Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2,7 911/83 M471 Sport Lightweight Series 2 RH
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Car producer : |
Porsche |
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Model: |
911 Carrera RS 2,7 911/83 M471 Sport Lightweight Series 2 RH |
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Year: |
1973-1976 |
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Type: |
Coupe |
By the time the car was formally introduced at the 1972 Paris Auto Show, the initial production run of 500 units had already sold out within a week, to the surprise and delight of Porsche’s directors. A second 500-unit production run was quickly approved, and eventually 1,080 were constructed. Most of this second series was comprised of M472 Touring versions, which used standard-thickness 911 sheet metal and glass, a steel rear bumper, a single battery, and most of the 911 S’ road equipment and driver comfort trim items.
In the early 1970s, Porsche wanted to build on the success of its world-beating Type 917 endurance prototypes, but it faced a dilemma: the muscular five-litre 917 had been regulated out of existence by the FIA, which set a new displacement maximum of three litres for the World Championship of Makes. In response, Porsche’s competition department decided to create a small series of purpose-built race cars based on the production 911 for the FIA’s Group 5 Special Grand Touring class. They would be called the Carrera 3.0 RSR. To meet the FIA’s Group 5 regulations, a minimum of 500 street-legal Group 4 cars would have to be constructed and sold within one year. To emphasize the car’s racing heritage, they were dubbed the Carrera RS and two versions would be offered, the M472 Touring, which had a great deal of standard 911 S equipment, and the stripped-down M471 Sport, which was more commonly known as the Lightweight.
The Carrera RS Touring and its competition-oriented sister made extensive use of lightweight materials. Fiberglass was used for the engine cover and front and rear bumpers (Series 2 Touring models had steel rear bumpers). The rear quarter panels were artfully widened to accept wider seven-inch wheels and tyres (the front wheels remained six inches wide). What was to become the RS’s trademark feature, the “ducktail” rear spoiler, was added to the engine cover after wind-tunnel testing had demonstrated that it was very effective at increasing high-speed stability by reducing rear-end lift.
These models, valued by collectors, are considered by many to be the greatest classic 911s of all-time. RS stands for Rennsport in German, meaning "racing sport". The Carrera name was reintroduced from the 356 Carrera which had itself been named after Porsche's victories in the Carrera Panamericana races in Mexico in the 1950s. The RS was built so that Porsche could enter racing formulae that demanded that a certain minimum number of production cars were made. Compared with a standard 911S, the Carrera 2.7 RS had a larger engine (2687 cc) developing 210 PS (150 kW; 210hp) with MFI, revised and stiffened suspension, a "ducktail" rear spoiler, larger brakes, wider rear wheels and rear wings. In RS Touring form it weighed 1075 kg (2370 lb), in Sport Lightweight form it was about 100 kg (220 lb) lighterwhich was accomplished through the utilization of thinner-gauge steel for their wings, roof panel, and doors and thinner and lighter (and very expensive) clear glass from the Belgian firm Glaverbel. This special glass was fitted to most Series 1 Lightweights but only a few from the second series where available with this option. There was no sound insulation, and only very thin carpeting and simple rubber mats covered the floor, whilst the rear folding seatbacks, sun visors, dashboard clock, radio, and glovebox door were deleted. The standard armrests and latch handles were replaced by simple plastic pull handles and pull-cord door releases. As the story goes, Tony Lapine’s styling department conceived the now-famous “negative” Carrera side striping after Lapine happened to glance at the negative of a photograph taken of the car wearing its originally planned “positive” lettering. In total, 1580 were made, comfortably exceeding the 500 that had to be made to qualify for the vital FIA Group 4 class. 49 Carrera RS cars were built with 2808 cc engines producing 300 PS (221 kW).
In 1974, Porsche created the Carrera RS 3.0 with K-Jetronic Bosch fuel injection producing 230 PS (169 kW).It was almost twice as expensive as the 2.7 RS but offered a fair amount of racing capability for that price. The chassis was largely similar to that of the 1973 Carrera RSR and the brake system was from the Porsche 917. The use of thin metal plate panels and a spartan interior enabled the shipping weight to be reduced to around 900 kg (1984 lb).
The Carrera RSR 3.0 and Carrera RSR Turbo (its 2.1 L engine due to a 1.4x equivalency formula) were made in tiny numbers for racing. The turbo car came second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1974, a significant event in that its engine would form the basis of many future Porsche attempts in sportscar racing, and can be regarded as the start of its commitment to turbocharging.
