Vehicle Description
Chassis No. 9113600285
Every 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 is a special car. It is the
halo car of many important Porsche collections or often the
representative Porsche sought to complete a well-rounded collection
of vintage sports cars. Of the first 500 first-series cars built to
homologate the RS for the FIA's Group 4 (Special GT), Porsche
committed to building 130 to M471 "Sport" specification commonly
known as Lightweights, which, in Porsche's words were, "Conceived
for customer racing but also suitable for the road." Among the M471
Lightweight conversion modifications made to the stripped-out
homologation spec was a passenger seat with a headrest, a glovebox
door, 7x15 in Fuchs wheels at the rear (instead of 6x15 in),
torsion bar covers, partial undercoating, and anti-roll bars.
1973
Built as a first series M471 Lightweight, 911 Carrera RS 2.7 No.
285 was completed in December of 1972 and finished in Grand Prix
White with Red Carrera side stripes. Unlike most of the 1580
Carrera 2.7s built this was not to be its final form. Designated as
a factory-owned "H�ndler Nr. 100" it was just one of 25 RS 2.7 and
RSR 2.8 kept by the factory as this Carrera RS, along with its
sister car No. 288, was brought to the racing department for
modifications to further convert this already special Lightweight
Carrera RS into a factory rally car for the 1973 East African
Safari.
A thirst for adventure may be the best way to describe Porsche's
early efforts in preparing factory 911s for competition in Kenya
and Tanzania. While the circuit racing program in Europe was less
expensive and technically more applicable to their road cars, the
Safari was the most important rally that Porsche had not yet won.
Modifications to both cars were substantial. The ride height was
raised for a total ground clearance of 250 mm. Steel bumpers were
installed during normal production with additional ram bars added.
Chassis reinforcements were welded in, heavier-duty shock absorbers
were specified, both cars received aluminum skid plates, and a
larger, competition-spec 110-liter fuel tank. Finally, the exterior
featured "spectator handles" above the rear quarter windows (to
allow for those by the roadside to assist if needed), additional
forward hood lighting, hood-mounted horns, and matte black graphics
similar to the three 911 STs that competed in Africa in 1971.
Securing sponsorship from Bosch, both cars, along with a third
works-prepared RS entered for a British team, were painted yellow,
liveried, loaded with rally equipment (ropes, shovels, winches, and
spare parts), and sent to Nairobi with a small crew of mechanics.
Service vehicles were secured locally. Like many teams, Porsche
found itself underprepared for the perilous muddy African roads.
Bj�rn Waldeg�rd and Hans Thorszelius suffered through a start-stop
rally. Just three hours from the finish after 5,300 km, chassis
number 285, wearing start number 10 and Stuttgart plate "S-AR
7909", suffered engine issues from a loosened oil pipe on a
particularly fast section, resulting in a DNF. The Porsche Safari
team returned to Stuttgart disappointed but not ready to throw in
the towel.
Still painted yellow with Bosch sponsorship and retaining its S-AR
7909 plate, chassis number 285 was sent north to compete in the
1,000 Lakes Rally, the only other factory rally entry that year and
a sharp contrast to the mud and heat of springtime Africa. Deemed
to be in better condition than 288 after the Safari, chassis number
285 was fitted with a new suspension setup to handle the large
jumps and gravelly forest stages of Finland with the
forward-thinking Porsche team using this as a development
opportunity to trial this uprated suspension for their return to
Africa in 1974. Porsche Local Finnish ace and former Porsche
factory driver Leo Kinnunen with start number 3 won a remarkable 20
of the 43 special stages over three days in early August finishing
3rd overall - a very respectable finish for the car after its hard
luck in Africa.
1974
Still reeling from their disappointment of 1973, Porsche invested
additional resources for both factory 1974 East African Safari
entries for 1974. Preparations began in earnest for the very same
cars that ran in 1973. The Achilles Heels of the previous year
(shocks and transmissions) were rectified. Both factory cars were
reliveried, this time in the fetching white and blue colors of
German logistics company K�hne & Nagel. While Bj�rn Waldeg�rd /
Hans Thorszelius returned in 1974 they piloted the sister car No.
288. Two-time Safari winner Edgar Herrmann and co-driver Hans
Schuller manned No. 285, now wearing start number 41. It had been
especially wet that year and with the rain, once again came the
mud. The rally organizers were forced to cancel a particularly
muddy stage where 72 of the 99 teams became stuck. In fact, with a
Fiat team stuck in the mud and blocking the road, Herrmann and
Schuller went to assist and had their open car raided of maps,
stage notes, and licenses, all of which were gone when they
returned. Familiar with the course, they continued on until a front
spindle failure took them out of the running. It was not all bad
news for the team as the sister car finished second, Porsche's best
finish yet in what was considered one of the most difficult rallies
on Earth. Interestingly, Porsche returned to Stuttgart with the 2nd
place finisher but elected to sell the stranded 285 to a local
enthusiast.
1974 - 2005
Registered with the Kenyan authorities in 1975 it was reportedly
rallied across Kenya and Tanzania for a number of years. Later this
RS Lightweight received red paint and was spotted wearing a
Kenyan-issued license plate "KPU 539". Remarkably, to this day, it
retains both its Kenyan license plate and its original title
document issued in 1975. It was later acquired in 1992 by Surinder
Thatthi, a former rally champion co-driver and FIA World Motor
Sport Council representative. While owned by Thatthi, the car
underwent a partial restoration with a repaint in white and the
intent of returning it to roadworthy condition. Eventually,
curiosity got the better of Thatthi, who began researching the
chassis number. In the early-2000s Gabrielle Mahler-Kurzenberger
and Uwe Kurzenberger, who were the President and Secretary of the
German Carrera RS Club, were contacted by a local shop about the
car and quickly boarded a flight to Nairobi to bring the RS 2.7
back to Germany. What they found in Kenya was in fact chassis
number 285, yet the body had deteriorated and it had suffered from
a seized engine. Undeterred, the Kurzenberger's entrusted their
factory rally restoration project to Eckhard Spreng just outside of
Ludwigsburg, with the RS Lightweight returning to Germany for the
first time in a quarter-century. The Lightweight was with Spreng
for three years for a full restoration where no aspect was
overlooked to not only return it to the road but also the condition
required to enter into vintage rallies across Germany. With an
edict to retain as much originality as possible, Spreng went to
work disassembling and stripping the RS to bare metal, restoring
the reinforced unibody, and many of the custom rally modifications
that it left the factory with. Notably, many of its original rally
features were still intact, including its original reinforced body
parts. It was mechanically sorted by Manfred Rugen as well, with a
completely new 2.7-liter engine and its transmission receiving a
complete rebuild. The suspension, noted to be the same as it left
Porsche upon disassembly was restored as well. The finishing
touches were to retu...for more information please contact the
seller.
