Largely considered to be the "IT" car over the past 12 months, the Porsche 911 (991) GT3 has earned some remarkably high praise. It wasn't just from one or two publications though. Just about everyone that got behind the wheel boasted about it being automotive heaven.
Even though Porsche and Porschephiles went through a rude awakening when the company decided to replace ALL of the sold GT3's motors due to spontaneous fires, the GT3 still walked away with accolades. I guess it was quite convincing.
But if you haven't taken a dive into Porsche history, especially the 911, then you probably don't have a clue as to where the GT3's lightweight and track-focused intent germinated. The Carrera RS was the spawn of a new era for the boys and girls from Stuttgart.
The amazing storytellers at Petrolicious pay homage to this vehicle and one of its respective owners, Mark Haddawy in the clip below.
In the early 1970s, Porsche found itself in need of a street car that would allow the fellows in Stuttgart to meet homologation rules for the Group 4 Special GT series. What resulted was the 1973 2.7 Carrera RS, a brawny brother to the 911. With its ducktail rear spoiler, big brakes, and flared rear fenders, the car was an instant classic. Indeed, the car was so popular that Porsche opted to go well beyond the 500-car minimum required for homologation, ultimately producing more than 1500 of the Carrera RS model in 1973.
Over the past 40 years, the Carrera RS has earned a reputation as the greatest dual-purpose Porsche ever produced, the very essence of balanced quickness. In 1973, however, owing to some killjoys' concerns about bumpers and emissions and excess glee, the RS was not certified for importation into the United States. And yet, somehow, four of these cars snuck across the border into the US. One of them, serial number 1309, ended up in the hands of famed race car driver and Porsche distributor Vasek Polek.
Number 1309 now makes its home with Mr. Mark Haddawy, who seldom misses a chance to sling it through the canyons near his home in Los Angeles, California. As Mark points out, the RS, despite being a 40-year-old car, still holds its own against its modern streetmates. After all, even by today's standards, the RS is fast: it covers zero to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds and sports a top speed of 150 mph.
The mystique of the 2.7 RS, however, goes beyond sheer statistics and, at times, can defy description.
"I've driven a lot of different sports cars," says Mark. "There's something about the RS that's magical. It's definitely more than the sum of all of its parts."
For now, then, we'll just call the RS what it is: a race car for the street.