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. Porsche boss Ernst Fuhrmann recognised great potential for the 911 in motorsport from 1972 on, and therefore good advertising potential for Porsche. In June 1972, a first RSR (standing for ‘Renn-Sport-Rennen‘, or ‘racing-sport-racing’) prototype with a significantly widened body started at the 1,000-kilometre race in Zeltweg on the Österreichring. As the unofficial Porsche factory entry, Günter Steckkönig drove a lightly camouflaged prototype racing car straight to 10th place overall.
After the racing debut of a first official 911 Carrera RSR at the Tour de Corse in November 1972, Porsche decided to begin a new chapter in the success story of the 911 in racing for 1973. Porsche planned to enter a works team in the 1973 World Championship for Makes, including top drivers Herbert Müller and Gijs van Lennep.
In early February of that year, an RSR piloted by Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood crossed the finish line at the 24 Hours of Daytona with a 22-lap lead. It was a brilliant start to the new season. In March, at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the two drivers won again, with the support of Dave Helmick. Endurance races followed at Vallelunga, Le Mans, Dijon, Monza and Spa-Francorchamps, where 911 RSR racing cars and their drivers were successful. Müller and van Lennep also won at the famously tough Targa Florio in May 1973. “The victory was important for us because it showed that the RSR, with the larger rear wing, was very fast on circuits and rally stages,” recalls Falk. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June 1973, Müller and van Lennep finished fourth overall in a 911 Carrera RSR. At the International Race of Champions (IROC) held in October 1973, Roger Penske from the US fielded 12 identical 911 Carrera RSR 3.0 cars in which drivers from different racing classes competed against each other.
In its first season, the 911 Carrera RSR won three international and seven national championships – providing the foundations for the success of the 911 for decades to come. In addition to the factory team, many private drivers and teams chose the 911 Carrera RSR and achieved many victories in national and international events over the next few years.
Porsche also entered the 911 in rallying. The East African Safari in April 1973 and the 1,000 Lakes Rally in August 1973 were seen as test runs for future rally entries. Perfectly positioned, Porsche entered the East African Rally in April 1974 with two specially prepared 911 RS cars. Björn Waldegård and Hans Thorszelius finished second overall after 5,000 km in the energy-sapping rally that tested cars to the limits of endurance – and only the cancellation of one stage caused Porsche to miss out on a well-deserved victory.
With the 911 Carrera RS 2.7, however, Porsche was not only developing a sports car for the racetrack, but a car that customers could use as a daily driver as well as for racing. It took the grand touring car concept to the racetrack. Contemporary advertising put it like this: “Its repertoire: by road to the race and home again. Monday to the office. Tuesday to Geneva. Back in the evening. Wednesday shopping. City. Traffic jam. Creeping traffic, but no soot on the plugs, no complaint from the clutch. Thursday country roads, motorway, switchbacks, dirt roads, construction sites, Friday only a short distance to drive and repeated cold starts. Saturday with holiday luggage to Finland. Carrera RS – full of inexhaustible reserves in both sprints and marathons.”
