1990 Porsche 911 RSR Evocation

The 1970s represented a truly 'rich vein' of Motorsport success for Porsche, regulation changes to 'level the playing field' only tested their resolve and ingenuity. The Porsche 917 was rendered obsolete by late 1972 with rule changes to the World Sportscar Championship now geared for"Prototypes". Without sufficient time to respond and complete a build program, Porsche switched their attention to the European GT Championship, developing still further the successful 2.7 RS. If ever there was justice, it prevailed in early 1973 when a Porsche 2.8 RSR, virtually 'out of the box', won the 24hrs of Daytona in a field littered with Prototypes. Unsurprisingly, it totally dominated European GTs (considering its 911 underpinnings, a remarkable achievement). The 911 RSR derivatives would remain a 'nemesis' to manufacturers for a decade. Porsche entries won all of the 'Blue Riband' events - Le Mans, Daytona, Sebring, etc. with regularity. The RSR proved just perfect for the 1973 Targa Florio, the Lennep/Muller pairing winning in a Martini Racing Carrera. Only 49 Carrera RSRs were built by Porsche, very few remain as road cars and are subsequently fantastically expensive. Considering how dominating and effective these cars were, the build execution was relatively simple.

This RSR replica started life with a great basis - a 1990, 964 Carrera 2. In 2011 the owner of the Carrera 2 took his car to 'Pro-9' in London with the brief of getting the car into 'trackday spec' so he could get more out of it. Pro-9 stripped back to the bare metal, any rust was treated and a full roll cage was welded into the car. During this process, the air conditioning, interior, electric windows, bumpers and sun roof were all ditched to save weight. The car was then re-bodied with GRP bumpers and deck lid and the doors, roof, bonnet and front wings were replaced with carbon fibre panels. All of the glass, apart from the windscreen was replaced with Perspex. The interior was modified with lightweight RSR carpets, RS door cards and wind up windows, an Alcantara dashboard, period steering wheel and WEVO short shift. Naturally, all of these measures created a significant weight saving and effectively lowered the centre of gravity.

The standard seats were replaced with Recaro 'Pole Positions' and 4-point harnesses were attached. The gearbox and transmission are standard but a KAAZ limited slip differential has been fitted.

The engine was built by Autofarm in 2012 from a low mileage 993 3.6 engine, using a lightweight flywheel, Jenvey throttle bodies, bespoke stainless steel exhaust and 'Motec 600' management system, resulting in a Dyno reading of just over 300 bhp. The car has covered about 200 miles since the rebuild.

For the suspension, anti-roll bars were added and new Bilstein coil-overs fitted with everything fully adjustable. Bespoke 17-inch Fuchs alloys were imported from Germany (8" front-10" rear) to accommodate the larger 'Turbo' discs all round with 4- pot calipers. Michelin 'Sport Cup' tyres are fitted all round.

In 2014 Fernsport at Silverstone fitted a plumbed-in fire extinguisher and electrical cut off switch. The paint work is an accurate replication of the 1973 2.8 RSR factory cars that won the Daytona 24 hours in that year, with an accurate 'Martini' livery. The car was featured in an 8-page article in'Total 911' magazine in June of 2012, and they waxed lyrical about the car's performance, handling and presentation.

This is a very capable track car with similar performance characteristics to the original '73 race cars, but thanks to the Motec electronics and the adjustable suspension is considerably more civilised to drive on the road.