Theme with variations - Porsche Carrera RS in the (historic) test

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Theme with variations - Porsche Carrera RS in the (historic) test

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Created on March 1, 1973

Text:

Jürgen Rapp

Photos:

Porsche AG - Historisches Archiv

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Porsche AG

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - today probably the most valuable 911 of all

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - the plastic rear spoiler was obligatory and could not be ordered separately

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - prepared for racing with roll bar and wide wheels

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - the Carrera lettering was available in different colors

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Porsche Carrera RS - The race-ready touring car

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - Gregg/Haywood at Watkins Glen

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - Daytona 1973, winner Haywood/Gregg with number 59

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - The Carrera in racing trim 1973

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - Angelo Pallavicini with a 2.7-liter Carrera RS at the Schauinsland hill climb in 1973

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Porsche Carrera RS - sports car for road and race track

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - on the left a 2.7-liter, on the right the Porsche Carrera RSR with 2.8-liter engine

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - at the 1973 Geneva Motor Show

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - Presentation at the 1973 Geneva Motor Show

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Model Harriadnie Beau also drives a Porsche Carrera RS (1973)

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - Steering wheel and dashboard

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - sparse sports equipment in the lightweight version of the 1974 assembly year

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - Driver and passenger seat

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - year of assembly 1974, comfortable door lining on the Touring version

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - year of assembly 1974, tires on Fuchs forged wheels for rear (left) and front

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - View into the engine compartment of an early version

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - Trunk and spare wheel

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - Determining the cw value

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Porsche Carrera RS (1973) - Porsche advertises with sporting successes

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Summary

A striking rear spoiler was the hallmark of the then new Carrera RS, with which you flew from one bend to the next. However, few people had any idea how difficult it was to drive the car fast, as Porsche driving took some getting used to. This test report from 1973 documents the comparison of the fastest German production car with and without a spoiler. Was it just a status symbol or did it set the Carrera apart from the normal 911?

This article contains the following chapters

Worries about the tires
Trouble with the duck tail
Troubles with spoilers and weight
The homologation circus
What are the spoilers good for?
Driving a Porsche: It takes some getting used to
Technical data & measured values

Estimated reading time: 15min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Porsche was simply overwhelmed recently: Too much capacity went to the one-make world championship and the CanAm project; the 911 for racing came up short. First it had to bow to the homologation confusion (the original intention was to homologate it as a touring car), and later often to its opponents from the TW camp. When, at the beginning of 1972, there were signs that Group 2 and Group 4 cars could race against each other - as in the German Racing Championship - and, moreover, that a one-make world championship for these cars was on the cards from 1975, Zuffenhausen came to its senses: the 911 was revised. There were a few handicaps: too little displacement, tires that were too narrow, a lack of driving stability and too much weight.

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