1972 Porsche 911 Carrera RS

By Richardd Adams

"A celebrity in its own time and now more sought after than ever. Still a car that would blow most modern cars off the road today and with more raw appeal and charisma than seems mechanically possible."

"Sensational, even by Porsche standards" Autocar

The Carrera RS 2.7 was not marketed as the next iPad or Diablo, no, it was simply accepted as an evolution of the 911. But was it?
The RS was produced at the end of the first-generation 911 production run and is regarded as one of the best road cars of all time. At launch it was the fastest production 911 and immediately an unyielding race winner. Some feel it's the best 911 ever built.

The RS looked nearly the same as a 911S, the model it was derived from, however a few changes were introduced like a chin spoiler under the front bumper, rear fender bulges, wider wheels, an unusual "ducktail" rear spoiler with a stylish "Carrera" script across each door that matched the car's light Fuchs wheels . This Carrera script could be deleted by the buyer. 

It not only looked different, it was.  

Porsche had “added lightness”. The car was extremely light at 1,985 pounds (900 kg) hundreds of pounds less than a 911S. The RS used the 911S body shell, but with thinner body sheet metal and windshield glass. There were no springs to counterbalance the front trunk cover, a fiberglass rear engine lid fitted along with fiberglass bumpers. There was no undercoating, no sound insulation, no rear seat and with rubber mats in lieu of carpeting. 

The front seats had almost no padding; the door panels were plain, with a pull cord instead of an internal door handle. The dash had no clock, glove compartment lid or a passenger's sun visor.

The engine was derived from the Porsche 911S 2.4L engine. The existing cylinders were bored out to a capacity of 2,687 cc with a Nikasil coating on the light alloy cylinder walls. The bigger bore resulted in the greater 210 horsepower and 255 nm of torque. The fuel-injected flat six-cylinder air cooled engine,  was the largest used on a road-going Porsches of the time, achieving 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds and onto 100 mph in just 12.8 seconds. Top speed was 150 mph (240km/hr). 

The 1972 RS was the first production road-race 911 sold to the public, except it could not be used on the road in America for anything but racing, due to the lack of emissions equipment. It was built to European road-race car rules.

The RS was very responsive to drive, with a quick-revving engine, good brakes and a light almost mind-reading steering. A harsh ride at low speeds was due to the race tuned suspension and wider tires.

Porsche needed to build 500 RS cars to meet the criteria for the Group 4 Special GT race category. The selling price for the stripped RS was $11,785, similar to the 911S in Germany. But an anxious sales department motivated Porsche to offer the RS with an optional $893 touring pack, that puts back the upholstered and trimmed interior from the 911S, along with the road friendly steel rear bumpers and guards. Many RS buyers ordered the touring pack as they wanted the fastest Porsche road car, but not for racing. A total of 1,560 or 1,580 RS models were built by the end of the 1973 model year.

The RS brought numerous wins to Porsche and in RSR form even more. The Targa Florio, the Daytona 24 Hours, the Sebring 12 hours and the World Manufacturers and IMSA Divers championships. These cars are still winning today.

With RS prices constantly rising, the cars don't get driven a lot these days, but if you are in the market for one, tell your bank manager to set aside around $150 000 to $400 000 for you.  

But be aware, there are a few non original clones about .......