Developed a variant of the 911 for racing on the track and in rallies, it was the fastest German production car of its time and the first production model with a front and rear spoiler,
About 50 years ago, Porsche started developing the 911 Carrera RS 2.7. “It was intended as a racing homologation vehicle, a very light and fast sports car,” recalls Peter Falk, then head of production vehicle testing at Porsche. It became a track and rally car with many technical innovations, it was the most powerful version of the first generation of the new sports car from Stuttgart and the first 911 with the surname “Carrera”.
“Ducktail”, “RS” or “2.7”. The Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 has many nicknames these days. It was the fastest German production car of its time and the first production model to have a front and rear spoiler, earning it the nickname “Entenbürzel” (“duck’s tail”). For example, Porsche set a trend in 1972: the rear spoiler on road cars.
From May 1972 about 15 engineers took care of the development. Among them were Tilman Brodbeck and Hermann Burst, as well as other production managers. All of them have worked intensively on improving the weight, aerodynamics, engine and chassis.
Porsche had planned a production of 500 units and the homologation of the 911 Carrera RS 2.7 in Group 4, the GT special cars. Therefore, it became a vehicle that was suitable for road use and that customers could also use in competition. On October 5, 1972, it was presented at the Paris Motor Show, in the Porte de Versailles, and by the end of November the planned 500 had already been sold. Surprised by the success, Porsche tripled production: 1,580 units had been produced by July 1973, so the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 was also homologated within Group 3 from number 1,000. Of those 1,580 units, 17 were the base version; 1,308 the Touring version (optional package M472); 200 the illuminated Sport version (optional package M471) and 55 copies especially for competition.
With the illuminated 911 Carrera RS 2.7 (M471), the interior was reduced to the essentials, depending on the customer’s wishes and the production date. Among other things, the rear seat, floor mats, clock and armrests were removed. At the customer’s request, two lightweight bucket seats replaced the heavier sports seats. Even the windows were made of fine glass and the Porsche Crest was glued to the hood. Compared to the Touring package (M472), the Sport was 115 kilograms lighter, with a curb weight of 960 kilograms. The price of the simplest car was 34,000 German marks, to which 700 marks for the Sportpack M471 and 2,500 for the Touring had to be added. As a pure racing car, Porsche developed the 911 Carrera RSR (M491) with, among other things, a larger cylinder capacity. There were no concessions here.
Developed by Hans Mezger and Valentin Schäffer, the new 2.7-litre, fuel-injected six-cylinder boxer engine generated 210 hp at 6,300 rpm and 255 Nm at 5,100 rpm. The increase in cylinder capacity was made possible, among other things, by a thin Nikasil coating on the cylinders. In order to remain functional in everyday use, the compression ratio, valve timing and diameter have not changed from the 2.4 liter engine. In the Sport version, the power made it possible to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.8 seconds. This made the 911 Carrera RS 2.7 the first production car to break the six-second mark in tests by the German magazine auto, motor und sport. The maximum speed was more than 245 km/h. The data for the Touring version was 6.3 seconds and 240 km/h respectively. The RS 2.7 is the perfect synthesis between weight, performance, aerodynamics and stability.
The bodywork was all about weight reduction: with thin plates, thin windows, plastic parts and no insulators, the total weight of the racing units had to drop below 900 kilograms to be homologated. At the same time, aerodynamics had to be improved: minimizing the lift of the front and rear axles at high speeds in order to get more neutral reactions.
Engineers Hermann Burst and Tilman Brodbeck, together with stylist Rolf Wiener, developed a rear spoiler, tested in the wind tunnel and on test tracks. The aim was to maintain the character of the 911, compensate for the disadvantage of the rear rake with appropriate, albeit stylistically acceptable, measures and thus improve the aerodynamics of the 911.
Initially, during testing, veneers and logs were used to shape the dovetail. In the wind tunnel, after checking the flow at the rear, the engineers changed the trailing edge. With the car supported on crossbars with a graduation on each axle, they checked the pressure values. After three days in the wind tunnel, with three different variants, the engineers set some initial limits for the height and width of the rear spoiler.
The new find, the “duck tail”, pushed the 911 Carrera RS 2.7 against the road at high speeds and provided extra air to cool the rear engine. The effect was achieved without increasing the resistance, on the contrary.
The engineers also worked on the chassis: Porsche had experience with wider racing rear wheels, so the developers also tested them on the 911 Carrera RS 2.7. “We wanted to improve traction and stability with wide tires on the rear axle, because the weight is heavier there,” recalls Peter Falk. For the first time, a production Porsche had different tire sizes on the front and rear axle. Fuchs 6 J x 15 forged wheels were fitted with 185/70 VR 15 tires at the front; at the rear they were 7 J x 15 with tires 215/60 VR 15. To fit them, Porsche widened the body by 42 millimeters in the area of the rear wheel arches.
The name of the version comes from the “Carrera Panamericana”. In 1953 Porsche took the win in its category with the 550 Spyder. In 1954 he also took third overall with the 550 Spyder, against rivals with engines with much larger displacement. This led the brand to adopt the name of that test.
In subsequent years, Porsche used the Carrera name for more powerful vehicles with the 1954 Fuhrmann four-cam engine, such as the 356 A 1500 GS Carrera or the 356 B 2000 GS Carrera GT. The 1963 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS has the inscription on the rear and the 1965 906 Carrera 6 on the mudguard behind the front wheel arch. According to the statements of the time, Carrera was also conceived as a “manifestation of quality for a technical excellence that had proven its worth on circuits and in rallies”. In other words, it was the ideal name for the future top-of-the-line version of the 911.
In addition to the “Carrera” lettering, Porsche offered other distinguishing features: a range of 29 exterior colours, some clear, of which 27 went into production, including colors such as bright yellow, red or blood orange. In addition, Porsche also fulfilled individual color requests from customers. The rims matched the tone of the bodywork or the Carrera inscriptions on the sides, which can have colors such as red, blue or green for white vehicles. The prominent meaning of the letters “Carrera” persists to this day, as does the famous abbreviation RS, which appears systematically on the particularly sporty 911s.
With the 911 Carrera RS 2.7, Porsche designed not only a racing car, but one that customers could use in everyday life as well as in racing. The advertisement at the time read: “His itinerary: on the way to the race and back home. Monday to the office. Tuesday, to Geneva. I’ll be back in the afternoon. Wednesday shopping. City. Jam. Slow traffic, but no soot on the spark plugs and no clutch complaints. Thursday, minor roads, highway, curves, dirt roads, works. Friday only short rides and repeated cold starts. Saturday with luggage on holiday to Finland. Carrera RS, packed with resources in both sprints and marathons.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
