PROVENANCE
Andy Cheng, Taiwan (acquired in 1990)
Larry Bowman, Menlo Park, California (acquired circa 2000)
Shane Mattaway, Coral Gables, Florida (acquired circa 2003)
David Mohlman, California (acquired from the above 2005)
Richard Moran, Irvine, California (acquired from the above in 2005)
David Mohlman, California (reacquired from the above 2006)
David Lebrun, New York (acquired from the above in 2007)
David Mohlman, California (reacquired from the above in 2008)
Alan Frick, California (acquired from the above in 2008)
David Mohlman, California (reacquired from the above in 2008)
Garvin Brown III, Louisville, Kentucky (acquired from the above in 2009)
David Mohlman, California (reacquired from the above in 2010)
William Grimsley, Sausalito, California (acquired 2010)
David Mohlman, California (re-acquired from the above in 2014)
Private Collection, London, UK (acquired in early 2014)
Current Owner (acquired from the above)

LITERATURE
Thomas Gruber and Georg Konradsheim, Carrera RS, 2nd edition, 2015, chassis no. listed on p. 362
John Starkey, Porsche 911R-RS-RSR: Revised & Enlarged 4th Edition, 2016

THIS CAR
The Carrera 2.7 RS – for Rennsport, or racing sport – was a homologation special that featured an enlarged 2.7-liter engine with Bosch mechanical fuel injection developing 210 hp, a revised and stiffened suspension, larger brakes, and wider rear wheels residing underneath flared wheel arches. A one-of-a-kind “duck tail” spoiler and front air dam reduced aerodynamic lift and improved handling.

A Lightweight (M471) model intended for competition use was largely stripped of its interior, while a Touring version (M472) was more luxuriously equipped and comfortable for road use. The Touring reached 0–60 mph in about 5.6 seconds, with a top speed of 150 mph, figures still admirable today.

Homologation rules required that 500 examples be sold to the public before a car could qualify for competition. Casting aside any doubts that buyers for the car could be found, orders flooded in when the RS was revealed at the September 1972 Paris Auto Show. To satisfy demand, Porsche committed to manufacturing a second series of cars – and later a third. By the end of 1973, 1,580 RS models had been built, as 911 RSR models won at the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the Targa Florio.

This 911 Carrera 2.7 RS is a desirable, first-series model using thinner gauge steel, making it lighter than later-series cars. Chassis 9113600029 was completed by the Porsche factory in October 1972 in M472 Touring specifications and outfitted with an electric sliding sunroof, as well as Recaro sport seats trimmed in black leatherette and corduroy. Listed within the pages of Carrera RS – the definitive survey of the model, written by Thomas Gruber and Georg Konradsheim – this particular example is the 19th RS produced, and one of 296 examples finished in eye-catching Light Yellow contrasted by Black Carrera graphics.

Sold new in Germany, this car’s early history is not well known. According to correspondence on file, this RS was acquired by Taiwan-based collector Andy Cheng in 1990. Mr. Cheng subsequently commissioned Jim Torres’ Burbank Coach Works, a Porsche specialist in Burbank, California, to perform a faithful and comprehensive restoration, starting with complete disassembly down to the bare tub. While not noted in either Carrera RS or the car’s Porsche Certificate of Authenticity as having been originally specified as such, Torres affirmed in a letter on file that the installation of the electric sliding sunroof was completed at the factory.

Since its restorative work, this RS has passed through the hands of several Porsche collectors in the US and Europe. Receipts on file from marque experts – including Andial, Carrera 6, Klub Sport Racing, Scott’s Independent Porsche Service, and Canepa – illustrate careful usage and meticulous maintenance, and total approximately $53,000 during a span from 2000 to 2014.

In 2014, the RS crossed the Atlantic to join a new UK-based owner before being sold to its current caretaker, who lavished further attention on his new acquisition with work done by specialist Autofarm; receipts for service work completed in June 2016 totaled almost $20,000 at current exchange rates.

Today, this wonderful RS, which retains its matching-numbers engine per the accompanying Porsche COA, benefits from continued care, with exceptions to the original specifications being leather seat upholstery, a rare stainless steel muffler skirt, through-the-grille driving lamps, wider Fuchs wheels, shorter gears, a limited-slip differential, and a Becker radio.

It has now been 45 years since Stuttgart produced what is one of the most highly sought Porsches of all time: the iconic 1973 911 Carrera 2.7 RS. Accompanied by books, tools, and service invoices, this RS was a collector’s car virtually from its introduction, and is Porsche in its most concentrated form.