911 Carrera RS 2.7

Fifty years of the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7

‘Germany’s fastest sports car’

‘Ducktail’, ‘RS’ or ‘2.7’. Today, the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 is known by many nicknames. But its significance remains unique: it was the fastest German production car of its day and is the first series production model with front and rear spoilers – the latter earning it the ‘ducktail’ moniker.

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Body and aerodynamics

The first with a rear spoiler

The body was all about weight reduction. Thin sheet metal, thin windows, plastic parts and the elimination of insulation helped decrease the total vehicle weight of the racing cars to less than the 900 kg required for the new model to be homologated.

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Innovation

Patents, tests and technology transfer

On 5 August 1972, the three Porsche employees filed patent disclosure document No. 2238704 with the German Patent Office.

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Chassis

Different tyre sizes for more traction

The engineers also set to work on the chassis. Porsche had experience by this stage of racing with wider rear wheels, so the development engineers tried this out on the 911 Carrera RS 2.7 as well.

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Naming and design

The Carrera name

To clearly differentiate it from other 911 models, Porsche started looking for a new name under which to sell its most powerful model in mid-1972. For the first time, the ‘Carrera’ script adorned the side profile between the wheel arches on the 911 Carrera RS 2.7.

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Race history and everyday use

The first racing successes

Following the change in regulations for sports prototypes, which prevented further development due to the new three-litre displacement limit, a very successful era ended for Porsche.

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The road to the future

The Head of Porsche GT Cars on the 911 Carrera RS 2.7

Andreas Preuninger, Head of Porsche GT Cars, has a special relationship with the 911 Carrera RS 2.7: The first car he was in charge of at Porsche was a 996 GT3 RS. In developing it, he drew inspiration from the 911 Carrera RS 2.7, and it became the ultimate solution for motorsport.

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