1974 Porsche Carrera IROC RSR Coupe

In October 1973, twelve of the top drivers in the world were invited to participate in IROC, the International Race of Champions. They competed in a series of four races, in which all equipment was equalized. The drivers were from Formula One, USAC, NASCAR and the SCCA.

The car selected was the 1974 Porsche Carrera RSR 3-liter racecar. Fifteen identical cars, featuring 315 horsepower RSR engines were ordered and prepped by IROC Porsche mechanics. Based on the RS 3.0 road car, the RSR had a wide body that allowed for Fuchs wheels shod in fat tires and a large, fiberglass whaletail instead of the ducktail seen on the stock models. The 3.0-liter engine was tweaked to deliver 315 horsepower instead of 231, but the standard five-speed transmission was preferred to the close-ratio units used on the racing versions. Only 15 were built and unleashed in a series of four races held at Riverside Raceway and Daytona Speedway in 1973 and 1974.

This Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.0 was sold new to Penske Productions in 1973 for participation in the inaugural IROC season. Driving duties were assigned to Emerson Fittipaldi who put this car on the pole of the initial series race at Riverside International Raceway on October 27th. Fittipaldi arrived late to a driver's meeting on race day and was penalized by having to start at the back of the pack. Despite the penalty, Fittipaldi negotiated his way back up the order, before ending up off track and developing a fuel leak, which forced his retirement. For the remainder of the rounds - including at Riverside and Daytona - Fittipalid used one of the competition's spare Carrera chassis.

The car was later passed to North Lake Porsche-Audi in Tucker, Georgia and they subsequently sold it to T&C Racing of Sarasota, Florida on 21 June 1974 for $26,482. During the late 1970s, the car was raced by John Tunstall and Charlie Kemp and it wore various sponsored liveries from Day's Inn, to Southpoint Porsche, and Star Brite Auto Polish. Between 1974 and 1978, they raced this Porsche at Lime Rock, Talladega, Road Atlanta, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Mid-America, and even the Sebring 12 Hours and the Daytona 24 Hours. The car's last domestic competition waws in 1978 at the 24 Hours of Daytona where it wore IMSA GT-style bodywork with wider, vented rear fenders, an enlarged front bumper, and gold-painted BBS racing wheels with aero discs.

T&C Racing sold the Porsche in 1979 to Colombian drug kingpin and narcoterrorist, Pablo Escobar. Just before it was delivered to Escobar's estate, the car was given 935-style bodywork by a Florida speed shop. It is believed that Escobar raced the car several times in domestic amateur hill climbs on public road courses. The car's next Colombian caretaker was Sergio Garcia who continued to race the car for several more seasons, including the Esso 300 Miles at the Autódromo de Tocancipá in June 1992.

In May of 1993, the car entered new ownership and was brought back to the United States. Before it could enter the U.S., it was seized at the port of importation by US Customs and would remain there for several weeks.

The car remained in unrestored condition from 1994 through 2007, wearing the 935-type bodywork and Garcia livery. Most of the time it remained static, but on a few occasions, was displayed during PCA events at the paddock of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

A previous owner acquired the vehicle in 2007 and treated it to a complete restoration back to its original 1974 IROC specifications. The powertrain and chassis underpinnings were entrusted to RennGruppe Motorsports in Lexington, North Carolina, and the bodywork was handled by several shops in Southern California. The work was finished in 2010.

The car made its post-restoration debut in 2011 at the Rennsport Reunion IV at Laguna Seca and two years later it won an Amelia Award at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. Later that year it was shown at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering in Pebble Beach, California. More recently, this IROC Porsche was awarded second in class at the 2018 Amelia Island Werks Reunion and shown in 2019 at the Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance.