For Sale at Auction: 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera RS in Carmel, California

Chassis No. WP0ZZZ96ZNS490379
Engine No. 62N80818

With the 964-generation 911 Carrera RS, Porsche revived the lightweight, road-going formula it had not pursued in any volume since the 1973 Carrera RS. Conceived as a road-legal counterpart to the contemporary Carrera Cup racer, the RS shed approximately 285 pounds against the standard 911 Carrera through an aluminum hood, thinner glass, a smaller battery, and a pared-back wiring loom. Sound insulation and carpeting were reduced, door panels used pull straps in place of handles, and the stereo, power steering, and airbags were deleted.

Its 3.6-liter M64/03 air-cooled flat-six produced 260 horsepower, driving the rear wheels through a five-speed manual transaxle with a racing clutch, single-mass flywheel, and ZF asymmetric limited-slip differential. A 40-mm lowered, stiffened suspension and magnesium Cup wheels completed the uncompromising specification. Pent-up demand for a true lightweight 911 was such that Porsche sold more than 2,000 examples across all variants without offering the car in North America, where buyers instead received the milder RS America. Today, the 964 RS ranks among the most coveted air-cooled 911 variants, long admired by American collectors yet only recently made widely attainable under the 25-year import rule.

One of the 1,913 "Basic" Carrera RS examples built, chassis 490379 was invoiced on 22 October 1991 and delivered new to Porsche's Spanish importer, specified in classic Guards Red and without air conditioning for the Portuguese/Spanish market. A struggling local economy left it unsold, and in early 1992 the Ulm sports-car specialist Auto Graner acquired it as an unregistered new car and re-imported it to Germany. A Porsche factory letter dated 20 February 1992 certified the car as new and unregistered, supporting its customs clearance at Ulm on 6 March 1992. These import papers remain on file.

The Carrera RS was subsequently registered on 23 September 1993, to Josef Stiglbrunner of Ritzing, Bavaria. Stiglbrunner registered it only for the warmer months each year, withdrawing it from the road through the Bavarian winters, a practice reflected in the seasonal entries recorded in its German papers. The car remained with him for a remarkable 26 years until his passing in 2019, after which it passed to a close friend and fellow Porsche enthusiast in Bavaria before being acquired by the present custodian and exported to the United States through Thomas Josef Schmitz, a recognized authority on the 964- and 993 -generation Carrera RS.

Presently displaying 58,673 kilometers (�36,458 miles) at the time of cataloging, the car retains its factory stickers, stamps, and decals, and recent paint-meter readings indicate original thickness of its Guards Red finish across all panels. Now offered from a respected Maryland-based Porsche collection, it was inspected and serviced upon arrival in the United States by At Speed Motors, who noted that the "car drives wonderfully and performs as expected," returning a clean bill of health and leaving it ready to be driven and enjoyed.