in its nameplate is a reminiscence of the famous Mexican race, Carrera Panamericana, where previous Porsche models had already been quite successful. ‘RS’ stands for Renn Sport, which means ‘motorsport’ or ‘circuit racing’.

When new regulations were released by the World Sportscar Championship, Porsche models couldn’t compete anymore for they didn’t meet up with the Championship’s policy. Besides, there was really no way a brand new prototype car could be made in such short notice, as that takes quite a lot of effort to accomplish. On the other hand and fortunately for Porsche, the European GT Championship was about to debut the 911 was qualified enough to compete in it. This competition demanded that a minimum amount of units of a model were produced so that model could enter the race and Porsche actually went past it.

In order to meet up with the FIA Group 4 class’ requirements – 500 units made – Porsche manufactured 1636 of these 911 Carrera RS. The Carrera RS was purposely based on the 911S for it had raised Porsche’s success in previous races, such as the Monte Carlo Rally and the Tour de France. In addition, the brand now needed a tough competitor to beat the ever-rival Ferrari. Thus, brakes and wheels were enlarged, suspension was strengthened and a typical “ducktail” rear spoiler was added.

The ‘2.7’ is the first engine variant used by Porsche when the brand released its 911 Carrera RS, which evidently refers to its 2.7 liter engine displacement. Porsche completely stopped production of the 911 Carrera RS in 1974.

The first Carrera RS variant of the Porsche 911 came with a naturally aspirated, 2.7 liter, 6-cylinder boxer engine, which was longitudinally mounted on the rear. It could reach a top speed of 150 mi/h (241 km/h), thanks to a 207 hp output. This rear-wheel drive model is also driven through a 5-speed manual transmission.

Unitary steel chassis.   Platform
  Suspension The front suspension of the Carrera RS is built with McPherson struts, lower wishbones, longitudinal torsion bars, Bilstein shock absorbers and an anti-roll bar. The rear suspension adds up trailing arms, torsion bars, tubular shock absorbers and also an anti-roll bar.   Steering Rack-and-pinion.   Brakes All-wheels vented and cross drilled discs

In order to achieve further potency, Porsche applies wider tires on the rear wheels than on the front ones, which was the first time Porsche did it on a road car. The model also adds up a “ducktail” spoiler to the backside of the body. To save weight on the body construction, the Carrera RS’ bodyshell was mainly built from thin-gauge steel and fiberglass. Plus, the luxurious extras were avoided.