Fantasy Junction

Description

1973 Porsche Carrera RS M471 Lightweight
s/n 911 360 1079 engine no. 6631054
Grand Prix White with Blue Accents and Black Interior

The legendary Carrera RS is widely regarded to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest roadgoing Porsche ever. Its primary purpose was to homologate the car for competition use, which required the construction of a minimum of five hundred examples within twelve months. Eventually, the cars proved to be so popular that the production run was expanded several times, with an eventual total of 1580 cars being built. The cars themselves featured larger more powerful engines, flared rear wheel arches to accommodate wider wheels, numerous deletions and alterations to reduce weight, improved suspension, and a few cosmetic alterations, which would become the car’s trademark. With its distinctive contrasting striping and wheels and the simple and functional `burzel` or ducktail, the styling of the RS is iconic.

The RS was available in both M472 or “touring” and M471 “lightweight” forms, with the touring models often being quite highly equipped, with options such as sunroof, leather upholstery, and Blaupunkt radios. In contrast, the M471 incorporated further deletions to reduce the weight even further. The bumpers were fiberglass instead of steel, and the deco strips were removed. The cars featured elemental lightweight door panels, lightweight carpeting, almost no sound insulation, and rudimentary racing type seats. The cars had no rear seats or clock, and had no engine lid release latch or cable, and the engine lid was affixed with simple rubber toggles instead. The M471 specification also included lightweight glass, non-opening rear quarter windows, no spare, and no right battery. At about 900kg, the resulting car weighed approximately 200kg less than the touring model, and just 200 of the 1580 Carrera RS’s built were M471s. While all RS’s are excellent driving cars, the M471 is certainly one of the fastest and most visceral. It epitomizes the ultimate Porsche experience with its immense tactility, balance, and nimbleness. Very few cars are as communicative and engaging as a properly set up 911 of this vintage, especially a lightweight Carrera RS.

According to the authoritative survey of the Carrera RS written by Thomas Gruber and Georg Konradsheim, this particular example was sold new in West Germany, and was originally finished in the Grand Prix White with blue accents color scheme that it still wears today. The car is a matching numbers example, including the transmission, and has much known history from new. Completed in April of 1973, only a few months prior to the termination of RS production, this car was sold new by Porsche dealer Mahag to its first owner who had it for two years and drove it on the street only. Its second owner was a Mr. Alfred Späh of West Germany, who bought in order to drive it competitively. He competed in national slalom events, as well as hillclimb and circuit events. In 1976, he placed 3rd in the uphill championships, and in 1977, he was champion of Baden-Wurttemberg racing region.

In January of 1978, Mr. Späh sold the car to a United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel stationed in Germany by the name of Roger Kruckeberg. He eventually had the car shipped the car to the United States (Oregon), where he carefully drove and maintained the car, using it for autocrosses on occasion. Mr. Kruckeberg sold the car to another Oregonian in 1988, Mark Heininge of Aurora, Oregon who also used the car sparingly. At this time, the car was still in original condition with less than 50,000 kilometers on it. He sold it in 1989 to Ted Halton of Portland Oregon, who kept the car for 10 years and drove it very little as well. The car passed through the hands of a few interim owners, eventually being acquired by its current owner, an avid Porsche collector, a couple years ago. The car comes with a number of period photos, including some color prints from the 1980’s, as well as two black and white photos from the 1970’s, depicting the car in competition.

The car has covered less than 54,000 kilometers, and remains a lovely and substantially unmolested example in excellent condition. The car has been recently serviced (June 2009) by the very highly regarded David Loop European, to include the replacement of shift bushings, hood supports, lubrication of throttle linkage, replacement for the engine compartment insulation, new brake pads (front and rear), brake fluid flush, oil and filter change, and clutch cable boot. The distributor cap and ignition rotor were also replaced. More recently in August of 2009, the car was comprehensively inspected by Porsche Expert Ben Kirchner, whose overall impression of the car was extremely positive. He marveled particularly at what a superb driving example this is, and at its excellent mechanical health. A leakdown test revealed figures at or below 5% on all six cylinders.

The car is in great cosmetic condition overall, with a great presentation that happily balances the freshness of a recently restored car with the honesty of an unrestored one. The body is excellent, with straight panels and great gaps, and the paint has excellent luster, though a bit of orange peel. Close inspection reveals a few chips that have been touched up. The car retains its original orange bar hood crest, which has some patina. The metal trim is likely original and is excellent considering this, with only light scratching. The glass and lights are excellent on the whole, and the car retains its original non-opening lightweight rear quarter windows, which still bear the Glaverbel brand. The car is fitted with twin Durant mirrors in excellent shape. The wheels have been beautifully refinished and wear nice Bridgestone RE71 tires.

The interior is also very nice, retaining the car’s correct lightweight equipment in excellent shape, including the door panels, seats, carpets, and rubber mats. The blank-off plate for the clock is still in place, and the car was built shortly after the introduction of the 300kph speedometer in the RS, which this car retains. The dashboard is excellent with no cracking, warping, or discoloration, and the instruments are also excellent.

The engine compartment and trunk are both extremely clean and nicely detailed, though not quite to show standards. The trunk hardware is excellent across the board, and the car retains its correct RS plastic fuel tank. The wiring is tidy, and the painted surfaces in nice shape. The engine compartment is also quite correct and clean, with correct type hardware throughout and the correct red fan shroud. The car has been fitted with the critical Carrera oiled chain tensioners. The cadmium plating is very nice throughout.

This is an absolute knockout example to drive. The chassis is composed and coherent in a way that speaks to this car’s low mileage, and the overall feel is extremely responsive and tight. The engine is a delight, being powerful and responsive, and the fuel injection is marvelously tuned, a feat that is often difficult to achieve with MFI-equipped cars. The engine revs extremely enthusiastically across the rev range, and significantly reduced weight of the M471 makes the car exceedingly quick. The gearbox is very nice overall, though care must be used with the first gear synchromesh. The brakes operate very well and pull the car up straight.

This is an outstanding opportunity to acquire an exceptionally rare and fundamentally unmolested car. Since these cars have a pronounced competition bent to them, they are often modified for competition. This one has escaped that fate and retains its unique lightweight RS equipment in excellent condition, and has obviously been under the care of dedicated and sympathetic owners. Its low mileage, honesty, and superlative driving experience are the satisfying result of the car’s careful stewardship, making this a truly exceptional example of one of Porsche’s greatest road cars of all time.

The above vehicle information is complete and accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time it is posted to this website. Corrections or additional information is always appreciated. All advertised prices exclude government fees and taxes, any finance charges, any dealer document preparation charge, and any emission testing charge. Vehicles are subject to prior sale. All advertised to be true but not guaranteed. We assume no liability for errors or omissions.

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Fantasy Junction  •  510-653-7555  •  1145 Park Ave, Emeryville, CA 94608