Fantasy Junction

Description

1973 Porsche Carrera RS M471 Lightweight
s/n 911 360 1437 engine no. 6631398
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 road going 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. This example is a very correct third series car equipped with a fiberglass front bumper and steel rear, deco strips removed, opening rear quarter windows, short trailing arms, steel front cross member, and stone protection. Lightweight cars also featured elemental lightweight door panels, lightweight carpeting, almost no sound insulation, and rudimentary racing type seats. These cars had no rear seats or clock, although third series cars were fitted with engine lid release latch and cables, as well as rubber hold downs. The M471 specification also included 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 to Verona, Italy (selling dealer Automotor Spa DiHaas-Viaminiski), 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 (number 7831402), and engine. Completed in June of 1973- only a few months prior to the termination of RS production- this car was among the final 150 cars produced. Approximately 205 RS’s were originally finished in this desirable color combination, just 13% of the total production number.

The car has covered less than 106,000 kilometers (65,000 miles), and remains a lovely and substantially unmolested example in excellent condition. Since originally being imported to the US in 1991, this car has seen just 3,500 miles of use. During this time the car has been serviced Pray Automotive Restorations, Tom Strubinger, and Butch Stokes Automotive (including a transmission freshening), and Porsche specialists Autofarm. This work consists of regular maintenance and service work, as well as detail-oriented work to carefully bring the car up to its current level of preparation.

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, and is essentially free of any major flaws or use marks. Close inspection reveals one small (pencil eraser size) bubble on the leading edge of the driver’s door which was present in 1991 and has not changed in size since. The car retains its original orange bar hood crest. The metal trim is original and is excellent considering this, with only light scratching in selected areas. The glass and lights are excellent, and the car is fitted with as single exterior mirror in excellent shape. The wheels have been beautifully refinished and wear very nice Dunlop 185/60VR15 (front) and 215/60VR15 (rear) tires.

The interior is also very nice, retaining the car’s correct lightweight equipment in excellent shape, including the door panels, seats, and carpets. The blank-off plate for the clock is still in place, and the car was built 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 correct for a third series car, and nicely detailed. 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 very correct and clean, with correct type hardware throughout and the correct red fan shroud. 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 freshened gearbox is smooth as butter. The brakes operate very well and pull the car up straight.

On file we have records for work done back to the 1990s totaling approximately $25,000, the inspection report from respected RS expert Edmund Harris discussing how rare it is to find “an example is this excellent, unrestored, unmolested, and unmodified condition”, some original RS sales literature, and confirmation letters from Porsche noting this as an “original M471/competition kit” production, with supplementary notes that “there is no record of damage on file”- circa 1995.

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.

Inquire About This Car

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