1992 Porsche 911 (964) Carrera RS

A few years ago, the Porsche 964 was a bargain. Relatively unloved by enthusiasts, it lived in the shadow of the 993, and potential fans lived in fear of the serious bills legend said it could generate. Not anymore. Today, the 964"s rightful reputation is restored as the classic Porsche that"s anything but an old-school 911 with modernistic abilities, and one that is thoroughly worthy of consideration by modern buyers. Launched in 1989, the 964 is arguably the 911 that most faithfully combines modernity with the classic elements that made the car famous. Much money was spent at the time by Porsche with the aim of making it a car for the Nineties while still retaining the visual appearance of a model from the Sixties.

The world of the 964 was not complete, however, until the arrival of the RS. The lightweight 964 RS was the first production car produced by Porsche to be given the famous 'RS' designation since the legendary 911 Carrera 2.7 and 3.0 litre models in the early seventies. At 1230 Kg, it was some 10% lighter than the standard Carrera 2, the savings mainly as a result of using an aluminium luggage compartment lid and a new rear facing panel, manual windows, RSR door panels and pull straps, thinner glass (except windscreen), Recaro bucket seats, radio & speaker deletion, rear seat deletion, lightweight wiring harness, central locking & alarm deletion, no underbody protection, and finally no luggage compartment carpets.

Suspension for the RS was adopted from the Carrera Cup racing car at 40mm lower with uprated stiffer springs and sport shock absorbers, and a limited-slip differential was standard, The braking system was borrowed from the 911 Turbo and Carrera Cup cars with cross drilled vented discs and 4 piston callipers including two-stage ABS, and the 17inch magnesium alloys and oval wing mirrors were also fugitives from the Turbo parts bin.

The 1992, left-hand drive, manual gearbox, 964 Carrera RS on offer here has just returned from Japan and is finished in Rubystone Red. Not the most accurate description for a colour. If you had never seen it in the flesh, Rubystone Red conjures up images of a kind of burgundy hue in the mind's eye. Perhaps one of those dark red Mica pigmented paint schemes so popular with the silver-haired buyers of Jaguar XJs. Of course, if you have any Porsche knowledge at all, you"ll know that it is, in fact, closer to screaming Lipstick Pink/Purple. Subtle it is not. But there is one Porsche that seems to have made Rubystone its 'de facto' colour - the 964 RS. Pastel shades abound RS Porsches, they seem made for the job. Speed Yellow, Maritime blue, those solid blocks of colour work really well but Rubystone has found it"s natural home covering the lightweight panels of a 964 RS. It probably still requires a degree of resolve and self-confidence to own a Rubystone Porsche, but if you're in touch with your feminine side, you should be fine. The interior looks to be in excellent condition and fairly conventional in Black Leather if you don't count the seat panels in Pink, Lilac and Purple.

The odometer on this two owner car currently reads 41,000kms. It has a good history file up until 2002 and there are a number of service bills, letters from Porsche ( Build letter /Spec authenticity etc), recent bills from Leicester Porsche, plus the V5, older MOTs and the current MOT expiring on 31/08/17.

This is a superb specimen of a legendary model and it's Rubystone Red!