By Autozine

911 Carrera RS 2.7 (1973)



Best handling of all

As Porsche gradually built more and more understeer and put more and more weight into the 911, many hard-core 911 fans regard the RS 2.7 of 1973 as the best 911 ever made. Yes, which 911 had crisper handling ? Which one had more uncorrupted steering feel ? Which one sang more beautiful than that 2.7 engine ? There were many modern 911s ran faster and handled more secure, but which of them offered so much driving fun ? No, the Carrera RS 2.7 remains to be the ultimate driving machine among all 911 family members.
RS 2.7 was so successful because of its racing nature - it was designed to dominate the Group 3 GT racing, and it did. Most effort was spent into 3 aspects - weight reduction, engine and downforce.

Weight: 960-975 kg kerb weight made it to be the lightest 911 of all, thus improved acceleration as well as sharpness of handling. Any means could save weight were adopted: thinner body panels, hollow doors, thinner safety glass, lighter buckets, no rear seats, no sound-deadening material and of course no equipment at all.

Engine: the 2.7 engine was one of the first road cars to use Nikasil-coated cylinder, which allowed the bore to grow from 84 to 90 mm while maintaining cylinder wall thickness (hence strength and reliability). Nikasil also reduced friction, thus enabling the 2.7 engine to produce a high specific output of 78 hp / litre. This record was not matched by any naturally aspirated 911 until 20 years later. (911 SC/RS was not included as it was more a racing model)

Downforce: for the first time, the 911 was available with a rear spoiler. This "ducktail" spoiler reduced the rear aerodynamic lift by as much as 75% at high speed.

As a result, the RS is quick even by today’s standard - it could sprint from rest to 60 mph in merely 5.5 seconds and top 150 mph. However, its biggest strength was always in corners. A dozen years ago I saw an illegal supercar street racing in a twisty countryside road (in front of my house). The white RS 2.7 was not really the leader, but it was leading a Carrera 3.2, a Turbo 3.3 and even a Countach QV ! believe or not !

Porsche built a total of 1,036 lightweight RS 2.7, with another 564 finished in fully-equipped form. Today, many of those RS are still racing in classic car races.

Model 911 Carrera RS 2.7
Year 1973
Layout Rear-engined, Rwd.
Engine Flat-6, sohc, 2v/cyl.
Engine Capacity 2687 c.c.
Bore x stroke 90 x 70.4 mm
Power 210 hp / 6,300 rpm
Torque 188 lbft / 5,100 rpm
Gearbox 5M
Top speed 149 mph*
0-60 (0-62.5) mph 5.5 sec*
0-100 (0-99.5) mph 13.0 sec*
Weight 960-975 kg