Lot 221: 1970 Porsche 911 RSR Recreation

The Carrera RSR has a special place in Porsche history because it marked the first time that the company ever built a homologation special version of a production car. In the early 1970s, long-distance sports car racing had reached new heights of excitement, thanks in no small measure to the duels between the mighty Porsche 917 and the Ferrari 512. Then the rules were changed, a three litre engine capacity limit was imposed and the category began to fall apart; it should have worked since it ran to the same capacity limit as Formula One but, for a variety of reasons, it did not. As has often happened over the years, the sports controlling body then began to talk about a replacement formula; the championship would be run with production-based cars, essentially a 'silhouette formula'. Porsche was interested in such a formula; it had built the 911 Carrera 2.7 RS in sufficient numbers for it to be homologated as a Group 3 Production GT car. The rules said that once a model had been homologated then an evolution of the same model could be made provided it remained in the same class. This particular car is a 1970 Carrera 3.0 RS model with extensive modifications to engine, chassis and body to bring it up to RSR specification using many original RSR parts. It is believed a German Porsche specialist was responsible for carrying out this work approximately ten years ago. The car now features a twin spark ignition engine together with RSR suspension while the bodywork is finished in striking Martini colours. Campaigned successfully throughout Spain, including a second place in 2004 on the Balearic Island Rally and first places both at Jarama and Valencia, this competitive car is supplied with a large history file and FIA papers and will provide RSR performance on a budget. The Porsche has been well prepared and maintained, and to find a car with a similar specification or to convert an existing road car to the same standard would without doubt cost far in excess of the cost of this Carrera.